Crazy

"Hey, what are you working on?" my niece asked. It was time for "The Test." I tossed her one of the quilt squares and held my breath as I waited for her reaction. I didn't have long to wait. "How cute!" she cried after looking at it for about 3 seconds. She handed it back and turned back to the movie we were all watching.

You cannot know how happy her indifferent response made me. When she uttered "how cute" I knew it was (what I term) the "Millennial Kiss of Death." And I was never more relieved to receive that response.

You see, I had been working on this quilt since 2013 as her college graduation gift. She is a bright, joyful person and so I designed a colorful quilt that I thought would reflect her sunny nature. I had never used such colorful and wild fabrics before. Originally, I had intended to outline the quilt strips in black embroidery, add a few flowers and other embellishments and gift it.

Her graduation rolled around (2014) and I was nowhere near completion. I continued to work on it over the years and as she entered graduate school, I thought, "Perfect!, it can now be a graduate school present."

There was only one problem ... I had started to embellish each square to the point where every inch was covered in embroidery, embellishments from doilies, patches, lace, buttons - whatever I could find while scouring garage sales. By the time her MBA graduation was approaching (2019), I had probably spent at least 1500 hrs on the quilt and was so personally attached to it, I quite frankly didn't want to let it go.

My sisters and my mum all urged me, "You should keep it - it's not her style." I kept responding "I don't want to pull a Suzie," code in our family for my sister's penchant for buying a gift for someone and then keeping it. I still remember the lovely sweater she wore at Christmas when we were teens and her offhand comment, "Yeah, I bought it for you but I liked it so much I kept it for myself." I was torn. This thing, this crazy quilt, had become a part of me - I stitched away on this quilt almost every night with my cat by my side on the sofa. He liked the routine as much as I did; it guaranteed him a nightly snuggle session (who knows how many of his cat hairs are stitched into the quilt.)

Incredible as it seems, over these six years, no one in my family had ever mentioned this quilt to my niece. She had no idea I had been working on this project for her. So, I devised the "test." If she loved it, then I would finish it and give it to her. You already know how she responded. Hence you also know why I was so incredibly happy that when I showed it to her, she was not interested in it.

That was early 2019. I finished the top last year (one of many Covid-19 projects) and have since decided that it needs a similar treatment for the sides. I really don't know if it needs it but I cannot stop working on it. I estimate that I have about 2 more years to go. In case you are wondering, a couple months ago, I told my niece this story. She was amazed that no one had mentioned the quilt to her, admired the work, laughed and admitted that it wasn't her style and that she agreed that I should keep it.

I have to say that I know that I will feel somewhat bereft when it is complete. But ... I'm glad it will be mine.