The Eggplant Quilt

     Today, whenever I start a new quilt,  I find the hardest part of that project is selecting the fabric.  I truly struggle over my decisions and constantly second guess myself.  Nothing ever seems right.  Nothing ever looks as beautiful as the magazines. And no matter how many books and articles I read on "Selecting Your Fabric", I never seem to get it right.  This problem is nothing new.  It goes way back to my VERY FIRST QUILT!  
    After several years of sewing classes, where I learned garment sewing, and after mastering the art of knitting from my grandmother, I was finally ready to move on to my next domestic arts challenge....quilting.  I wanted to learn to quilt like Aunt Tillie.  The ladies were more than happy to teach me.
    Grandma thought I should start with something simple like the Split Rail pattern.  The pieces were large and all the seams were straight.  Aunt Tillie had made such a quilt herself for my sister Janet.  Its pretty, in a simple kind of way. And the fabric choice makes the split rails stand out.

        And for my first quilt I was not going to use apron scraps.  I would go to the fabric shop and select all new fabric.  I decided on lavender and purple as my color scheme.  It was Grandma's favorite color and I had already decided the quilt would be for her.  It would go so nicely with the knitted afghan.
        My assignment was to select four fabrics for the front of the quilt and a fabric for the back.   I was advised to get a solid and small prints.  And, in selecting, make sure to combine light and dark.  So off I went to the fabric shop. The result was:
                               solid purple for the back (very nice)
                               solid lavendar (tasteful)
                               small lavendar check (lovely)
                               tiny floral with a touch of light blue (pretty)
            and..............big ugly EGGPLANTS (OMG! what was I thinking)
EGGPLANTS!!  EGGPLANTS??  EGGPLANTS!!!  Who in their right mind puts eggplants on a quilt.  What was I thinking !

HERE IT IS!!  THE EGGPLANT QUILT

      Grandma thought it looked beautiful.  And it was a project I completely pieced and quilted myself by hand, just like Aunt Tillie would have done.  If Grandma was taken aback by the appearance of EGGPLANTS she never let on.  

      But to this day, when I'm in a quilt shop selecting fabric for my next project, I say a little prayer.  "Please God don't let this quilt turn out to look like EGGPLANTS"  Amen!!