The not-so-perfect quilt

 

I've been working on a quilt for Kylie's room. Why you ask when I have a number of usable, in good shape quilts that I have already made that would work? Well, because she's spoiled. That's the honest answer. Or, I could say, because she didn't get to pick out the fabrics for the previous blankets I've made.

 

 

Anyhoo, being Kylie, she is very specific about what she wants. EVERYTHING! She wants Dora, Little Mermaid, Strawberry Shortcake, Hello Kitty and on and on... And let me tell you, if you have looked for little girl bedding these days, it's pretty straightforward. You pick your character and go. But not with Kylie.  In the end, she chose 7 fabrics including her favorite characters plus owls and ladybugs. I added the stripe because I already had it from the curtains in the girls old room. This gave me 8 good fabrics that were all vibrant and would work together.  I then choose a lime green to tie it all together. (It doesn't look lime on my computer screen.) I then backed the whole thing with a piece of purple fleece...another re purpose from the girls old room.

 

And here you have it.  It's really still in progress, but its usable, therefore, it is in Kylie's room. My plan is to add either a ruffle to the ends or just a soft silky band around the whole thing using blanket edging. I'll have to sneak it from Kylie's room first!

I share this project with you, and the pictures that prove it's a work in progress that leaves much to be desired, because I fear that many of you out there wouldn't make something like this in the first place because you know it wouldn't be perfect.

I have to tell you, I grew up with quilts and afghans that my grandmother made and clothes and a quilt my mom made. I learned from my mom that making something for perfection was frustrating and hard. But if you made it with joy, the love in it made up for the imperfections. Man, I can't tell you how many times I was poked with a pin left in a seam! But my mom made the dress that I wanted and got to help pick the fabric for, and that was what was important

(However if I was making this for someone outside my family I would have probably measured, pinned and all that...and it still wouldn't be in a usable state and I'd be frustrated..!)

And that's what I am trying to teach my girls. So far, I have made the girls crib blankets, blankets with princesses, Fancy Nancy, horses, paisleys and now a patchwork of all things girly. I'm making memories for my girls and in the process teaching them that you can show love through creating/crafting for someone.  It's freeing to not strive for and demand nothing less than perfection. It's a lovely hands-on expression of grace.