We had a quiet Christmas here…some gifts, some chess playing, some movie watching and even some sewing on my part.
Hubby treated me to a very “quilty” Christmas…
I am not the easiest to buy for. I don’t like jewelry, perfume, or knit knacky things. I don’t like decorating stuff…and I have all the things that I want to plug in. I had however been thinking about making this Irish Chain quilt. I LOVED the dark blue fabric and have used the EXACT print several times and knew the local quilt shop had it.
So three days before Christmas, hubby asks, “What do you want for Christmas?” I made it easy for him. I grabbed two scraps of fabric and wrote on the reverse side of them….4 yards of the blue for the Irish Chain and 2 yards of my all time “go to” fabric….I also hinted that my small cutting mat was getting in tough shaped. How easy was that?! He told me I was too practical and he’d get me something else.
The next day I was in the grocery store at the check out and I saw the gal that works at the quilt shop. She says…”How did that cutting mat work out? We didn’t have the regular one in stock, but we thought this would work.” …can you believe she would ask? Three days before Christmas a man comes into a quilt shop and buys things….didn’t she think it would be a gift?….oh well….
Christmas morning comes, I open my present and he got the mat and the fabric…YES! I am super happy…..but then I looked again. The fabric isn’t the same blue that I wanted for the Irish Chain. It’s a teal type blue. I didn’t say a thing…but I’m wondering was it the gal in the shop or my husband that decided on the teal blue instead. I honestly sent a scrap of fabric with and it wasn’t that color. Hubby didn’t comment on the fabric so I’m not going to ask (he was already upset when I told him what the lady said when I was in the check out line)….I don’t want him to think I don’t like it but now my situation is this….Do I use the teal fabric that isn’t the deep rich color?
Do I buy the fabric I REALLY want? I love the dark blue….I honestly don’t think he’ll even know any difference unless he reads this blog post…. which he never does. I looked on line at Bonnie Blue quilts. They have the fabric in the right color. What do you think?
So to my stash report….
Fabric in….6 yards that was gifted to me.
Fabric out….10 for my Crazy Mom quilt and 2 for various small projects I’ve been posting tutorials for. With the hub-bub of Christmas I didn’t post my Crab Apple quilt which is finished…I’ll post that and count that next week.
P.S. The cutting mat is one that has the ironing board on the flip side….I actually like it. Oh…and hubby got me something else I LOVED…a piece of paper that entitles me to a three day, two night get away in January…..WONDERFUL!!
My opinion … buy the blue you really want – you knew exactly how you wanted the Irish Chain to come out and no matter how pretty that teal is, it’s not what you wanted for that particular quilt – it’ll probably be perfect for some other quilt, tho, and you’ll love that one too.
I agree, buy the fabric you really want and then use the wonderful Christmas gifted fabric in another quilt that will highlight that fabric.
That is a tough one – but there is nothing worse than making a quilt that you do not like working on -buy the blue and proceed as usual. http://www.shadetreequilting.com
I would use this fabric in another quilt, maybe even before you do the Irish chain or at least pick out a pattern to show the hubby so he knows you appreciate the purchase. Then go ahead and get the blue you really wanted and make your quilt.
But there’s also not much worse than doing the best you can with a gift and hoping it’s ok, only to find out it’s not – so find a fabulous pattern for the teal, then tell your husband that you found a better use for the fabric he gave you! That way he’s not discouraged from giving you quilty gifts in the future!!!
My husband gave me a stack of fat quarters for Christmas – and not all of them are ones I would have picked, but I now have a whole stack of fabric that I know HE likes – so I see a quilt in my future!!
Definitely buy the fabric you originally wanted, otherwise you will hate spending time on the quilt and it will end up as an unfinished UFO (just don’t ask how I know LOL!).
But the blue you want, he’ll never know! My hubby doesn’t read my blog either but his friend does. Friend now knows NOT to tell hubby anything I say about him on the blog. ;)
Whatever you decide to do, I’d be upfront with with him. I like the idea of finding another quilt pattern to use for what he did gift you with. Good luck!
I vote to get it! I’m sure you’ll find a fantastic use for the teal – I love quilty gifts!!
I would bring back the fabric and get what you wanted!
or keep the fabric and tell him you decided to make another quilt with it that was better suited for…I love that quilt too its on my list to make in 2011
Happy New Year!
Kathie
absolutely get the fabric you want, and use the other fabric as a backing. that way you’ve got the best of both worlds!
Use the 4 yards of teal blue for something else…maybe as the backing for a small quilt…maybe a wall-sized Irish chain, a baby quilt, or a charity quilt. Then buy the fabric you really want and make your quilt.
Love DH but buy the right color…most men are color blind meaning blue is blue is blue. Make another quilt and gift it to him with his fabric.
I concur on getting the blue that you want, otherwise, you will always think what could have been. And I also agree to find another pattern for the teal and go for it.
I would definitely go and buy the fabric that you want. There will be a use for the other fabric somewhere down the line. And I can’t believe that the woman said that to you about the cutting board – what was she thinking???? How many men just walk in and buy a cutting board in the first place. She had to have known if was for Christmas! Oh well, at least you loved what you got and that’s all that matters.
Not that you need one more voice to chime in, but…get the blue you really want. We all know how hard it is to push to finish a quilt that you don’t “just love.”
I think that the shop should make the transaction right for you. If the sales girl made the mistake then they should not have a problem with a return. By all means, make the quilt from the fabric you love! Then, you will love the quilt. I speak from experience!
buy the “right” blue fabric
make another quilt with hubby’s fabric, but make a little fuss about how his selection was “better” for what you just made……
I would buy the fabric that you really want.
A couple of years ago a similar thing happened to me. My husband went to buy me a sewing machine I had been looking at and longing for. The shop owner called me on the phone to ask me if I was surprised by the machine…a week before Christmas! Before I thought clearly I told my husband about her call. He was very upset. I was completely in that dark since I never expected him to spend that much money on me. Oh well, it was a great surprise even if it was a few days early.
From past experience I reccomend that you buy the fabric you really wanted. You will spend your valuable time making this quilt, so why not make it with what you want and save the teal blue for another project. It looks to me like you’ve been thinking about making the Irish Chain with the blue fabric for a while. Enjoy it!
You want to love the quilt, and we always need more fabric for other projects, so buy the blue you want.
Please let us know what you decided to do. I think I would return the fabric and purchase the one that you wanted.
Did he know the intended project? Why not make a couple squares and see if it grows on you. Sometimes I think we get stuck in a rut and fresh eyes sometimes see something we don’t. If you still don’t like it make something else with it for his birthday or something and make your quilt how you like.
This was a reproduction of an antique quilt that I purchased a few years back. The “blue” fabric that we used in the quilt is an exact reproduction of the print used in the original antique. Working with Marcus Fabrics we did the same print in a few other colors as well. Thought you might like to know this before making your decision.
Love your blog!
Paula