MY SURPRISE

When I was nine months pregnant, I overheard some expecting girls in my ward talking about making quilts for their babies. I was filled with dread because I had not made my baby a quilt. (For some reason, I thought if you were a GOOD mom you made quilts for your baby.) I voiced my concern to Eric and he told me "you don't have to... 'cuz you made those one things!" (I crocheted hems around a receiving blanket and burp rags). However, I wasn’t quite convinced. A month before Kinsley was born, he went with his family to California so I went to stay with my family in Burley. While there, I drew up a plan for my quilt. Three fabric stores and 23 different fabrics later, I had the makings of a quilt. I spread all of my fabric on the kitchen counter and was suddenly overwhelmed.

I don’t know ANYTHING about quilting and I can count on ONE hand how many things I have sewn. 1. While in 4-H, I took and sewed a pillow case a sewing class in a sewing class. It was an utter disaster... I won a white ribbon (lowest of the low) at the fair. This was traumatizing to my young heart so I gave up sewing. Years later, for my 20^th birthday, I asked for a sewing machine- I thought it would be a good thing to have for the future. 2. My roommates and I would have “craft days” and one time we sewed pillows. 3. I took a homemaking class and I made an apron. 4. While living in Pocatello I made curtains for the kitchen. AND I THOUGHT I COULD MAKE A QUILT!?!?!

My mom came home from a youth activity and saw all of my material on the table and asked what I was doing. I told her that she and I were going to make a quilt for my baby. She laughed and said she didn’t know how to quilt. This surprised me because her mother was an avid quilter but she did not inherit the quilting gene. So I stared forlorn at my fabric.

My mother-in-law heard about my quilting aspirations and helped me buy supplies- that I didn't even know were needed. Then she decided to enlist the help of Sister Green. Sister Green is a lady in their ward who makes beautiful quilts! Some of her quilts take her months to make. She walked me around her house and showed me all of her intricate quilts and then she gave me a lot of very helpful pointers. I knew my quilt wasn’t going to be as detailed as hers (I’d be lucky if I could sew straight) but I was determined to make this quilt.

On the day I was induced, I finished the top. I didn’t end up using all of the fabric, my fabric pieces weren’t all the same length, I had a difficult time sewing straight, the quilt looked liked I sewed crooked, and in a few places it was kind of bunchy…. But I loved it!

When we moved to Mississippi, I still hadn’t finished the quilt--I didn’t even know how to begin finishing it. All of my quilting gurus were in Idaho, so I sent it back home with my mom with the thought that maybe I would get around to finishing it during Christmas. But a surprise came today… MY QUILT WAS FINISHED!!!

Thanks mom! Kinsley loves the quilt and I love how it turned out!