Humility Block? Intentional? Personality?

Imperfections: Humility or Personality? 

I finished my little commission quilt. I guess it can be an extension of No. 8: Make baby quilts again.

So much fun.

Five old flannel shirts, well worn, well loved and a bit tattered, were the basis for this quilt. A toddler boy will be the recipient, the great nephew of the shirt owner. Isn't that a lovely idea? Loved shirts going to a loved child? Recycling at its best.

 Five shirts.

 Cut up...

New fabric was purchased for the trim and the backing.

Twenty four squares, 48 triangles sewn into blocks, then strips, then a quilt front.   One little triangle was added that was completely different, not from the shirt fabric.

Made into a bunch of triangles.

The reason for that?

I have always heard that the Amish believed that only God can create perfection, so they always added an imperfection in their quilts.  The Amish make beautiful quilts, colorful and precise, completely hand quilted.

Well, imagine my surprise when I looked up Amish quilts and discovered that the "only God can create perfection"  line is a myth.

Ha!

I'm  sticking with the myth.

Why?
I learned my lesson once. A beautiful quilt, made for my nephew, with every little corner meeting perfectly, was almost complete, only needing a few threads trimmed.  The colors were uniform, nothing out of order. Hand quilted. Perfect. I was so proud of it because it was definitely the most precisely made quilt I had ever sewn.
Trimming those threads, I cut a hole  in the backing.  Yep.  A big ol' hole.   Had to patch it with a little fabric heart to cover it up.

That was the last time I made a quilt without a mistake.
I don't want to test the fates/God/gods/whatever.

Now they all have a quirk. This one has that different piece of fabric, unrelated to any of the others.

See that piece of green plaid up in the right hand corner? 

Intentional mistake.

A couple of the corners don't meet perfectly.  Not intentional, but it gives the  quilt personality.
And I will take personality over perfection. Is that humility? Or acceptance?

I don't know and I don't care.

A little quilt, imperfections and all, will warm and comfort its new little owner.

Cozy Polar fleece backing, a couple of pockets for treasures, 

and soft, broken-in flannel for the front. 

Perfection in its own way.

Thursday on a Friday, Again

Thursday on a Friday, Again
or
What I've Been Doing While I'm NOT Working on My Challenges.


I'm at an impasse.

The rest of the challenges either have time specific, place specific or budget unavailable constraints.
So I'm just sitting on them for a bit.

In the meantime, I am kind of back to No. 8: Make Baby Quilts Again.
(A side note: The babies that I made those original quilts for turn two this week. Wow!)

At work one day a regular was asking whether we carried any baby gifts. We don't.
But I mentioned I make baby blankets and sell them on Etsy. (Ok, they are listed on Etsy. Occasionally they sell. I've been more than lazy about promoting them.)

And he brightened up and said "Perfect! Make me one for my great niece."

So I did.

In pictures it didn't look like much, but in person it was very sweet. White flannel on one side, tiny pink floral print on the other and quilted with large, randomly placed, stylized flowers.   I loved what my buyer said. He wanted one side of the quilt plain white so as to show off the baby. He wanted the baby to be the focus, not the blanket. Isn't that a lovely idea?

 Some randomly drawn on flowers- waiting for the disappearing ink to disappear.

Sweet little blanket-waiting for a baby. 

And while I haven't heard whether the baby loved the blanket, my buyer did. So much so that he had another idea. 

He has some old flannel shirts. Loved and worn. Frayed collars. 

Could I make a quilt for the toddler brother of the newborn great niece, using his old shirts?

Why yes, I could.
And so I am.

It will be simple, squares. Probably four rows by six of  7" squares.   At least that's what it's looking like at this point.  The squares will be made of two triangles.

A couple of the triangles will still have pockets. A toddler should like that- a place to hide things. 

It's a nice little project to keep me busy.

And soon I will be back to my list.

No. 8: Make baby quilts again...again!

No. 8: Make Baby Quilts Again...Again.

and...

Last chance to comment/sign up for the one year blogiversary give away.

