Quilt Rescue

Have you ever had a quilt which when finished was not quite what you wanted or up to your standards?  And your standards do change over time and with experience. 

Well I had such a quilt.  I was a relatively new quilter and I led a group to make a strip quilt.  I did not really like the particular strips but it was all that was available at the time.  But I loved the back fabric; an expensive batik.  At that time it was over $15.00 a meter which was expensive then but not now.  And I was new at long arm, actually a mid arm at that time, and the design was not good especially by my current standards.  It left too many sections without some quilting.  I subscribe to Angela Walters philosophy of quilting it to death, at least on my own quilts.

The quilt has been used to make cats happy and is in a post ' Dull and grey but' on this blog from a while ago. It nagged at me to do something to rescue the batik in particular.  And I LOVE red.  Well rescue came in the form of a show on The Quilt Show with Katie Fowler a couple of years ago when an existing quilt was cut up on the show.  Finally, and I am sure the quilt is grateful, it got its rescue a week ago. 

I cut the quilt into 3" squares and put them back together by butting them up against each other and stitching with invisible thread.  I learned a lot as I went but it was in the end pretty simple.  And I think it turned out well.  Even the ugly strips which form the back look better.  The back is really crazy as the original quilt front was 4 patches using the strips.  And as a bonus I found a roll of binding, cut pressed and not used that just went right.

Pictures tell the story better so here is the front and now the crazy back.

I can say I now really like the quilt.  I learned a lot putting it together about butting up quilted vs. non quilted sections.  But a project is best when there is learning.  It took only a relatively short time to make the change in the quilt.  Would I do it again?  Yes if I disliked the quilt enough.  Katie Fowler believes in 'What if?' and it is fun to say that and then try it.  Nothing to lose.

The quilt is bright; I get my lovely red and it is not in the landfill.

Something to look forward to

The Quilt Show which I enjoy every two weeks and have for several years is having a sharing experience.  It works by pairing one US member of the show to one member from another country.  So I decided to join.  We make a miniature quilt and we keep it a secret until we exchange quilts with our partner.  I live in Canada in Nova Scotia and got paired with a lady in South Carolina.  We are both on the Atlantic and this is really quirky, have the same name while being called something different.  We both have pets and this is just for a start. Her family has a connection to Nova Scotia and I have fond memories of visiting her very beautiful city.  What a fun idea.

Quilting is something you love to share.  It is also a hobby, a business, a vocation.  It has so many sides to it that it is almost impossible to describe.  It brings comfort; it challenges the maker; it is practical; it enlivens the walls when quilt are hung for decorative purposes.  It has history; it develops over time.  Quilting is an evolution of both form and the person who chooses to create quilts.  There are so many light bulb moments when sharing.

The rules state that we cannot share pictures in any form.  My partner and I can decide on doing something very different from each other or choose a theme.  And some of the quilts will be on display.

So, I will post how it is going from time to time but no pics.  Being as this is a miniature, there may be some frustration when dealing with tiny bits or not finding the right fabric or just because.  I might just post that frustration.  The picture describes how I feel starting out on a project. Oh, what to do to meet the criteria??????

 But with a partner perhaps some  or all of these frustrations can be erased.  It spite of frustrations it is always fun to try, to learn, to grow and to meet new people.  Thanks to the creative people at The Quilt Show.  https://thequiltshow.com/

The picture is courtesy of Pixabay.  https://pixabay.com/en/photos/frustration/

Another quilt with curves

Do you sometimes look at your borders and think they are a bit bland.  Fabric might be nice; stitching good but they can be better.  So I decided to make a small quilt showcasing borders with  curves so the quilt is actually rows representing borders.  Top and bottom are just regular border strips quilted with curves.

Then, there are borders with curves like small strips of colour.  I have done this before and quite successfully.  It was a crazy quilt and is one of my posts.  The colours in that instance broke up the dark border fabric.  It is my post Serendipity and other things.

Here I alternated white with colours and a batik with coloured strips.  The outer boarders are quilted to death (great way to deal with a bit of waving)  And two strips have a curved piece through the whole border.  I like the contrast.  And of course it is fun to quilt what you want where you want and to try things. Thanks to Angela Walters. http://www.quiltingismytherapy.com/  I love her attitude.  It actually improves your quilting when you don't stress.

In total I have taken ideas from a show on The Quilt Show  https://thequiltshow.com/from a couple of years back and Cheryl Arkison and her curves.  http://www.cherylarkison.com/

Now to finish off I am going to make some fabric based on a show with  Victoria Findley Wolfe.  http://vfwquilts.com/  I saw that show a couple of years ago on The Quilt Show and recently  and have used the idea to make fabric from scraps and it looks like a really crazy quilt but done with just a rotary cutter; no ruler except to square up the finished 'fabric'.  Good for scraps and for just relaxed creativity.  Colour, colour and more colour.   Guess what I like.