Of Snow and Quilting

Since, Lord willing, we'll be having another addition to our family sometime in May, I figured that I should probably get the other two kids settled into their new sleeping situations before wee one arrives. Basically, everyone (except us two bigger folks) is going to hop to the next biggest bed; Banna-Boo get's Peter's toddler bed, and Peter gets . . . .

. . . the double-sized guest bedroom all to himself.

*Sob* My little boy is growing up too fast! We're talking a minor "mommy moment" here, so, in order to combat feelings of nostalgia and gloom, I threw myself into an expensive and entertaining project, namely, quilting. (Okay, most women shop under stress. I have nowhere in our pokey town to shop other than Walmart, so that option of wanton indulgence is closed to me. Therefore, I was forced to spend ridiculous amounts of money in different ways.)

With new beds to sleep in, my two babies must have new quilts to sleep under. (We won't mention the fact that it would have been cheaper and less time-consuming to just buy new blankets. Uh-uh. Nope. We will also hope that Handyman doesn't flip out when he sees the bill from JoAnn Fabrics.)

Can you believe, in the short 10 minutes (alright, alright, 30 minutes! Fabric stores are time-sucks, and space and relativity don't really have any bearing there. You know, I bet Einstein was in a fabric store when he came up with the theory of relativity . . . anyway, onward . . .) that I was inside the store, the parking lot was covered in snow. It wasn't even snowing when I went in!

I squelched feelings of panic (although the sales clerk eyed me as I quite rationally tapped my nails against the counter in a quick staccato) and calmly proceeded to drive home. When I pulled into the drive way, I had a major epiphany - (isnt' that a great word? I just love great words. Onward . . .) I HAVE NEVER BEFORE DRIVEN IN THE SNOW WHILE IT'S ACTUALLY STILL SNOWING. I've lived in the Frigid North for 5 years, and as far as my seive of a brain can remember, this is a first for me.

Anyway, leaving epiphanies and back to quilting . . .

I haven't done much work on Banna-Boo's quilt, yet, but I couldn't resist doing a few squares to see the affect.

I've managed to complete the top of Peter's quilt, but I still have to do the backing (I hate doing the backing) and binding up, as well as the pillow shams.

Please don't gasp in horror when you see Peter's quilt. You must understand that my little four-year-old boy wanted scary, ferocious fabric. Nothing frou-frou for him, no sir. He wanted scary dinosaurs, man-eating sharks, terrible sea creatures, etc. (I think the lady at the counter thought I was nuts when I showed her the fabric I was buying for my little boy.) Since JoAnn's had a dismal amount of ferocious fabric, this was the best I could do. Peter seems to like it, so I guess that's what really counts.

I had a moment of inspiration when it came to the edge. After the ultra-busy center panel (yes, I over-complicated it again. Of course, what else did you expect?), the green edge looked a bit boring. Since we can't have boring, I cut out individual fish and embroidered them every 12 inches or so. I think it adds a nice touch to the edging.

I did space the fishes evenly, but there's a fold in the fabric that makes it look otherwise. Just squint, if it bothers you.