Last April I made baby quilts for my great niece and nephew, Clara and Colby.  It was the first time in forever that I had sewn. And I had so much fun!

 Colby and Clara-  brand new.

Definitely the choosing of fabrics, the arranging of colors, the piecing and placing of the different patterns against each other appeals to me in many ways. And the fact that I end up with something useful is just the icing on the cake.

The fabrics for Avery's quilt. 

They took over the kitchen (only) table for weeks.

Good thing I'm not much of a cook!

Clara and Colby, who are fraternal twins, belong to my niece Amanda. Amanda has an identical twin, Allison.   Allison just had her second baby, Avery, a couple of weeks ago.   I love that these little cousins are so close in age, which is a good thing, because their mamas are very close.

Avery

So Baby Avery definitely needed her own quilt. I had brought some of the left over fabrics from the first two quilts with me to Colorado because I thought it would be kinda neat to have some overlap between the three. But there are also plenty of new fabrics mixed in. Avery's quilt is definitely her own, with a nod to Clara and Colby's.

Colby and Clara's quilts.

And now that Avery's quilt has been delivered, I can post pictures here.

 Avery's finished quilt-front...

and back.

Can you see the fabrics that are common to all three? 

And look:

Miss Avery lost in the middle of all that pattern.  Isn't she adorable?

I love that No. 8 is done, again.

Also, a reminder:
It's my one year blogiversary and I'm having a little give-away.

Just sign up for email delivery and leave me a comment that you did.

And/or join me on Google+ and -again- leave me a comment that you did.

AND/OR go to the Project Sixty by 60 Facebook page and like it.

Each comment will give you an entry. 

The prize is a $20.00 gift card to Amazon.com  OR- because of a couple of suggestions- a sketch of your choice. I'm pretty good with animals if you have always wanted a sketch of your cat or dog or aardvark.

You have through midnight on Nov. 27 to enter. (That's tonight!) Get on it. Winner announced on Friday, Nov. 29.

Odds and Ends...No. 8 and No. 49

Odds and Ends:

Working on No. 8 Redux  and also on
No. 49: Make a New Friend

(An old and a new challenge off my list.)

Last week my niece and her sweet husband had an adorable baby girl, Avery Jane. I can't wait to meet her but it will be a bit before I get to do that.
And that's okay.
By the time we see her in person she will be at that adorable cuddly baby stage and beyond fragile newborn.
But isn't she a beauty?

Avery on her birthday!

No.8: Make Baby Quilts Again has already been done (see here) for Avery's cousins but I did not want Miss Avery to feel left out. 

I am almost done with it and here is a little preview. 

Pink! 

I'll post a full pic once it has been delivered.   Don't want to totally spoil the surprise.

And Boy! Do I have a lot of pink fabric left over. Anyone need a baby quilt? For a small fee (actually a pretty large fee) I will happily make you one.

I've also been working on No.49: Make a New Friend.

This could be a hard one.   

I am in a new place so I was destined to meet new people and I have met lots of people-but meeting someone doesn't make them a friend. 

And there is that fine line between meeting someone and being friendly and meeting someone and being stalker-ish.

But I have met some wonderful people and I have been amazed at the kindness and inclusion I have felt. 

Having teenagers has certainly helped.  It truly does take a village to raise kids and all mamas can use some extra help.  Especially when we get the "But EVERYONE is doing it!" line.  

This came up last night and I was so happy to have Facebook messaging already set up with some of the other mamas. A quick message revealed that no, not everyone was going to be doing it. 

"It" in this instance was driving 3 hours away to a soccer game and either driving back another 3 hours through the mountains at 10:30pm or staying the night in a hotel and driving home in the morning- missing a half day of school.   No parents included. 

I don't think so.

And fortunately the other mamas didn't think so either. 

(Credit to the amazing Anne Taintor 

for this little mash-up of saying and photo. 

One of my favorites.)

Maybe not to full friend status yet- but I sure do appreciate people I can call on. 

Working on No. 49.  Just in case I have a body that needs to be disposed of.