I woke up with a Queen song in my head today…Under Pressure! Not a bad kind of pressure really, just a lot to do and not so much time to do it in!
You know how it goes --- I’m leaving for Texas this afternoon, but playing on my mind is my need to make a baby quilt for DH’s assistant controller and his wife who are expecting their first baby any week now.
On Sunday DH was telling me how he TOLD Michael not to worry about buying a baby quilt, that “WE” would take care of that. ((Did you get the “WE” part?!?)) Uhhuh!
And it isn’t that I don’t want to do it, I do….but it’s a matter of when, and what to do --
Michael is from Kenya, his wife is from Uganda. A couple weeks ago we were invited to a lovely Kenyan meal at their home, and I got a good taste of the décor, featuring bold colors, a definite African influence, and wonderful accents!
For our dinner, they even were dressed in the clothing of their home country, and I would so like to do something that fits with their culture and life style. Little baby pink bows and cutesy bunnies are just NOT going to do it! ((Oh, yes, we've been informed that it is indeed, a girl! :cD))
And did I mention the TIME frame?!
Somewhere….SOMEWHERE in this basement, is a handful of African fabrics that had been gifted to me. And, I started digging for other things I could use…for instance:
I pulled a bunch of batik parts and unceremoniously dumped them on this chair, along with a selection of background yardage….
I sorted through the 2.5” strip bin and pulled out any batiks, brights and fun textures that might work for “SOMETHING”
Oh, and then there is THIS box of Novelties that was gifted to me from someone who thought they might be useable to me, but when I opened up the pieces, this is what I found:
Well, might be useable if I were planning on making a hanging thing for a bean bag toss, but?!? Well wait a minute, if I layer the good parts between the circles, I can probably get some quarter square triangles that would have the straight of grain on the long side --- We’ll save this box for another time!
And all while I’m deciding what to do, how to do it, what to use, and worried about how much time I don’t have --- I still need to repack the trunk show and pack my suitcase for my flight today!
I guess I should take care of “first things first” and then use the extra time to worry about the baby quilt. Do you see why my theme song today is “UNDER PRESSURE?!?!”
((And you must excuse me for my love of music that takes me back to my highschool years! I was a HUGE Queen fan in the 70's & 80's and this music just takes me back!))
Better get to it!
19 comments:
Yea, I can relate to words like, "dump", "pull", "sort";then add "dig", "scrummage", and "burrow"...definitely quilter terms!
Oh my goodness.... are you going to make a baby quilt BEFORE you leave this afternoon? Egad...
Nice package....and I liked the music, too.....
I'm sure you'll come up with something great.
Here are a couple of ideas from a quilter I follow who has lived in all sorts of places in the middle east, including Qatar and Kuwait (she's in Pensacola now though):
http://worldquilter.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/viq-very-important-quilt/
http://worldquilter.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/ktaa-annual-exhibition/ (the two star quilts at the bottom of the page)
http://worldquilter.wordpress.com/2009/03/05/african-pathways-quilt/ (the scrappy-ness of this one I'm sure will make your heart sing!)
http://worldquilter.wordpress.com/2008/04/29/baby-blankets-in-production/ (scrappy baby quilts featuring 64 patches and plain blocks)
http://worldquilter.wordpress.com/2008/01/28/196/ (okay, these probably won't work for this quilt, but they're scrappy, they're amazing, they're African!)
My favorite part of the movie Shaun of the Dead is the scene in the bar, when they're being attacked by zombies, and the jukebox starts playing "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen. Cracks me up every time I watch it. Love your batch o'batiks - what a fun variety of stuff.
Have fun in Tyler! It should be lovely there. That is "home" even though I haven't lived there in a long time.
Bonnie,
Here's an idea for the holey peppers piece: Just put some bright fabric BEHIND the circles, do a decorative stitch around the pepper circle edge, and clip away the extra on the back! Looks like an instant 36 x 40 baby quilt! :)
Look at it this way - we're heading into summer weather, not the dead of winter. And most people don't try to wrap a tiny newborn in big quilt right away, anyway. So, give yourself a break if the quilt isn't done in time for the birth. The parents won't love and appreciate the gift any less if the baby is a few weeks old when they get it. With your schedule, you gotta cut yourself some slack somewhere!
Well if anyone can do it you can. You already have all the fabricks picked out.
Hey, that's how I pull fabrics for a theme quilt. A bit of this and a bit of that. Dump it out and sort it later. Unfortunately, that also means putting it all away...but that can wait for another day. I think your ideas for this baby's quilt are right on. And, I love Queen, too. Be safe on your trip to Texas. Lane
i'm sure what you create will be brilliant. what a great challenge to go outside of paole pink, bows & bunnies. can't wait to see what you come up with.
I, too, am making a baby quilt. It's for my soon-to-be-born grand-nephew. I bought a bagful of scraps and in the bag are some wonderful plaids. They were all sewn together, so I spent an afternoon with a seam-ripper and disassebled the failed project. Now I am cutting the pieces along with plaid shirts I scored at yard sales this past weekend.
I know whatever baby quilt you decide on making, it will be beautiful and a cherished gift. Be safe on your trip and come back refreshed and renewed!
The second picture down, the pile of bright colors and prints looks great! As an ADD adult, I would grab that up and just start sewing! It had so much vibrancy and is gorgeous to look at, even in a heap.
I know that you try to use what you have and not buy more, BUT, when under a time crunch, maybe you could do a little shopping, buy something that will fit the African theme, and fill in with your scraps at home. I'm sure you can fit in a little shopping on your trip (you often do...). Plus, if you aren't going to go baby-baby anyway, you don't need it right at the time of birth. This baby will enjoy this quilt for years, so relax and enjoy the process. Oh yeah, and since WE are providing a quilt, HE can pay for any new fabrics!
... and now that song is in my head, too ;-)
Hey, I was digging through fabric today too. Went through my string drawers pulling out neutrals/pales for the string blocks in RRCB. It's a start. I've had three meetings already this week and digging through those strings was the most relaxing thing I've done so far this week.
I like what you have poulled out so far. I know that whatever you do it will be a wonderful scrappy quilt.
I am making baby quilts too. However I am trying to catch up for babies that have been born alrfeady.
I don't think you should feel under pressure to make an African themed quit. Perhaps the parents would be thrilled to have a "Bonnie" quilt instead because it is different from what they have already.
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