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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Being Thankful for Green

This was not a day I was looking forward too.  My husband and I had our wills drawn up and we were supposed to sign them after lunch.  Forty years ago when the first will was drawn up I was so emotional about it, I could hardly speak. Remembering my strong reaction to the occasion made me leery of what might happen today.

Last night, I was finishing cutting the last of the green leaves for my red and green tulip piece. It was very late and I was tired; I came to the realization that I didn't have enough fabric left to complete about 6 blocks. This was so upsetting that I didn't know what to do. As you can probably guess, I didn't sleep well at all last night. For emotional events like this I always make up a list of things to do the next day, so as I'm tossing and turning all night, I know I won't forget to shop for green fabric because this is included on "the list."

My morning was full, no time to go to Sew 'N Save to see if they had any green fabric left.  After lunch we signed our wills, and it went smoothly. There was no sobbing or tears, I guess I'm getting old and crusty as the years pass by.  After we returned home, I drew up the Thanksgiving grocery list; grabbed my green fabric sample and went to the fabric store. This errand was more important than shopping for Thanksgiving. When I reached the store, one of the ladies asked me if I needed help; perhaps I had a wild look about my eyes!  I showed her my fabric, told her my predicament, and she said there was still a partial bolt on the green shelf.  I really couldn't believe my good fortune, there it was, a  perfect match.
Oreo investigating the new green yardage

So here is my Thanksgiving tip for all of you quilters out there.  When making large bed sized quilts, always purchase a yard MORE than you think you will need. As work on a quilt begins, the original plan always gets changed, you will use more of one fabric and less of another.  Because I've concentrated on wall pieces the last 25 years, my estimates for quantities needed for this project were skewed toward smaller quilts. To avoid sleepless nights be safe, buy more than you need.

I am thankful for green today!

Ann Fahl

2 comments:

Rachel said...

Glad you are "in the green" and wishing you a peaceful, pleasant Thanksgiving.

annieQ said...

Thanks Rachel. The green was almost a catastrophe. Now the new fabric has been washed and is ready to be made into leaves and triangles. I hope you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving too.