Some of my spare fabric
Occasionally the heavens align and other people help me lighten my mood and my stuff. That’s what happened recently when I was in a conversation with a friend, her daughter, and her fiancé. As the wedding day approached the bride and groom said they were trying to plan a tasteful but simple celebration. One step was to rent cloth napkins and table cloths for the reception. Hmmm, I had just pruned my tablecloth and napkin drawer several weeks before and had not yet found a recipient. Perfect! I had about 100 napkins I could give them. It was a win/win situation. They got cloth napkins and I got to know my napkins would be useful to someone else. It made both of us happy.
But wait, there’s more. As the conversation continued, I explained how I was giving things away and had not yet gone through my cabinet of fabric from when I used to sew more regularly. Another friend who is a quilter and was teaching the bride how to quilt said, “We could use your spare fabric.” Yea! Not only do I get rid of fabric that I don’t need anymore, it’s going to a good cause, not just into the trash. Everybody wins.
One can’t always count on fortuitous situations like this, but when a community of folk share a similar a commitment to simplifying their lives or minimizing their impact on the environment, it increases the odds of serendipitous connections. Sure, they may have been able to come up with napkins and fabric through Freecycle, yard sales, or Ebay, but isn’t it nice when people of like mind simply share their minds.
