Picky Paul Picks a Pattern

In my process of Americanization, this is just one of the things that Paul taught me

You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose.

But you cannot pick your friend's nose.

One day when I got home from work, Paul and I had the following conversation

Paul: You have to pick something

Me: Your nose?

Paul: Yes. Because you are that kind of friend

Me: The one with benefits?

Paul: Yes

Me: But you are the one with Buggers :-D

To celebrate his 10th year work anniversary, his company was giving him a free gift. He could choose anyone from a Christmas-style catalog. The darling that Paul is, he wanted me to do the choosing - whatever you want babe, he said.

I have no room for stuff. I do not want any new gadget. And I have so much jewelry that I sometimes forget what I have. You pick, it is your anniversary. And speaking of picking, you must also pick a pattern for your quilt!!!

Statement - Paul wanted a rail fence quilt similar to his Mom's but in blue and black. I wanted to try a new pattern. I suggested that I will show him a few patterns and he can choose what he likes best. He agreed. Little does he know that what may look good as a design concept may not look great as a quilt. However, I kept my mouth shut and proceeded to audition the patterns for him.

Pattern # 1

Pattern # 1 - It is sort of similar to the "Hole in Wall" pattern.  But this one will require partial seams. I do want to try new things. But it is also a lovely pattern, in my opinion.

Paul - Hmmm. I don't like the grey.

Me - You have the blue and the black. Trust me, the grey will bring out the dark blues and blacks.

Paul - Can I have no grey, please.

Me - Fine (gritting my teeth).











Pattern # 2

Pattern # 2 - So I replaced the grey with the black. And then chose to stagger the blocks to add a little more interest - to make up for the loss of grey (rolling my eyes).

Me - What do you think of this one?

Paul - That is too much black.

Me - Let me work on the next one.














Pattern # 3

Pattern # 3 - I reduced the black on the sides. And then to reduce my headaches (of course, I have a headache by now!!!), I decided to change the pattern ever so slightly to get rid of the partial seams.

Me: What do you think of this one?

Paul: Oh, it is OK. But I like the previous blocks, with the four way strips.

Me: Of course, you do.













Pattern # 4

Pattern # 4 - Going back to the original design, with the grey replaced with black.

Me: Is this what you want? (Please say yes...before I stop loving you completely!!!)

Paul: I like these blocks, but...

Me: BUT? BUT? BUT?

Paul: There is still too much black.

Me: You don't want the grey, you don't want the black. If all you want is blue, then that is not much of a pattern. Is it?









Pattern # 5

Pattern # 5 - To reduce the black, I got rid of the sashing and to maintain the quilt width, I added wider borders. Hope fifth time is a charm.

Me: OK, Paul. This is the final iteration. The blocks are the same but I have removed the black sashing.
If you don't like this, you can forget about a quilt. Gosh! you are so PICKY.

Paul: Yes, I am picky and I pick you.

And I fell in love with him all over again. That he liked and approved this pattern was a big help!!!











The word pattern has been used loosely here. In my opinion, they are variations of the same pattern. In any case, I am glad that we HAVE a pattern!!! Which one do you like?