Tomorrow is the last day to enter the Threads Remembered giveaway! Find out all about it here. I'm glad I'm using a random number generator to choose a winner, if I had to choose on my own I would be a basket case, there are so many good ideas in the comment section!
Quilting and blanket making is a big thing in my family.
My MeeMaw used to make blankets out of old double knit fabric. She was ahead of her time with the upcycling! The blankets were not the prettiest things to look at but they are so warm; I have one she made me on my bed. When Ryan and I had just started dating, there was a vicious ice storm and almost everyone in my hometown lost power. He was in his last semester of grad school at the time, so he lived in Cape and had an apartment. My sister Alli and I, my grandma and Ryan all stayed at my parent's house for 3 days because my parents luckily had power and none of use did! That's when my mom found out that the only blanket Ryan really owned was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fleece throw. So in the 3 days we were iced in, mom and grandma made him a double-knit blanket with flannel on the back. So warm! (Also during that ice storm, I really started falling for him. He got along so well with my family and he was just...amazing. He dug my car out of 3 inches of ice after dropping me off at my job at 5:30 a.m. Hello, keeper anyone?)
My mom now makes double knit blankets just like her mom did, and her best friend Suzanna always comes over to help us tie them. Tying a quilt is when you connect and secure all 3 layers of the quilt-the top, which is the part with the design, the batting, and the backing. We use my MeeMaw's old quilt frame to do. Then Suzanna takes the quilt home and does the binding by hand.
My grandma has won prizes for her quilts. She has been quilting with a ladies group at her church for years and they donate the money they make to the church. I remember sitting in mass with my grade school and opening a new hymnal to see a note that said it was donated by the quilting ladies and being so proud. Her quilts are more works of art than blankets, in that you can't throw them in the washer when they get dirty like you can the double-knit blankets.
I would love to be able to make a quilt for Ryan and I, but I like the more non-traditional quilt styles. I checked out Flickr, and I'd love to do something along these lines:
I wish I could do the hand-quilting, but it is so time consuming that I have a really hard time even fathoming it. Paying to have a group hand quilt is very pricey for obvious reasons, so whatever quilt I end up doing will be machine quilted. I think that simple straight lines fit what I have in my head the best.
Sidenote: My mom says I fixate really badly on stuff I want, and I think she's right. Like with wedding dress shopping, I knew exactly what I wanted and that's what I ended up with. I get a very specific image of what I want and the problems come when I deviate from this!
I like this too, it would be perfect if the lines were vertical. I know that fabric isn't as long as I would need it to be, so some of the strips would have to be made up of 2 different fabrics.
I might attempt a baby-sized quilt for practice first. My mom's going to help me, I'll probably need all the help I can get!
Any projects you're looking forward to starting as soon as you take a big chunk out of that wedding to-do list?
these are both beautiful Stacy! i always love the crazy quilt idea too, just sort of meandering rather than working with in a predetermined pattern ( i think i would drive myself nuts trying to make it too perfect) i love these modern lines though - what a great way to take your family past time into the new millennium!
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to quilt and I wish she still did. The photos you have are BEAUTIFUL!
ReplyDelete-kjpugs
MeeMaw...that's adorable! I love those quilts. Once again, something I wish I had the creative talent and ability to do but sewing is not my thing! Not at all...starting off with baby size might help :)
ReplyDeleteI so love quilts. When I was little I used to stay over at a friends house whose mother made quilts. My favorite part of the night was when she would let us all pick out a quilt to sleep under. So pretty.
ReplyDeleteThose homemade quilts sound wonderful.
Ah the double-knit quilts! I didn't know your MeeMaw made them. I didn't know this ice storm story, either! Boy that says a lot if your beau can woo a double-knit quilt out of your family within three days! Impressive, Mr. Lane, impressive!
ReplyDeleteWhenever Matt and I first started dating, I went over to his place, and noticed a not-so-pretty, very colorful quilt on his bed. (My mom quilts, but they are the more traditional quilts with embroidery work blocks, or blocks of a matching color pallate). Making a comment on "Wow, this quilt really brightens up your room," he got really red in the face and said that was his "favorite napping quilt." I just laughed, but come to find out, his great grandma had made it and given it to him as a child. Now, as we share our own household, that very used, tattered, ever-so-colorful double-knit quilt can be found anywhere in the house that we are. And it IS the best napping quilt ever!
I can't wait to see your next crafty talent evolve Stacy! Don't be intimidated by quilting, you can totally do it. The biggest challenge is finding a large enough space in your home for the quilting frame! Are you going to use the double knit option, or just uniquely colored fabric?