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EAVING BETWEEN overloaded handcarts and women balancing huge bundles on their heads, I pass endless rows of overflowing market stalls in the chaotic Grand Marché of Bamako. I finally come to my favorite part: the huge open-air section of cloth sellers. It’s early and the market women are still stacking cellophane-wrapped packets of bright, hand-dyed fabric into tall, precarious towers. Several vendors recognize me and call out, “Madame, joli bazin pour toi!” Yes indeed, they have gorgeous cloth for me—but I always have such trouble choosing from among the thousands of color combinations and patterns! SPRING 2012 • FIBERARTNOW.NET
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