When Divorce is not an Option

Ok, so this is not my best post title.  I was trying to come up with something appropriate that accurately reflects the topic while remaining friendly and did not contain any curse words. Other titles included: When good projects go bad (boring) or When Projects Drive You to the Brink of Insanity During the Holidays and Like a Weight Around Your Neck Drowns You in Misery (but that was a little wordy).

This post has been brewing in my head for several months now, but I guess I was mentally still making some amends (admittedly a bit of a grudge was formed on my end---no word from the quilt on if the grudge is reciprocated). Gentle readers be warned, this is not your typical happy, cupcakes and icing Bunny Cakes post.

So roughly about a year ago, on the eve of my MIL’s birthday, I decided that a quilt would be a really nice gift (one that my MIL would really appreciate). I decided that it was insanity to attempt a quilt in a single night and I deferred the gift until Christmas. (I am a little crazy, but not THAT crazy).  I had plenty of time to plan, plot, and create something that would reflect my very high opinion of my MIL.

The process begins...

I stumbled upon the perfect fabric with little effort.  My MIL is a cat person, more specifically a black cat person (her cat almost rivals my Diddy in personality, scheming, and deviousness).  I found a beautiful cat fabric that does not scream cat lady and all the negative connotations that cat lady brings to mind.  When I ordered the cat fabric, I also found a coordinating fabric on sale.  Thinking why not, I bought half a yard.  At the time I purchased the fabrics, I did not have a pattern in mind (big mistake on my part).  Buy the fabric and the pattern will come...was what I thought.

The project begins to turn bad...

The fabric that I had picked out was great, but it was also pretty busy and required the right pattern that would showcase it’s greatness.  After much mulling, I picked a pattern.  As soon as the pattern was selected, well the relationship started to sour.  I realized the maybe coordinating fabric that I had purchased was perfect, but everyone else thought it was perfect and there was no longer any available.  Ooookay. I begin to search for alternatives.  After buying two sets of alternatives (and after being burned I bought a LOT of each fabric) that did not work, I was right back almost at the starting point with the notable exceptions of now having fabric that I couldn’t (well, wouldn’t) use and a lot less  money in my pockets. Seeing the piles of un-needed and certainly unwanted fabric sitting on my craft table filled me angst. I finally broke down and went online (again---previous searches yielded nothing) and found one place that had the original sale coordinating fabric and paid an exorbitant amount of money for it.

Divorce with this project would have been the most logical and happy thing at this point.  Except, I couldn’t.  M was really pleased with the idea and had broadcasted the gift to several family members.  I had become a cornered animal---dangerous, unhinged, and really, really miserable.

I persisted.  I had no other choice.  The fabric came, cutting and then mis-cutting ensued.  The misery seemed to follow me through the project.  Crafting friends offered sympathy.  On and on it went. Finally, a week before Christmas, the long journey came to an end. I stuffed the quilt into a big gift bag and put it away.  We needed time apart.

The only saving grace for this project was how happy this quilt (of doom) made my MIL.  She really loved it.  I think my MIL’s happiness was the final truce---however, I doubt I would ever cuddle with it. 

I am not sure what the moral of this story/rant is, but I just needed to get this story off my chest. 

Has anyone else experienced crafting misery?

~A

PS- the angst of the project still lives on. I was looking through the pictures taken of the wretched beast, I mean quilt, and ALL the pictures were out of focus.  LOL, the quilt gets the last word!

Comments

[Sara R.]

We've all been there...maybe not with a quilt...but there's always one "horrid" relationship with a project!

[jen]

Thanks for reminding me why I don't quilt(yet). There's nothing like a good "failure" story for a hearty laugh. =) My family never lets me forget about the "watermelon dress" - a voluminous pink seersucker jumper that could fit a whale. Seriously. (If you love other's mishaps, check out craftfail.com) Glad she liked the quilt!

[BunnyCakes - K]

A, I love this post too! It gets better every time I read it!

[Traci]

My miseries with crafts are minor only because I haven't attempted the major sewing and cutting skills that a quilt would requie. So, the fact that you are attempting something big means that you will have grand results (with perhaps some grand mishaps along the way). I am so glad she liked it. And, thank you for making me laugh out loud.

[Marsha]

I thoroughly enjoyed this entry. Mostly because I have many times been trapped in a creative nightmare. Sometimes I can find the humor instantly, other times it takes a while. I once crocheted a sweater coat, that was made in pieces, which I worked on over a long period of time. When it came time to put it together, one sleeve was significantly longer & wider than the other and in the middle of the body of the coat, I'd switched to a differnt stitch, then back again. Which, might have been considered design choice, except it looked bad! This was a particularly black day, and it was many months before I could face it. Now, it's a mostly funny story.