The Doll Quilt Swap where I can't Swap....yet

I've joined a doll quilt swap. I saw this post here and did not hesitate to join. Even though I knew not one thing about making quilts. I did attempt a doll quilt at one point in my dubious career as crafter extrordinaire but it was well, moderately lame at best. Although my sweet Livi never complains and sometimes uses it to cover herself up at night in her little toddler bed. (Sweet redemption.)

This doll quilt swap seemed like the perfect time to learn something new. Little things like, what should you really use in the middle of a quilt? How to you keep all the layers from binding and scrunching up when you quilt them together? How do you make that cool edge binding? Oh, so many questions. So little time.

We headed off to my parents home this week for spring break and since they are always more than gracious about keeping my kids occupied, I thought oh, perfect time to whip up a doll quilt.
My mom even steered me to the most amazing quilt shop called Quiltguilders in Beverly, MI. I just about peed my pants walking into the store to choose material. Even my mom, who has never been interested in quilting kept saying "Oh wow, the color choices nowadays, Now I get why this might interest you." I bought the prettiest Amy Butler pinks and greens you have ever seen. After pumping the lady at the store for free information about requisit "how to's", I practically skipped all the way back to my parents house armed with a rotary cutter.

Turns out I had enough material to make 2 pink doll quilts. I simply used the easiest pattern of 5" blocks I could think of. Presto...mostly everything worked and within 2 days I had 2 doll quilts, one for the swap and one for my little girls. I had some extra material and thought, oooh, perhaps I will make the little girl I get matched with a matching pretty handbag!



Then I got an email saying doll quilt matching assignments would be out in a day or two. I checked out the flickr group of members who had joined.

Ugh, oh. Seemed like, by reading a few of the members blogs that they had little boys, not little girls. It never occurred to me I might want to make a unisex doll quilt! Or a baby blue doll quilt. Oh crap, I told my mom I bet that I would be matched with a woman with little boys, I just knew it. They would hate a pink quilt!

Skip ahead one day...doll quilt swap assignments. Just like I knew in the pit of my gut....I was assigned what looks like the nicest lady with a very cool blog. Sorry I can't link her since I don't really know her and she might not appreciate unasked for traffic. And guess what? She had the two most adorable little BOYS you've ever seen.

I knew it! A pink Amy Butler doll quilt might be just a little too inappropriate even for the most confident in his masculinity little boy.

So, in the end....perhaps my two little girls will get matching pink Amy Butler doll quilts and I will get one more chance to improve my less than perfect quilting skills whilst I practice on something unisex...or red...or blue...or with trains...or snips and snails and puppy dog tails.