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Tuesday, July 26, 2005

If my house burned down...


I was trimming some "quilt leftovers" this morning, and thinking to myself...If there was a fire, what would I save? I think the scraps and the fat quarters are more valuable to me than the yardage on the shelves.....The scraps have memories of other things I have made with them, there are alot of years in collecting this odd blend of scraps I have in my drawers..I couldn't duplicate it if I tried! I could go to a quilt shop and start a new stash, but I could never duplicate the mix of scraps I've accumulated over 20+ years... Old, ugly, out of print, outdated...they are mine and pieces of my life are attached to them. I came across a scrap of pink calico as I was digging and it was like visiting an old friend... "echos of an old rendition of 'I remember you' playing through her head".

Now I don't know if that is exactly philosophical thinking or not, or how do I apply those thoughts to the rest of my life. Maybe it's the same kind of thinking that people have when they lose everything..it's the pictures and momentos they miss most, not the furniture or clothing or anything that can be easily replaced.

I was looking in someone's webshots (I almost typed webshits...terrible what typos can make you giggle, pardon me!) album the other day, her quilts were beautiful...except each one was a carbon copy of some other quilt somewhere. "This quilt made with all Thimbleberries" "this quilt made with all authentic civil war reproductions" "this quilt made with all Aunt Gracies" and I thought to myself "Where are the memories?" Am I the only one that feels this way? I mean, these quilters who quilt "kit" quilts eventually have to build up a REAL scrap stash from the leftovers, don't they? Is there hope that in the future their next project might be to make something that just says SCRAP HAPPY and doesn't have to "name-drop" a fabric manufacturer in the process like Hoffman, Moda, Benartex?

I think I'll go play with some of my lowly leftovers and all their memories :c) I've got an idea for a quilt in the works....Sew 4 strips together, cut them into triangles with the long side of the triangle along the edge of the strip...you can get two blocks from each set of strips...4 triangles of one kind, 4 of the opposite. Lay them out all together with the tips pointing in and sew them into a square with an X. It looks like a log cabin with 3 rounds around it, but instead of 12 seams around one center square, this makes two blocks with 9 seams total! Weehaa..I love stuff like this. I'm calling them "mitre boxes" unless I can come up with something more interesting.

3 comments:

Finn said...

Hey Bonnie, you are my favorite kind of nut ! LOL... how did you get so smart is such a short time?? Hurray for the mavericks !! Before long they will rule !
Do you know that Alex Anderson, yes, THE AA..used to throw her scraps away, as they had no use??
She's come quite a ways from the day I hear her say that on one of her programs..LOL.

People have been confused and not too impressed with my quilts for years and years. After awhile it stops bothing you, for the most part..*G*. When I teach someone to begin making quilts, since I never teach them HOW or WHAT to make, I explain my quilts, which are the only examples I have, as being "my" quilts. I tell them "When I see the beautiful award winning quilts in shows, I can appreciate them". BUT when I stand and look at them, all I can say is "that's nice", or "that's almost perfect", or "technically well done". What I can NEVER say(as a rule) is that they are interesting. I would soooo rather have ANYONE find my quilts interesting, not beautiful. Interesting merits a second look..and probably a third.
I piece my backings frequently from abit of this and that. I took Roberta Horton's advice on that one..good way to reduce stash so you can buy more.
Have you ever had the chance to see her book "Scrap Quilts, The Art of Making Do"? It's wonderful.
Aspects of Freddy Moran, a bit of the "new" Gwen Marson, and even MaryLou Weidameir(probably spelled wrong).

I was at Gwen's new site last night..linked there from LazyGal..thanks Tonya !! *VBG* She and Freddy are doing an exhibition together..*VBS*

Back to my own liberating of some old Peaky and Spike squares, if you smell smoke..grab the scraps !! Hugs, Finn

Kate said...

I picked up a copy of Liberated String Quilts today, inspired to start using some of my scraps. I always want to keep my favorite fabrics, even after using them in several projects, but now I'm ready to actually use it all up. I enjoy looking at your quilts for further inspiration! Thanks!

I love stitching said...

OK So I am not sure how I got to this particular spot on your website but there are no such things as accidents. wait there is such thing as accidents. :) or should I say :(
I just wanted to share with you this little tidbit:

I was looking for a 1/3 yard of Off-white/Cream/Lt. yellow background preferably an off white and an Hour later I realized I have several clear plastic containers with printed directions and fabric for On Ringo Lake, Good Fortune, and several Mystery Quilts but the best one was the workshops I took with you in May 2018 in Hooksett, NH with the blocks from Jamestown Landing and Box Kite.

Thank you for the inspiration . I need to get back to my BKH UFO's soon.

I will keep you posted. When they are doen I will send a picture.


Have a terrific day.

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