The summer between my 4th and 5th grade years my mother would let me stay at home by myself for short periods of time. She knew I loved to sew, and she said I could use any of her fabric. She returned from her first afternoon from me only to discover that I had tried to create my own skirt pattern, cutting directly into the middle of the loveliest piece of Liberty print cotton.  To her credit she said only, “you always have had the best taste in fabrics.”