Bah-Humbug

When I was recovering from my surgeries back in June my lovely friend Keli sent me a package full of books and magazines to encourage me to sit back and relax. My mother-in-law came to help and paged through one of the books frequently, often turning back to the same pattern over and over as if trying to memorize it. Once even taking the book from my hands and exclaiming, "So that's how they did that!"



When I found a batik jelly roll on clearance at an online fabric shop in August I snapped it up, even though I wasn't too sure about the color scheme. Batiks are her favorite fabrics and the pattern she loved was from the Jelly Roll Quilts book.



Meanwhile, for my own mother I hadn't a clue. Part of me wanted to do her favorite color, but as I planned my quilt gift to be for the entire family (something to snuggle under on the couch, a small throw quilt) I didn't want to do anything that was too geared toward just one member. I was really at a loss, then I found another jelly roll on clearance and convinced myself that working on two identical quilt tops at the same time would be much quicker and easier than making two different gifts. Plus, my mother-in-law and mother will not be sharing any holiday time with me and my mom would end up with no idea that she was getting my mother-in-law's favorite quilt pattern as her gift too.

It has been quick. That part is true. I nearly have all of the blocks ready to sew together. I keep going back and forth about which one I like more, or whether I like either of them at all. I plotted the whole quilt out on graph paper (the instructions and layout in the book are for a bed-sized blanket) and I know that I like the look of the finished product on paper. It's the fabric part that I'm not so sure about. Either way, it's too late to turn back, and even if I'm disappointed in the end product it is a big part of what I have planned for Christmas...so cross your fingers for me!