The Platypus Problem

Well, this morning bright and early I popped over to Marcie's blog to see what she was up to. She did not disappoint. She has the most marvelous cowboy quilt, baby size, that she just finished. The more I looked at it, the more I realized that this design is exactly what I have been looking for. For about four years, no less!

. . . .

I bought the platypus fabric and the accompaniments when I was out at White Oak at a retreat. I'd stopped at the Bird in Hand shop, which is a place one visits not for price, certainly, but for selection -- they have things no one else in the area has. I looked at those platypuses on three different visits, over a twelve-month period. I was trying so hard not to buy fabric without a plan in mind. Finally I succumbed. Bought four yards of platypuses and a couple yards each of the coordinates. And brought them home and put them on the shelf.

. . . .

Meanwhile, during the past year, we scraped the hideous wallpaper in the guest room, and had it painted these warm honeysuckle and paprika colors. Without having the platypuses in mind, I'll have you know. But they will be perfect in there. I'd been trying to decide what kind of a quilt to make for the double bed. And Marcie's cowboy design struck me this morning as just the thing. So I sat with the calculator and it became clear to me that I have been right all along: I should never buy fabric without having a plan, because when I develop a plan, there isn't enough. AAARGH!

. . . .

I started by figuring 12" blocks with a nice 12" wide border, using platypuses where Marcie has used cowboys. Nope. Seems I don't even have enough for the border, let alone the squares and setting triangles. So I'm back to the drawing board, rethinking block sizes, rethinking borders, rethinking placement, but still loving the original concept. If my buddy Sharon lived nextdoor instead of in Kansas, for crying out loud, I'll have her over for a cuppa cocoa and a consult. She's been known to do a long-distance consult even without the cuppa. Haven't worked the math yet, but am thinking maybe 9" border and using platypuses where Marcie has the pale gold squares and using one of the coordinates for the solid blocks and setting triangles might do the trick. Of course, there is no way I will have time to start work on this before we go away on Friday. But ondering all of this is an excellent way to put off doing the laundry and other weekend tasks.