Way back when, I signed up to participate in Craft Book Month.   I don't do a lot of blog hops, but I think this one is so valuable because it encourages folks to pick out an inspiring project and actually make it.  Golden.  Since two quilts in Sunday Morning Quilts have been floating around my consciousness for quite some time, on a whim I selected the Gumdrops quilt as my blog hopping project.

Making a quilt can be so emotional, you know?  The highs, the lows, the light bulb moments, the stuck times.  Making Lolly Lolly has felt a little like a survival experience.  It's not that the pattern is hard.  "It's not you, it's me, dear Gumdrop quilt."

that Getting-Started high

I love the candy-colored quilt in the book, but I want to do my own thing.  Making something different will be more exciting!  Kona Cerise makes a striking background, my neutral scraps are eager to find a home, and warm pink accents enhance the cool-girly vibe.

tangly Self-Doubt

Uhoh, a cerise background and neutral scraps pretty much kills the candy vibe.  My quilt seems to be growling, showing her teeth.  Or are they tombstones?  Enter sinking feeling - this is NOT a gumdrop quilt.

Bright Shiny solution

This is NOT a gumdrop quilt!  Let's alternate the rows to face each other.  Sure I had to hear that idea in my head, in the book and from my creative friend before I actually tried it, but then it finally took.  I repeat, this is not a gumdrop quilt!  Now it's a kind of funky pop art piece.

reckless Defiance

Is there really a baby anywhere in the world who wants a funky pop art piece for a blanket?  Really, self?  In to far to go back now...

Sweet, Sweet progress

It's time to baste (quick spray basting joy!).  It's time to quilt (I have a good ideeee-aaaa!).

Big Fat Stormy Rainclouds

Otherwise known as machine trouble.  I while away about 3 hours trying to correct skipped stitches when free motion quilting with my Juki.  Grumpiness ensues immediately and grows exponentially when every potential fix fails.

Despair

To avoid despair, it's best to stop at those rainclouds.  Put the project away for a few days.  Eat chocolate.  Kick up your heels.  But I had a deadline (darn it!).  Picking out long passes of free motion quilting stitches repeatedly under these conditions is a recipe for emotional disaster.  I am dogged.  I am miserable.

rocky Redemption

If you keep pushing on any project there's probably, almost certainly redemption around the corner.   It might be a winding road with lots of corners (say 80 or so?), but eventually persistence wins out and there will be, finally, a moment when you leave behind those troubles and find rest.  I ended up loving the straight line quilting.  I used Aurifil 12 wt thread in cream and Aurifil 50 wt threads in light gray and medium gray.  The variation in color and thickness shines on the minimalist Kona Melon solid I used for backing.

So, it's not the wavy quilting I had envisioned (which ironically my Kenmore was able to perform correctly on the first try), but when I finally got the FMQ effect I wanted, I didn't like it after all.  I was not in an emotional state to mess with photographs at that time, but you can see the needle holes from the wavy quilting in the brightest spot in the above image.

Relief and a tiny bit of Triumph

I survived.  At the end of the day, I finished it in time and I like it.  I'm pleased with the stripey binding, the highly textured quilting and the combination of Cerise and Melon.  It may not be my best quilt ever, but it's mine.  Someday I hope it will find it's way to a baby that appreciates the offbeat.

Making anything is an emotional journey, whether you start with your own idea or someone else's.  Sometimes its mostly about mustering the courage to start at all.  Every making experience is an opportunity to pour yourself out, sharing your perspective with the world, despite the quite-likely presence of tangly self-doubt and possibility of stormy rainclouds.

Hopefully bright shiny solutions flow effortlessly.

Hopefully your reckless defiance reaps great rewards.

Hopefully something pushes you on to finish in triumph, and let's cross fingers that your push comes from sweet, sweet progress free of despair. 

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Craft Book Month is just beginning. 

The 3rd Annual Craft Book Month at Craft Buds features a blog hop of inspirational craft book projects, a crafty contest, free patterns and prizes.  Don't let those craft books sit on your shelf and collect dust!

2012 Craft Book Month Projects (L to R):  Sew Crafty Jess, Sewing Rabbit, Stitched in Color, MissKnitta's Studio

To participate in the month-long contest, just link up any project you've made from a pattern in a craft book. That easy! You'll tell us a little about the book, the project, how you personalized it, etc.

Rules

1) One entry per person.

2)Your craft book project must have been completed in 2013. 

3) Create a new blog post or Flickr photo (dated September 1, 2013 or later) and link back to Craft Buds/Craft Book Month in your post or photo description. In your post or photo description, make sure to list the craft book you used and provide a link if possible.

4) All winners chosen via Random.org. Some prizes available to international winners, so please join us!

Prizes

Visit Craft Buds and link up your craft book project during the window of Sept 1-30 and you'll automatically be entered to win some fantastic prizes from the Craft Book Month sponsors!

No time to make a project? You can also follow Craft Buds all month long for your chance to comment and win some new sewing and quilting books for your library.