Marriage Saving 101...and win this quilt

#93 MARLENE you won...

you won, you won...

Thanks sew much NAN and everyone...

What a terrific giveaway!

YOU all are sew much fun!

Nan, you have heart, thank you for sharing sew much

of it with us!

Aloha!  I'm Nan from Pots and Pins, and I'm experiencing a bit of Hawaiian Fever...as in I WANT to go to Hawaii!  Or anywhere with sun!!  We're in the throes of March Madness here in the great Northwest - and I'm not talking basketball!  You know what "they" say about March..."In like a lion, out like a lamb" or "In like a lamb, out like a lion"...well, well, well, "they've" got it all wrong!!  March came in like a lion and it's going OUT like one, too!  So while the wind blows and rain pours down, I'm happy to be inside, taking advantage of another opportunity from Madamm Samm to bend your ear from my corner of the world!

(The only thing better than an old quilt is an old quilter!   A dear friend gave me this quilt top and I'm ashamed to say it was about TEN years ago!  ONE DAY I'll hand quilt it...if I live long enough!)

Today I am going to give you a gift - something to make your life more harmonious - something that might even save your marriage!  However, IF you are married to a caveman, like I am, then know that even with this gift, it will be an uphill battle...sorry, but that's the truth.  Cavemen are a different breed...they are proud to drag their knuckles on the ground, will happily gnaw (napkin-less) on turkey drumsticks with their bare hands, will boast of watching ESPN while their son stands in the corner of the room waiting for them to toss them the ball...thinking they are "playing catch" with dad, and they will gingerly and lovingly care for their golf clubs like they are the staffs of life!  What is it with men and their sticks and balls?!?  Nevermind....delving into that could get me into a sand trap not even Tiger Woods could get out of!

(I purchased this top in 1998 in LaConner, Washginton.  It was made using parts of an antique quilt with newer fabric, and then I machine-quilted it, which, of course, makes it 100% mine...actually, in my book, if I work on ANY quilt for more than one hour it is 100% mine...is that wrong?  It's my Picnic Quilt and it has served me well...so cute on a table in the woods!  If you pop over to my blog and leave me a comment telling me you WANT my Picnic Quilt, you just might win it!  Details below! )

I realize some of you may not be married to a caveman...lucky girls!  I had no idea that was even possible!  I've even heard some women CAN have the last word! And that many of you live with men who do not think Sports Illustrated is the Word of God and who don't think of the place where they park their car as The GarageMaJal!!  (My cousin's husband calls his garage that and when I told the mister about it he immediately began saying it - who knew he could speak more than one syllable at a time?!?)   My thimble goes off to you! And so, to you women who married well, this gift might be unnecessary as your men might have already evolved to the point that they can think and speak for themselves without the need to burp and pass gas...but stay with me a bit longer just in case...I hear reverse Darwinism has gone viral in some parts of the country!! 

(I purchased this quilt top in 1989 in Rogers, Arkansas for $5.00.  I then hand-quilted it - it was one of my very first hand-quilted quilts.)

When I began quilting I had no idea the struggle I was in for.  With every quilt I worked on, every minute I spent sewing away instead of sitting next to my caveman watching him deftly wield the TV remote, I was building a wall...a quilted wall between the mister and me.  He saw my quilting as a way to avoid spending time with him (Ha!  As if!!) and I saw it as relaxation, an escape into fabric creativity!  So when I would finish a quilt and proudly hold it up for him to see, he would often say, "If you wanted another blanket why didn't you just go buy one?!?"  I wanted him to tell me how wonderful it was!  I wanted, expected, NEEDED him to love my quilt as much as I did!!  He, being a caveman, was unable to speak the words I needed to hear...until he was given the....

Husband's Quilting Comment Card

(To be memorized and used whenever and 

where ever fabric is involved.)

 1.  I love your use of color - it speaks to me.

 2.  What a unique choice of fabric!

 3.  That quilt reminds me of my grandma!

 4.  Where shall we put it?  In the entry?

 5.  Can I take it to work to hang it in my office?

 6.  I want a picture of you holding it.

 7.  Did you strip piece this?  Will you strip for me?

 8.  Your stippling has really improved!

 9.  It just makes me want to curl up in it!

10. It's your best quilt yet - definitely my fav!

( a print out with  compliments ) above

Feel free to print off a copy and then laminate it and give it to your husband...he can carry it in his wallet and when you show him a quilt, he can whip out his card and offer up any of the ten acceptable comments, although I'm sure No. 7 will become his favorite...just make sure he says BOTH parts and not just the one...that was such a stumbling block for my caveman...he had no trouble with the last part! 

I cannot take credit for this idea - I heard some quilters talking about a comment card for husbands at a quilt show about fifteen years ago and the minute I got home I made up cards for my quilt group, creating my own list of comments I thought my caveman would be capable of saying!  (I believe Ami Simms was the originator or this idea, if someone knows for sure please let me know!) 

My caveman now knows what to say when I hold up a newly finished quilt...and even though he says it with a smirk on his face, and more than a dash of sarcasm, he says it...progress comes in baby steps around here!

(Another quilt top I purchased in Leawood, Kansas, at a garage sale in 1986, this set me back all of $30.00.  I hand-quilted it and it's one of my very favorite quilts - it reminds me of my parents home in Leawood and of my babies who were babies while I worked on this!)

So, my quilting friends, this is my gift for you...I want you to hear, from those you love, the praise and admiration you deserve when you finish a quilt and hold it up with joy!  Give your husbands a card...help them memorize a few of the comments if you need to...looking at the card is not cheating, eventually they'll get it!

Now, about my Picnic Quilt, pictured above...I have decided to part with it and give it away...it was loved in it's original form, and loved when it was cut apart and resewn and now I'm going to give someone else the chance to love it...leave me a comment HERE and on my Blog, Pots and Pins, and you'll be entered to win.  I'll pick a winner using Random Generator and will announce the winner on Monday, March 28th.  Contest closes Sunday at 6:00 pm, Seattle time!

Thanks Samm for letting me spout off again!

xoxo, Nan