It took four full loads in a high-capacity machine to wash all of that denim and material. As I unpacked the bags I was finding an archaeological arrangement of a project that was clearly huge and possibly never completed. It makes me see the amount of work that will go into what I was planning.

There are pairs of full but worn-out large size men's jeans and several ripped or partially dismantled pairs - at least a dozen of those. And there are easily a couple dozen more pairs that have been taken down to just the leg panels from waist to hem, separated from the seams, waist, and zipper. There are dozens of the lower legs of pants cut off to make shorts and there are dozens of scraps of various sizes and lots of pockets and a few bits and pieces of seams and zippers, though most of that is gone. The amount of lint in the dryer was even heavier than washing dog beds.

There are a couple of pieces of denim-colored cotton yardage, probably broadcloth, that is printed on one side. Possibly the beginnings of a project in which the person who spent so much time over this 75 pounds of denim realized that store-bought denim or look-alike fabric isn't as robust as actual jeans denim. Or maybe it was meant to be a backing of a denim project.

So much work went into the preparation of this fabric to this state and my receiving it so randomly as part of an offer on a freecycle group seems remarkable—I feel more like I inherited something, not just some cloth to work with.

I'm tempted to contact the woman who offered it and ask what is the story behind it, though if it is something from an estate, that may be a painful topic. But I'll print out the email and name and perhaps in the future contact her to ask about it. To have done so much work—was something or were several somethings created and this is what is left over? Or did the original idea never see a draft or completed version?

In having this view of the work already completed I'm going to have to get a few boxes and arrange this hoard by size and according to how it was processed rather than dig through the stack looking for a certain size and shape. It makes sense to make the quilting squares out of the smallest scraps first and work up from there, see how the larger pieces can be used before cutting them small.