Better late than never...

…so the saying goes.  How many years has it been? Eight, maybe nine? Was it to be a surprise for Verne’s 65^th birthday? It’s been so long I can’t even remember the occasion.

Let me share a few things I’ve learned from this experience.  The longer I waited to finish this project, the harder it was to get my head around it. When I finally decided to make it a priority (at the urging of several people…most recently, Lauren), I discovered I was short three boot blocks, had lost the original pattern, and was shy about a ¼ yard of the background fabric, which is no longer available. I measured each of the pieces in the finished boot and came up with a pattern, of sorts (missed the mark on the first of the three boots, which ended up with a squattier heal and very, very pointy toe). Lauren was home for the Christmas holiday, so she helped me make them. I cut, she sewed. I’d originally had a pattern for the boot block, but not the finished quilt. So, it came as a surprise when I started sewing blocks together and realized I needed two more strips 2-1/2” x 60” long. Oops! I had no more fabric. I responded to the challenge by removing the border along the top and one side, which had been sewn as part of each block. At that point, I was determined to finish the quilt and not let a small thing like “not enough fabric” keep me from doing so. I added the borders and put it in the cabinet for quilting.

Now, I know you each have your own stories about the cabinet of quilt tops waiting to be quilted, “the pipeline”…there are quilt tops in that cabinet that have not seen the light of day in years! Thus began the “intervention”...the loving nudges, reminders, encouragement (let's call it by it's rightful name - nagging) to just bump the boot quilt to the front of the queue and finish it! It came from all directions this time (Lauren, Maria, Sally, and Verne). Yes, very recently I had told Verne about the quilt we were making as a surprise for one of his birthdays. Big mistake! Every day for the last month he’s asked if I’d be working on his quilt that day. When could he expect it?  He’d always wanted his own quilt. The list goes on…

Well, I'm here to tell you that it’s Done. Finished!  And here’s a picture of the birthday boy with his boot quilt! Better late than never...

P.S. Thank you to the following "boot makers" for your participation in this project: Jana, Lara, Lauren, Maria, Raelin, Sally, Susan, Trish