A Mistake Gone Right

Recently I was machine quilting a UFO (unfinished object) that I had started at least five years ago. As I quilted along I felt some drag on the quilt. I pulled my quilt away from my sewing machine and saw I had accidentally sewn a strip of another fabric onto the back of my quilt. I cut away the extra bits and ended up with this interesting shape.

I posted the picture on FB, along with a warning to be sure to clear off your work surface before machine quilting so you don't have this happen. To my surprise this picture got the most likes and comments of ANYTHING I've ever posted on the Leah Day Quilting group. This includes quilts that I'm really proud of. There were comments commiserating with me and thanking me for the reminder to clear their workspace. But many of the comments I got were about how they liked the shape. There were even some clever suggestions to make it my signature shape and use it on all my quilts.

I'd already decided to leave it on the quilt because it does go well with the front of the quilt and it is a cute shape.

Here's hoping you enjoy your mistakes as much as I have enjoyed making this one.

Please Don't Make Me Choose What Kind of Quilter I Am

    Is this quilt modern, traditional or just mine?

It turns out that after almost twenty years of quilting, there is suddenly some pressure to declare myself as either a modern quilter or a traditional one. 

Recently I joined a modern quilt guild. The majority of members in my guild are at least ten years younger than me and in addition to quilting in a modern style (I'm sure I will devote a future post to the differences in styles between modern and traditional quilting) they do things like blog and post on Instagram. Undoubtedly their influence is why I decided to start a blog.  My previous guilds were just called quilt guilds and most of the members were my age and older. Many quilters who self-identify as modern quilters will refer to those non-modern guilds as traditional guilds. 

Belonging to a guild is a great way to be inspired by the work of other quilters and to share in a craft with others who are passionate about it. Who else will be as interested as I am in the details of thread, needles, batting, and fabric as another quilter? 

Here's the thing--I don't want to have to choose a label other than quilter. If I feel like making something with a modern feel, a traditional feel, an art quilt, a tote bag, or a placemat, I will make it. I've seen amazing quilts as well as quilts that were not to my taste in all styles of quilting. Why limit my options by thinking of myself as a very specific kind of quilter? Why not allow myself the freedom to express myself however I want without worrying about whether my quilt will be acceptable to the sensibilities of certain groups of other quilters? 

  

Not every quilt needs to be a masterpiece

When I sit down to quilt, I feel all the promise and expectation of the future finished quilt. I hope to love the quilt when it's completed, and I wonder if this quilt will be the one that's finally good enough to put in a juried show. At the same time, I don't have any interest in submitting a quilt to such a show. Guild shows where whatever I submit will be accepted is all I want right now.

The quilt below was a big experiment for me both in color and design. I usually make quilts in lower-contrast autumn tones with not much negative space. This quilt started out as a gift for my yoga teacher who likes bright colors. It turns out I don't have many brights in my fabric stash. But I did have enough to make a few small wallhangings. I didn't like my first attempt so I cut the pieces even smaller and look what happened!

Not a Masterpiece

I love this quilt, especially the machine quilt patterns I chose, but it is crooked and wonky and since posting this picture I have decided to take the binding off the top and make it a bit straighter. The small pieces in the center are 1/2" finished and the quilt itself is about 13". 

The best part of this quilt is that it was so much fun to make because I didn't have any expectations about it being fabulous when I was finished because I thought I wouldn't like it at all. I used up fabric I would otherwise have thrown out and I also learned a few things, like not to be lazy and leave the bright yellow thread in my machine when piecing white fabric because it does show close up in some seams, and that reds really can run even if they've been pre-washed.

Looking forward to sharing my next quilting experiment.