It's taken me a bit to get my courage up to write this blog but due to some very positive feedback from friends and a few quilters I think I'm up to it.
Do you ever get in one of THOSE moods where you start cleaning...throwing away...getting rid of it...passing it on to someone else??? Well I'm in one of those moods. Last week I gave away over five tubs worth of my linen stash stored in the garage as I needed space to store supplies for my upcoming design workshops. I kept some things but passed forward a whole bunch of good stuff. It felt good.
I opened up the closet in the hallway and started cleaning and purging and once again, as I do almost every year, picked up a stack of earlier quilted linen quilts that weren't done so well...they were beautiful linens...I even beaded most of them...but there was something that went bad and I just stuck them in the closet. I'll never finish them but have never found the heart to just toss them.
When I die I've had visions of Jenny and Emily going thru this closet and picking up this small pile of badly done quilts...the conversation would go something like this..."wow...mom did these...hmmmm...not so well done...hmmm...what do we do with them? I don't want them, do you? Nope, I don't want them either. Can't throw them away cause Mom did them. You take a couple, I'll take a couple and we'll just stick them in the closet like she did". Sound familiar?
Sooooo, while I was still in this "mood" I grabbed the linen quilts...grabbed my rotary cutter and started cutting. eeeeeee..... every one of my fibers was screaming at me. What in the world was I doing????
But you know what...they've turned out beautiful!!! I cut out the best most beautiful parts of these "quilts gone bad", added some binding, and they are absolutely gorgeous. I would be proud to hang them as a single piece or a collection on my wall...they will make great gifts as well. The best part is they will start getting used. Jenny and Emily will have more room in their closets for other things besides storing Mom's old bad quilts.
I am currently snugged up in Brighton, Colorado where I am teaching/speaking for the Colorado Quilt Council...it's VERY cold and snowy by the way. Two old friends and a new one stopped by last night and we had a wonderful evening of visiting, dinner and show and tell and I shared with them what I did...they thought this was a great idea and I needed to share with all of you. We all have old stuff in our closets that we can't bear to throw away...what if we just made smaller parts of the good parts?
Something to think about!
Hugs, Cindy :)
4 comments:
Now I just thought I'd pass my stuff to other quilters if my daughter doesn't want it :). But seriously I think this is a great idea! And how you can get your beautiful work to look even more beautiful in a hotel room with crazy lighting....well, it only goes to show how beautiful your work is! Stay warm.....
Somehow I'm thinking bad is like beauty; it's in the eye of the beholder. They're beautiful and even better they now make you happy. That can't be bad.
I have picked up my first little bit of sacrificial linen to practice your techniques on. However, this doily has been starched to death. I've washed it, soaked it in water, water with vinegar, left it soaking for a few days even, and when it dries, it is still extremely stiff. It looks to be cotton or fine linen and can almost stand up on its own. This last washing, I blocked it to dry so the lace edging would be straight and it dried like I pressed it with starch. Any thoughts? Should I just proceed?
Wow - they made really neat small quilts. :D Far better this way, where they'll be loved instead of stashed and rued.
Wow! I don't think ANY of your work qualifies as "Quilts Gone Bad". . .not even your early work! BUT, I applaud you for figuring out a way to enjoy all the good parts!
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