Quiltingboard Forums - View Single Post - Advice, Ideas, Input Needed: What to do with these ?!?!?!?!

02-06-2013, 09:06 AM

#12

Sierra

Super Member

Join Date: Oct 2010

Location: northern California

Posts: 1,098

luvTooQuilt, There are a lot of us "don't follow patterns" people out here. I just did a quilt of 5" blocks making fun of a friend who uses microscopes in her work. I'd love to see some of the things you've done in the past. When you make quilts w/o patterns you will come up against problems every now and then, but maybe they aren't really "problems", maybe they make your quilt unique and more like quilts have been historically.

Have you ever studied Gee's Bend quilts? Some of them are fantastic and they were all pieced in someone's lap by hand and are NOT "exactly" whatever (quilt police probably hate them), but they have movement and a beauty that some of the fantastic quilts you see on this board don't (they have the beauty of precision and elequence and more). People who do not follow patterns produce quilts which have a different "feel", a different perspective.

My "patterns" are from my thinking (meditating) about who the quilt will go to and that leads me to some idea, sometime pictorial, sometimes simple design. Some are better than others, but they have been accepted with delight for whomever they were made. Sometimes I just make a quilt w/o anyone in mind and those usually go to our churches fall blanket drive.

I've never done a random quilt totally randomly... just can't stop myself from seperating those two similar reds from each other.... but the idea is still valid and it can be a lot of fun. I lay squares out on the ping pong table (sorry kids) until I like it, and then come back the next morning and make some changes and sew up the rows. I'd post some pictures but everytime I've figured it out either QB or my updates change the process and it's too complicated for me. I'll stick to quilting! Have fun (maybe that's the key). Sierra

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