Previews for 2010: the boxes of summer 2009

I've been good. Despite my friends handing me fabric, I'd managed to decimate my fabric stash this year.  Mind you, my stash wasn't that big, especially in comparison to what I've seen mentioned by a few quilt bloggers I read.  Me, I'm cranky; if my stash starts building up, it means I'm not using what I'm purchasing, and that doesn't seem like a good use of money.

However, i can give you a taste of what's to come in 2010.  You can blame Jacob and Alice.  Well, and me.

Jacob, for one, doesn't know how to do things by halves. In the summer of 2009, I mentioned to him that fat quarters made excellent and cheap gifts for quilters. He was seeking gift ideas, and I thought, What could be the harm in telling him this?  I expected a padded envelope with a few fat quarters tucked in.  Instead, over the course of the summer, I received these.

In his gift box of fabric, Jacob picked fabrics he hoped would inspire me: the rich, deep cool-toned colors I love, plus some fun prints, some that would remind me of his trip to Michigan, and some that would remind me of his home state of Minnesota. See the entry on my site: domesticat.net/2010/01/previews-2010-box-summer-2009The box of fat quarters
 by domesticat.
['The box of fat quarters']

and

In his gift box of fabric, Jacob picked fabrics that would remind me of his trip to Michigan, and his home state of Minnesota. See the entry on my site: domesticat.net/2010/01/previews-2010-box-summer-2009Michigan / Minnesota fabrics
 by domesticat.
['Michigan / Minnesota fabrics']

and

In the gift box he also picked space- and star-themed fabrics in honor of my time here in Huntsville, Alabama. See the entry on my site: domesticat.net/2010/01/previews-2010-box-summer-2009Fabrics for Huntsville
 by domesticat.
['Fabrics for Huntsville']

and

In his gift box of fabric, Jacob picked fabrics he hoped would inspire me: the rich, deep cool-toned colors I love, plus some fun prints. See the entry on my site: domesticat.net/2010/01/previews-2010-box-summer-2009More fat quarters from Jacob
 by domesticat.
['More fat quarters from Jacob']

After I opened the first big box, I was speechless. I called a few minutes later and said, "Do you know what you've done?" He chuckled and said, "I sent you fabric."  I replied, "No, you've sent me enough for an entire quilt."  I promised myself that I wouldn't touch any of the fabric until I'd completed my current roster of quilts, and that when I'd cleared the backlog, I'd give thought to something unprecedented: making a quilt for myself.

By my birthday, in October, I'd received all of this fabric, plus some more kid-friendly fabric that's made its way into quilts.  By fall, my stash of Hawaii fabric had been worked down, but was starting to rebuild itself in a hydra-like fashion.

Part two is next: the New Year's fabric.

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quilts
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Comments

On , Amy (pingback) said...

[...] knowing about the box of summer 2009, here's the rest.  A little over a year ago, Jeff and I flew out to Hawaii to visit Brad and [...]

On , jhugart said...

I can do things by halves, but why?

Example: I was involved in the planning and execution of a live-action role-playing game (LARP) based on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I was charged with scanning some drawings of Ferengi characters and turning them into distinct currency (different denominations of bars of gold-pressed latinum, as I recall); this was used in the game. One thing that was important was the serial numbers. I decided to put them on not only in Arabic numerals, but also as a couple of bar codes.

I updated the bar codes when I updated the intelligible serial numbers.

Now, it was noted by the chief designer of the LARP that this was overkill, but he decided to not bother me with such objections -- the time lost in arguing the point was greater than the time spent in the update, and anything that satisfied me would surely satisfy anyone else.

(The serial numbers were critical because it allowed the judges to consistently tell if a given bill was counterfeit or not.)

So, when Amy first suggested I could get fabric, she gave me a list: colors she uses, colors that are a challenge for her, colors and themes of quilts she was working on, fabric types she likes. So I followed that list and came up with a number of fabrics, but it didn't feel any more out-there than a grocery list. It fit into a small box, too. But her reaction was that I'd done way too much.

Be careful what you ask for, you may get it.