Navigated the Gauntlet

A few years ago, I developed the sudden urge to sew. Never sewed before, and I'm not really all that creatively inclined. But, nonetheless, I decided to sew. I borrowed my mom's sewing machine and went to town practicing my sewing skills. And suddenly the house was filled with piles of fabric sewn together that looked like pockets. I decided that I would start a company "Extra Pocket, Inc." and thought www.extrapocket.com would be a great URL, and I'd use the tag line "because everyone needs an extra pocket." I figured if someone could make millions on the concept of the pet rock, surely my extra pocket business plan would be a success. I still think it's a brilliant idea.

But, like all of my whims, my sewing days were short lived.

Flash forward to about a year ago and I decided it was time to revisit the sewing idea. So I bought a machine of my own. I really like sewing. I may not excel at it, but I thoroughly enjoy it. And I started cranking out random sewn items in pretty short order.

My husband, seeing how quickly I was completing project after project, "threw down the gauntlet" on me and challenged me to make a quilt. And I accepted. Of course it took me a while to find a) the right quilt pattern and b) the fabrics to make said quilt. I found both at a small quilting shop in a town called Hailey, ID when we were on vacation last fall. It is an Amy Butler pattern and Amy Butler fabrics. I really enjoy Amy Butler designs and fabric, so was thrilled.

I started working on it almost immediately and got pretty far along. But, like all my whims, it was cast aside for other things. I actually made it through most of the winter making zero progress on the quilt. A stupid thing, if you think about it, because winter is the perfect time to sew and winter is the perfect time to need a quilt. But alas, I did not finish the quilt, so there it sat in the closet, beckoning me every time I opened the closet door.

With the baby's arrival seriously approaching, my husband kept saying "Are you going to finish that quilt? When are you going to finish that quilt?" So this past weekend, I decided it was high time to complete my challenge and successfully complete the challenge. And guess what? I did. And I'm really pleased with the result and proud of myself for navigating the gauntlet.