Today, I finished a quilt for the soon-to-arrive baby of my friend's daughter. I learned from some grandmothers that one trend in baby quilts for many of today's Moms is "Nothing too cute." In an effort to abide by this and use a color palette that would work in the nursery, I decided to try my hand at an Amish-inspired crib quilt. The design is very simple - long vertical and horizontal strips, that rely on the fabric and quilting pattern to enhance the piece.
The title of this post is a quote from my lawyer-husband who, when I told him how disappointed I was in this quilt top, noted the above (see title). Yes, this certainly applies to this effort. The only thing that is going to salvage this quilt is a wonderful pattern for the quilting. I've decided to use the "Cow Jumping Over the Moon" motif because some of the fabrics in the piece feature characters from nursery rhythms. But to me, it just looks like an American flag, due to the red, white and blue color palette.
But, in an effort to find some learning in every quilting project, here's what I gained from this experience:
1. Maybe I don't dislike quilts with lots of pieces as much as I had originally thought.
2. Even though this design was simple (and it was REALLY simple) to make, I had a good deal of trouble with it. I think I ripped out more seams than I have with any other quilt I've made so far.
3. If you don't really like the quilt you're making, it's not really fun to work on. From the very beginning of this project, I just couldn't get into it, perhaps because of the design, the colors, a combination of both these things.
4. Sewing long seams gets pretty boring.
5. As "Dear Jane" says, "Finished is better than perfect." Well, thank goodness for that because this piece isn't perfect.
In the end, this crib quilt may be very cute (my husband pointed out that the baby isn't going to like or dislike it anyway). If it's not, I'll just make another one to replace this one. The baby isn't due until May, so I still have time to redeem myself.
So, I clearly need to be "trying more cases" (or making more quilts, to be specific). In ice skating, there's an expression that if you aren't falling, you aren't learning new things. So, whether it's the legal professional, ice skating or quilting, one has to accept that some form of producing something less than what you expected is just part of the process. Onward!
No pictures, p-l-e-e-z-e! It just isn't much to look at and does look like an American flag. My long-arm quilter said it was very "sweet," but perhaps she was just being nice. BTW, the quilt isn't for the shower today, so you don't have to worry about staying to see it.
ReplyDeleteLook forward to skating with you today, my friend.