It's been 2 years since I fell in love with the "Monsters In The Closet" quilt pattern I watched on a Fons & Porter's quilt show on PBS television.  The details are available in the Summer 2007 "Fun Quilts For Kids Of All Ages" book, which I ordered from them by phone.

But I didn't want to make that EXACT quilt.  I wanted to make one in a Pirate theme for my grandson Derek (who was 6 at the time).  I wanted the "top" to be water, and the closets to be under-the-sea or inside the ship.  Pretty grandiose for a beginner.  Even my instructor-friend Sue cautioned that I was stepping into some deep stuff.

I had to agree when I looked closer at the instructions in the book, but that didn't deter me from gathering swatches, fat-quarters, snippets, and other yardage whenever I ran into something that looked like it would be usable "behind the door".

What's worse, as the collection grew, I kept changing what I wanted.  Derek kept growing, too.  I have a storage tub of fabric "for the Great Pirate project".  Derek had his 8th birthday a couple months ago, and wonders if I'm going to have his Pirate Quilt done by Christmas.

I'm beginning to wonder if he'll be too old for some of my original fabric choices, so I've changed out a few of them.  And finally I've got the book out to make a few practice blocks with scraps fabric and test my ability to produce what I have in mind.

Yikes! The instruction is missing some critical information -- like what pieces to sew together at what point.

Has anyone made one of these things yet?