[img]958|left|Alex Campbell||no_popup[/img]Dateline Boston — My favorite singer in the whole world is Prince. He started his career as a teenager in the ‘70s, but I didn’t become a fan till 1984 when it seemed that everyone and her brother became a fan. That was the year the movie (and accompanying album) Purple Rain came out. I was 16.
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I have been a devoted fan ever since, even when many people dropped off around 1990. I own every single CD he has ever made from 1977 on. Do you know that Prince has had an album out almost every single year since 1977? How many singers/songwriters can say that? I love the sound of his voice and the way he performs.
I started going to Prince concerts when I was 18, in 1986. I’ll never forget my first concert. Not only was it my first time seeing Prince; it was my first concert ever. No one I knew had any interest in going with me to see His Royal Badness, so I took my 18-year-old self to Madison Square Garden, alone! And you know what? I had a great time!
After that experience, I went to see Prince in concert every time he came around (and still do). For many years, he was the only person I ever saw in concert. I’ve seen Prince probably 10 times; I’ve stopped counting. I have scores of Prince concert stories, but today I’ll focus on my mementos — the tee shirts. I’ve made it a point to get a tee shirt every time I go to a concert. I only actually wear two of them. The rest, until recently, went into my Prince memorabilia box. They stayed there for years. It seemed like such a waste.
Then I saw a catalog containing a product so revolutionary (Prince fans will get the play on that word there), I had to have it. It was a kit offering fabric and templates to make your own tee shirt quilt! I ordered it straightaway, and I knew what I was going to do when it arrived. Have my cousin Amy, quilter extraordinaire, turn my prized possessions into a quilt because I’m no seamstress! As soon as it arrived, I got out all my Prince concert tee shirts and cut them into squares. Well, most of them. Some of them had fabric that wouldn’t quite fit the square template, so I got a little frustrated. I stuffed them into a bag and forgot about them for a few months. Then…
Amy asked me when I was going to send her the kit, and I told her I didn’t have all the squares right. Like music to my ears, she said to just send it to her and she’d figure it out. I sent it off to California, and 4 days later, I am not exaggerating, it was back at my house (see photos)! It is a stunning piece of art; I’m not sure whether to hang it on a wall or cuddle up with it on the couch.
I kept it out for a few days to show it off to my friends, and had it on the couch for a few more. Then I started to worry that it would get dirty. That, and the fact that it’s now averaging about 90 degrees, made me fold up my new quilt and put it up in the bedroom closet. Don’t worry, it won’t go the way of the tee shirts in their original form. For once, I’m looking forward to winter!
Ms. Campbell may be contacted at snobbyblog@gmail.com
