Saturday, March 7, 2009

How to make an American quilt

Several months ago, I decided that I wanted to try my hand at making a quilt. Ryan was going to be doing quite a bit of traveling and I knew that I was going to have a lot of time on my hands. Having too much time on my hands with nothing to do is usually not a good combination for me. I needed an activity that could be spread out over several days and would take a long time to complete. Making a quilt seemed like a good choice.

I didn't want anything fancy. I also didn't want to have to follow a pattern. I didn't want a particular color scheme. I wanted something that looked homemade. Not made by a professional. (I'm pretty sure I succeeded at making it look like it was made by an amateur. ☺) To sum it up, I simply didn't want to have to make any choices. I hope that makes sense.

I wanted needed this to be an exercise in letting go. I tend to be a little bit of a control freak. I get worked up over silly, senseless details that in the end, don't amount to anything. I didn't care if this ended up looking chaotic, or ugly. I just wanted to make it and not worry about how I was going to make it.

I decided I wanted to use what I had on hand. In other words, scrap fabric. I didn't want to buy anything new to make the top. I knew that if I bought anything new, I would start worrying about things, I would come up with a color scheme or pattern and then I wouldn't end up with the crazy quilt I wanted. I had quite a bit of my own fabric, but I didn't have enough to make the size of quilt I needed. I had to get some scraps from my dad and my mother in law also. I'm glad I did. To me, it makes it feel like the quilt has more of a story. I only had to buy the batting for it and the fabric for the back. There's no rhyme or reason really as to why I chose the green flannel for the back. I simply did because it was the one that had the most on the bolt when I bought some. I thought about "quilting" the top and then I came to my senses. This thing is really big. Pretty much a king size. Quilting it would have taken forever. So, I decided to just tie it. I used yarn I had on hand and I really like the way it turned out.

Now, I don't make any claims of being a quilter. I've never done this before. I'm sure it shows. I would really hate for someone who knows what they are doing, to critique my work. I don't care if it's not done properly. I only care that it's done. I started something and I finished it. All the way to the end. I'm proud of myself.






13 comments:

Bobie said...

Christa!! It's beautiful. Could you maybe someday teach me?? Me and sewing machines don't get along!! Wow!! I'm so impressed!

Jules AF said...

More pictures now that you have a new camera huh? They look great!
(It was you who got the camera, right? I'm really tired and can't remember anything right now.)

Torina said...

Wow. I love it! It is HUGE! I could never stay focused for that long on one thing. Nice job!

Lisa said...

Christa it is beautiful!!!! I am really impressed. I've been wanting to make one for a while but my fear of failure keeps me from trying. My sewing machine cringes in fear every time I pass.

Great job!!!!

Jillene said...

It looks GREAT!! Better than anything I could EVER do!! I am very impressed and can't wait to see it in person!!

Heather said...

How fun! That will be a treasure. Looks great!

Just SO said...

Oh I love it! LOVE IT! I've done a bit of quilting back when my kids were younger but I'm thinking on doing some more.

I've come through Kristina's blog. I as at the bloggers lunch and I'm just now getting around for a visit to all the blogs of those who were there.

Just SO said...

Oh and I sat on the other side of Bobie! So we kind of got to chat!

Mikki said...

I think it turned out fantastic!!! Takes a lot of patience to put all that together. Good job!! I love the idea that you got some pieces from your dad, makes it even more special I think. And I love tying a quilt. I don't have patience for quilting.

Rosie and Derek said...

Wow it looks great! I've never made a quilt. I'd probably start one and never finish...

Jo said...

Oh my, that turned out soooo beautiful. It makes me miss my grandmother soooo much, she made quilts just like these.

Kristen said...

Holy crap girl! Is there anything that you don't do?! I am so very impressed, I also think like my friend Amanda you would have made a very great pioneer!

Charlotte said...

That looks so great! I am SO not a person who can do things like that. I just can't sew. I'm always amazed by people who can do things really well like that! It's so cute! Good job!