Handmade Gifting Lesson #3

I could easily entitle this post "The Smartest Thing I've Ever Done" but that may be overstating things a bit.
This probably isn't THE smartest thing I've ever done, but it's definitely at the top of the list.

Sometimes you get a great idea, volunteer to help a friend, or start running with an idea with all the best intentions. Then, you find yourself overwhelmed or simply unable to finish because you have a whole life to manage in addition to this crazy sewing habit you've developed. I get it.

The third little handmade lesson is: know when to reclaim your sanity and walk away from a gift (big or small) in the works...or better yet, know your limits and stick to what you can manage right from the beginning.

A LONG time ago I promised a girlfriend that I would make a new quilt for their master bedroom thinking I was doing her a favor and it would be fun. But I'm pretty sure that making a friend wait on a project for almost a year isn't really a favor. And it turns out that muscling a queen size mass of muslin and batting through my little machine was way more cumbersome than I anticipated and surprisingly hard on my hands. My sweet friend never mentioned the quilt or harassed me about it. 

{For the record, I have amazing friends.}

So a couple weeks ago I got on ebay and found her the exact same Pottery Barn quilt brand new with shams (all in the original packaging). It has been long discontinued at PB so this was a wonderful stroke of luck. Even better, their anniversary was coming up. Apology & anniversary gift all rolled into one.

The gift didn't work out at all, but I was able to make good to my friend and reclaim my good sense.

And now I have whole bunch of sort-of-quilted fabric & batting (that huge bundle up top) that will become multiple smaller quilts...like this one in progress.

If you're new to my "expert" gifting lessons, here's #1 & #2.

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