Measuring

At the fabric store today, Jenna took a yellow zipper and measured my legs with it.

"You're one year old, mom." she declared, after carefully stretching the zipper out along my shin.

When we came home, Emily decided she would play cloth store again. So out from my stash came all the fat quarters and other non-precious fabrics to stock her shelves as she carefully set up her new shop.

After lunch, Emily opened the Kiss Lips Cloth Store, a small, family-run enterprise with a modest collection of fabric and outstanding sales service which included a personal- shopper-cum-interpreter (Jenna) to help those of us unable to navigate the technical language of fabric shopping. Everyone took a turn to get in line at the cutting counter, even Kate.

E: How much cloth does Katie want, Jenna?

J: How old is Katie, mom?

M: 16 months.

J: She wants 16 months of cloth, Emily!

And of course, anyone who's ever worked in a fabric store knows what that means.