I have a friend expecting her first in April, and had in mind to make her a baby quilt. They recently moved away from the PNW and I had picked out a quilt to make for her - not a traditional baby quilt, but something to remind her of home, a tall, green fir tree, made of many multi-colored green triangles, with blue triangles for the night-sky background. And I may still make that quilt, but before I got started, she mentioned she had something specific in mind.
Very timely, as I'd just seen a quilt blogger post her thoughts on making gifts for others. How much do you tailor the gift to the recipient vs. giving something that reflects yourself? I want my friend to have a quilt she wants. So off to the fabric store together we went.
She had initially told me she wanted something Noah's Ark themed, but the Noah's Ark fabric we could find was all very cutesy - not her style. (And piecing or appliqué of lots of animals is too far outside my skill set!) So she modified her wishes, but wanted to stick with an animal theme, so she chose a fabric printed with bears.
I haven't had much experience working with printed "panel"-type fabric so we took our time picking colors she liked that worked with the colors in the pictures - lots of blues and greens for her little boy's nursery :D
Turned out being totally different than any quilt I've made before - a good challenge for me. And - I HOPE - something she'll enjoy.
Since the printed fabric was already really busy, we picked some muted blues and greens to use for the alternating blocks. I like the secondary pattern they form. It's quilted lightly with a beige thread, to blend in, and backed with a light tan. It will go out in the mail next week!
I wanted to get it wrapped up before New Year's because... this happened.
Surgery, not a barroom brawl, though the effects look similar, yah? What I need is a really good story! Instead, what I have is ptossis - drooping eyelids that were covering my pupils. Hoping for better vision and as an added bonus, I'd like to not appear to be tired or angry all the time.
Back to my ice packs...
4 comments:
I'm sorry you had to have surgery - and I hope it works. But... hey I think that's the thing Renee Zellweger had done! You're like a movie star!
I love quilts that have panels like that. A friend of mine made one similar to that when one of my boys was born. I love they way it looks like putting pictures on display.
Aw, thanks, Sara :D And HEY I had no idea I was hobnobbing with the stars ;D
Oh my goodness! I hope you are not in any pain!...
Your quilt is beautiful! I love the printed fabric. Wish I could do this too!...
Hope you are back to feeling normal soon with WIDE open eyes. :)
Ouch... Praying for quick recovery!
I think making what the recipient wants is a big deal and amazing of you to do it. I agree this quilt does not look like your usual style but I am sure she will treasure it for years!! I am struggling with gifts myself. I love to give but receiving is not my strong suit... By that I am NOT referring to your beautiful gift (thank you note forth coming) but to quite a few of the others that I was so happy to receive but now have no idea what to do with... Ah well... A good problem to be sure.
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