A Pattern is Only a Suggestion

  Do you ever look at the picture on the front of a pattern and think, "What on Earth were they thinking using that ugly fabric?"  Well,  there is no accounting for taste (or the lack thereof).  I would say that I usually don't like the fabrics that a designer used in their sample for the front of a pattern.  Then again, w+hat I like in fabrics and patterns may be horrible to someone else.  Variety is the spice of life, right?
   So, the pattern "Bloom" by V & Co. was not one of those patterns.  I loved the white quilt on the front of the pattern.  It used variegated 2 1/2 inch strips from a year or so ago, and I happened to have some of those strips at home, so I immediately purchased the pattern.  I showed it to my mom at the Quilters Cottage in Kearney, NE and she agreed that we should order patterns and make up some kits for the quilt.  Problem (opportunity?) we had strips that were not in the color way on the front of the pattern.  What to do???  Well, I decided that we should make a second color way and call it "Bloom at Dusk."  Here's the funny thing, I loved the white version so much, that I was afraid that I wouldn't like the gray version.  So, as is my peculiar habit, I made the one that I didn't think I would like first.  I tend to categorize tasks in terms of what I want to do and what I don't really want to do...then do the things I don't want first.  Sometimes that backfires because I don't always have time to do both.  Some might say, " life is short" and I should start with the fun stuff, but "I am what I am." :)
  Anyway, SURPRISE---I love the gray version.  This quilt is a perfect example of how we should try things that we don't think we will like.  We should make our own interpretations of patterns rather than just grabbing a kit that has all the thinking done for us.  (Don't tell my mom I just said that!)  We should definitely operate our creative lives using a motto of mine..."A Pattern is Only a Suggestion"!!!