Quilts Are To Be Used!

Since it is already established that I’m a Crazy Cat Lady…. We’ll start with the obligatory cat picture.

And, while on the subject of just plain crazy… and interpret any part of this story as who/what is crazy about it… J

My daughter Ana’s birthday in a few days and I’ve been gathering up some presents for her.  She gets nothing big; we bought her tires for her car which is supposed to be a combination birthday/Christmas present…

But…

I’m her mom… she’s my lovely daughter… so things will be bought!

She’s a Packer Fan.  (That’s football by the way, if you are like me and really have no clue about sports). 

I’m also an EBay fanatic… you can find some odd, odd things out there….

Very odd…

Like these:

Yes, silk panties with the Green Bay Packer logo all over them. 

Not Just for Display

What is a quilt?  What is its purpose?

Not an easy question, and I get very upset with the low opinions that many people have about quilts now days.  The quilts that I make are not cheap, cheesy or poor quality.  I am not “crafty”, my things are not “home-made”; rather, I create handmade art.  I think that myself – and ALL the other people out there who work with fabric – deserve to have our pieces compared to museum art rather than bedspreads sold in bedding packs at Mega Mart (made up name – but you know what I mean).

Someone once asked me what I’d sell a particular quilt for.  I quote them a LOW price compared to the price of materials and the amount of work that I put into it.  Their response?  “oh, I could buy a quilt AND sheets at <retailer> for a fraction of that!”.  Other quilters have reported that people think their prices should be lower because “you love to do this”.

Really?  REALLY?!?!

This is serious art work people! 

That said – In my opinion, quilts are also a useable commodity.  One of my current compliments from my daughter Ana is that she wore out a quilt that I made for her!  I’m not upset in any way that it’s come to the end of its useful life; quite the contrary – I’m thrilled that it’s been so appreciated!!!

I have made MANY quilts over the last two years, and many of them do sit in piles around the house… I just can’t use that many, I’ve given away over a hundred pieces, and everyone I know has a quilt!  I love making them!

But, here’s some proof that I do use them…

Here’s my room currently.  The quilt that you see is one that I made purposely for myself a few months back.  The “focus” fabric on it as a batik that I bought at a Nancy’s Notions event two years ago.  It’s in many places on here.  Look at the block that at the right side, top (above a pillow) that has an outer row of bright green.  Now look at the block right below it.  The left side of that block is two squares and the right side is a single fabric – that is the focus fabric.  Now, look at the block in the bottom middle.  To the left of it is a block that is mostly purples.  The outside row of the block is the focus fabric.  You’ll also notice it in other places.

I took that fabric, and a variety of purple, green, beige and other complementary batiks and made what I call the “square in square” block.  There was no real plan.  I made large blocks, and ¼ sized blocks, and just put them together to make the larger blocks.  I used a few pieces – including a whole large square – of the focus fabric to fill in and completed.  I used up a lot of scraps of batiks AND created a king sized quilt that is serving me nicely right now as the weather gets colder. 

You cannot see – but there are two other quilts beneath this one.  This one is the largest, and makes a nice coverall.

Moving on, here is a picture of what we call the “East Room” or the upstairs living room.  It’s a 101 year old house, quite large, and there are currently only two of us living in the house.  We put a nice computer and TV/Monitor into the room, converted the daybed from a bed back into a couch, and when it’s cold, we hang out there instead of heating the rest of the house to comfort level.

Here’s the quilt that’s currently on the daybed/couch.

And look back at the obligatory cat picture – notice that they are cuddled up on the quilts on my bed? 

New Quilt Stuff

The Jo’s Little Women Quilt Group (Mini quilts) is still meeting and I worked hard to get the latest project (top) done the weekend before the last meeting.

Only to get a phone call the day before the meeting reminding me that it was postponed due to the teacher being at Quilt Market!

Arrgh!!!

I was actually prepared….

*sigh*

Here is the quilt top that I worked to finish.  I used bits and pieces from my recent projects to make the checkerboard strips (actually a bunch of four patches laid end to end).  The other fabrics are from small stash pieces in my “Jo’s Box”.  The four patches finish to 2 inches to give you perspective.

True to form – here is an even more mini quilt with some of the scraps from the scraps used!  I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to put another border, or just finish it for a Barbie/other doll sized piece.

Scrap Tamers

My favorite group started up again and I’m once again working on the Mystery for it.  Two of my friends are also in the group.  I have no pictures to post yet, but I am caught up on fabric cutting for the project, and am not yet behind on the piecing (due in 2 weeks!)