OK so I should have posted this yesterday with it being St. Patrick's Day, but I didn't quite get to it. Now I'm not like most of the country who go all out to celebrate this holiday even when they are not even Irish, I will honestly admit that other than the whole "gotta wear green or your gonna get pinched" part I am not even sure what the day is all about. With that said, I am not making light of it in any way. Its just I'm not Irish (that I know of) and have never really been taught about it. However, a girl I have come to know while working this crazy job of mine is and is all about this holiday. She recently had a baby (sweet baby Ella) and I had yet to get her a gift.
While out shopping with Steph, we decided to make her a quilt to give her for Ella's first St. Paddy's Day. So it started...we ended up picking out 10 different fabrics to make this little quilt and while surfing the web for just the right pattern I found just the right one. It was called "Irish Eyes" Yep that's the one, no matter how hard or easy it is, we have to do this one. Problem with this was the pattern only required 3 fabric choices and we had 10. Stephanee not being the quilter said just use them all. I being a bit anal retentive about it could not get my head around that concept. so after a couple weeks just looking at the material sitting there I started cutting...cutting & cutting. I had all the fabric cut into squares and such for this pattern (above photo)
Then it just sat there on the cutting mat for several days. All the while Steph asking how is it going...how much have you done...we're going to run out of time... Yes she was right. But I still couldn't see how I was going to fit 10 colors of green into one quilt that only called for 3. Then I just went for it...breaking any rule I might have ever been taught about quilting and started to stitch it together.
<~~ this is what I got. Alright, that's not too bad, and it went together way easier than I thought it would. So I kept at it. Not sure about having different looking blocks, but I did it anyway maybe when it is all done I'll like it. (that's what I kept telling myself) This is where I started my own mental count down...2 down 7 to go...
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| up to 5 now |
I know it isn't for me but shouldn't I like what I making, how is anyone else going to like it if I don't. Steph kept telling me she liked it and that Sarah would love it. Just to be sure, I sent a block for her to show Sarah with the story that "Tammy is working on something for a friend and neither of us like green, what do you think" So she loved it. and that really wasn't a lie, we were making it for a friend, we just didn't tell her it was HER :)
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| Only one left |
It was after block 3 or so that I started referring to this project as "The Green Monster" I couldn't stand to look at all that green, and I normally like green. I don't believe it was the color so much as the fact that it was so many different prints in the color. But anyway, I kept going (with steph pressing everything I stitched it went a little quicker for me-thank goodness) The I was down to the last block. Not too terrible I guess if you like (and I mean REALLY like) green.
March 17th is St. Patricks Day...we all know this, the last block was still sitting on the ironing board on March 15 waiting to get finished...
I have always been and will always be the worst at procrastinating I swear.
the morning of the 16th I figured I was about out of time and I had better get done. (still worrying about if she would like it or not) So I sat down and cranked it out.
Turns out I do like it more than I thought I would. It is by no means a traditional quilt, but there is just something about it that kinda grows on you.
I wanted it to be extra special for Miss Ella so I backed it with the softest stuff I could find. I don't even know the name for it but you've all seen it. It's on all the cute baby stuff in the stores these days. It looked great on there. But I don't know if I will ever put it on another project. It is so stinking stretchy. I didn't think I was ever going to get finished because of it. But in the end I did finish and the Green Monster has been appropriately re-named "Ella's Irish Eyes"
Sarah remembered seeing the block and commented about how she loved it and when she got it home she sent us the sweetest picture ever to show us how much baby Ella liked her new cuddly quilt
Is that not the cutest baby girl you've seen all day!
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Go out on a limb and make some crazy project you don't think you'll like...I bet in the end when you sit back and look at it and how it affects those around you, you will find you do like it after all.
Stephanee (I gotta teach her how to use the sewing machine) keeps finding some neat stuff for me to sew, you should check back here soon to see the craziness we are up to.
I hope you have a wonderful week
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