Quilt show

Well our local quilt shop ( also where I happen to work part-time) puts ona quilt show every year. I have never entered and I was not planning on entering this year for several reasons:
1. I didn't have any really good quilts ready for the show
2. My quilting ability isn't as good as my peicing ability (yet)
3. There is to much vulnerablility with "showing" your work.

I am to fragile to show my created quilts to a bunch of people who may reject them and I am not sure I could take the critisim well... so why show them until I get confident enough in my abilities?? I know we are all harder on ourselves.....but showing your quilts to a bunch of quilters? It is way better giving a quilt with many mistakes to some one who isn't a quilter because they think it is fabulos no matter what!

SO my boss was harassing me to enter.....I kept saying "no"...I think at one point I wanted to start crying because Rob was also bugging me. So The boys were helping set up for the show and I was at work.....not any where near the quilt show and Rob and the kids each entered a quilt into the show without my knowledge.

On Thursday night before the judges arrived I went to go look at the quilts since I knew I would not have time during show and I saw my display of quilts.....I didn't have nice things to say....first of all the quilts they chose are comfortable quilts that were never meant to be peices of art..We use these quilts..and Preston didn't even wash the one he entered...it was full of dog hair (embarassing?>...Preston has a habit of always embarassing me).....They each had a typed label explaining why they had chosen each quilt...Cole chose the one hanging in our entry way because he figured if I thought it was good enough to hang on the wall it was probably good enough to hang in a show?? Good logic..he is always my logical thinker ( However it hangs there because I love the colors and it is actually a very simple quilt..not worthy of a quilt show...I couldn't crush him though).....My boss typed up a message propped up by an easel stating that my family had chosen these quilts because I was to shy and modest to enter my own quilts and if I had cooperated I would have chosen differently.....(that is the short version) and that is absolutely correct.

Lessons learned:

1. Next year enter at least one quilt so boss and husband don't harass me...never know how they will get quilts

2. The only people I need to feel vunerable to already love me no matter what!

Although that was all my first reaction.....I have to say the kids were so excited not just for the prank but because they BELIEVE in me. They were so proud of themselves because they thought I was going to win every award in the place and they kept asking when the awards were going to be handed out.....When Rob was going through all of the quilts with me ...we would be looking at a stunning peice of ART that I am not sure I would even consider using and he would be talking trash about it ...and throw in slight comments about how my quilts were better..LOL. I know he is being nice and I know he loves me and has complete faith in me...But I would never want to discount the work in another's quilt because I am in awe of some of the things other people make and I have respect for the art.
SO I am unbeleivably proud of my kids...and I know they are just returning the feelings and beliefs that I give to them..I have never gone to a football game or choir recital and told them not to have high expectations of themselves or that they are failures..yet I do that to myself and I just need to retrain myself and have the faith that they have in me...It feels good to have them all on my side and I could not wish for a better family...and it feels nice to be a part of a family that loves!....and my boss issued an award for "Most loved qult" with a ribbon and gift certificate.....(that is a made up category...but I think she realized the kids would be crushed if they thought I didn't win)..to who's quilt? Preston's of course the one filled with dog hair....and in all actuality it is the most loved quilt in our house....it has a flannel top....dream puff wool batting and teddy bear minkee on the back ( it is like fur) and it is bright pink.....I made that quilt for myself and I don't know what I was thinking..it is way to HOT for me..I just loved the feeling of all of it....So my boss obviously has a hand in this whole transaction ....she loves to pull pranks as much as Rob does and I will need to keep my eye on her......