This has been a year filled with stress and disappointments and a few bright spots that will be cherished for the joy, smiles, and laughter. This is not about the delightful moments but of a difficult lesson learned by a quilter who clearly set herself up for a hard hit when all did not go as planned.
I don't make bed quilts because a bed covering is intended for use as room decoration and warmth. In today's modern world, some don't make a bed up except when the sheets are changed. In a moment of boredom or change of mind or age, the room may get a facelift and the bed topper gets sent to the thrift store or at best, stuffed in the closet to be forgotten. Instead, I prefer to make baby quilts and lap or throw quilts. Multiples are acceptable, even required for celebrations and if the house is drafty and curling up to read or watch videos on a rainy afternoon or evening is a family affair. These quilts act as a warm hug and a reminder that someone cares enough to make a special gift of beauty and usefulness that can go anywhere.
The two quilts in this story came about because my niece moved to the Midwest and at the end of October she announced that because space in their rental was limited, their Christmas tree would be small. To please the girls, she had decided the theme would be pink ballerinas.
Immediately my mind was in high gear. There is a tradition in my niece's family to get new pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve. My imagination was envisioning two little girls in pink pajamas filled with excitement and expectation for the day to come snuggled in new pink quilts in their drafty living room on a cold winter's night
A couple of days later, I was in Craft Warehouse on Tuesday where customers get 25% off all full price purchases on the last Tuesday of the month. To my delight and surprise, I found some darling bunny ballerina fabric that was perfect for the 3 year old. I purchased enough to enlarge a Fabric Cafe 3 Yard Quilt pattern and make a coordinating pillowcase. On Bug Fabric, where novelty prints rule, I was able to order the last of two coordinating ballerina fabrics that would also make a similar size, color, and themed quilt but with the appeal for an older child who dearly loves her ballet classes.
My goal was to finish the quilts and pillowcases by the end of November and have the pillowcases as the birthday party gifts and favors to share with little sister for the older niece's December birthday. Not all went as planned due to some virus that went through our family but when my energy returned, I spent the later half of November sewing up a storm so the pillowcases could go in the mail for the birthday and will little time to spare, a box could follow and hopefully arrive by Christmas.
The backing fabric was found online and arrived in the mail from a quilt shop just a half an hour from us. There was no time to make a trip out to visit the "new to me" store. However, the colors were perfect! With all I needed to complete my projects, I forged on. After two long December afternoons on my feet, the tops were quilted on the Incredible Hulk and bound on the Janome 9400 because there was no time to curl up and finish the binding by hand. Handwork is a pleasurable and meditative activity that is often the cherished reward of finishing a quilt but no matter, the girls are too young to notice the difference. My traditional machine embroidered labels that are hand stitched on the back also had to be eliminated due to the time crunch but the quilts went in the mail with a small margin of time to spare along with some darling pink ballerina tree decorations. Whew! What a whirlwind of activity that left me just enough time to focus on Christmas for my immediate family.
Sounds like everything is in place for the picturesque scene in that was floating in my dreams, right? Wrong! First thing to go awry, my niece peeks inside the box when it arrives, clearly ignoring the label that says to open on Christmas Eve. She briefly comments in a text that the girls will be pleased. And that is where I become a bit deflated. I never expected an adult to peek at Christmas gifts when there were instructions on the box when it was to be opened. Well, I didn't have time for concern. Our family celebrates Christmas a few days early. Preparations were in full swing. I would look forward to some photos Christmas Eve when all was quiet and peaceful and I had time to enjoy them.
The night before Christmas arrived and so did a half dozen photos of girls in pink pajamas but no quilts to be seen. By Christmas morning my disappointment was overwhelming. DH and a couple of fellow quilters in my Facebook group said I ought to mention to my niece it was rather impolite to ignore the box instructions and have special handmade gifts out with all the store bought and manufactured presents on Christmas day. So I did in a brief text that revealed I had not seen the quilts in the photos from the night before and all I got was a very short and hurried phone call that was barely an apology for not having read the label she clearly had to cut through it to open the box. I was shattered to the core.
While the pain of disappointment and hurt is still raw, I realize I set myself up for the fall and I have to live with my part in the drama. There were warning signs I had ignored in the multitude of photos of girls sent in text messages. I never saw pictures of my youngest niece in the first birthday outfit I made her, there were no pictures of the older niece who loves hair clips wearing the darling pink with daisies clips I sent for her birthday, and the pillowcases were briefly featured to make a point that the younger niece wanted to sleep in big sister's bed when she got a new duvet and sheets for her birthday.
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| First Birthday Outfit |
Take heed my quilty readers and remember this story or you too will be a victim of dashed expectations.
