Panel Quilt and Thoughts About Condescension

Quite the title, huh?  I'll explain below, but first, here's my finished panel quilt:

I was really tempted to call it a "cheater quilt", but as I thought more and more about that, I realized that term may be cute, but it also may be a bit condescending to some.  Sorry.  I hate it when people are condescending to me, and I try really hard to not be to others, but you know what?  It happens.

A really good example from my life is about being a boy-girl twin.  Growing up, I don't remember a time where I didn't know that I was a "fraternal twin"... the result of 2 eggs, 2 sperm, versus an identical twin, split from one egg and sperm after fertilization.  The fact that my brother has a Y chromosome and I don't is even further "proof".  Yet I can't count how many times I've been asked if I was an identical twin, after telling people that I have a twin brother.

When I was much younger, I'd roll my eyes, and reply in a condescending, know-it-all manner.  I'd watch as the innocent person got embarrassed, or defensive, or both.  As I got older I learned that just a simple friendly explanation in a very non-condescending manner would give me a much better, nicer response.  I could see the light bulb go off in their head, a smile would come across their face, and best of all, no hard feelings.

I think it's super easy to come across as condescending as a blogger.  I'm sure I have in the past.  It's really something I'm working on, here and most importantly with my teen-ager, who can also be a wee bit condescending at times.  I don't need a New Year's holiday to make a resolution.  I'm going to try hard to be less condescending towards him, around him, here and everywhere.

Yes, this quilt was very easy to make, but I love it, and that's all that matters!!  Just because it's easy doesn't mean it's cheating.  Some of the most beautiful quilts are made from "whole cloth", almost no piecing involved.  This will be a perfect quilt to try out some more intricate quilting (we'll see).  I'll for sure be making more of these in the future!!  I try to learn something new with each quilt I make, and who knew that such a simple quilt would teach me something so important!!