Compromises

I know I've said it many times before but Ian and I are pretty much opposites in the things we like/dislike. Food, tv, activities, hobbies, colors, music...the list goes on and on. If I like something, I can pretty much guarantee he will dislike it.

I bring this up because when Ian was in California over the winter holidays a couple of years ago, I decided to make a quilt for our bed. Usually I disregard Ian's feelings about such things (for example, this is our summer bed quilt which he hates) but for some reason I was feeling oddly generous. Maybe I missed him a little? Who can even know such things...

Anyway, after a bit of flickr searching and plotting and planning, I finally came up with a quilt that would make us both happy:



When I'm in a good mood, I call this quilt "Opposites Attract". Because we're opposite and yet we get along so well and that's a sweet way to think of it, right?



But if I'm being realistic, the better name is "Compromises"...because when Ian and I try to find middle ground, we both lose. It's best for us to each do our own thing and be happy than try to come up with something we can both (just barely) tolerate. This quilt represents the only kind of compromise that really works for us...two quilts we each love smashed together rather than one quilt we both sort of hate.



You probably recognize the pattern. It's the Made in Cherry quilt designed by Sarah Fielke. That gigantic star was so fun to make and I'd love to use the pattern again sometime.





The theme is carried over to the binding, the quilting and the backing. In a perfect world, a true Ian/Crystal compromise quilt would have double batting on my side (I'm always too cold) and NO batting on Ian's side (he's always too hot). Instead, I kept it simple with one layer and we'll use it in the wintertime. So far, it's a big hit with everyone and we all love it in our own way. And that's exactly what I was going for.