quilt used as moving blanket
 

I was helping (with pay) a retired couple unpack from their recent move. They had to move a metal bed and the husband told his wife to get a quilt to put under it. They moved things they no longer want and gave me a few things. In conversation, I mentioned that I quilt and it is an art. She showed me a dresden plate her Mom made for her, that was kept in the closet. While moving a metal bed he asked her to get a quilt so it won't scratch their floor. To my horror, they put a 9 patch that was hand quilted under the bed to push the bed through the house.

Our worst fear for our treasured creations!!

I looked at the quilt for a second and admired it. Would of gladly taken it home with my bag of things they didn't want, but it wasn't offered.

What a shame. So many people just don't know the true value (not just monetary) of precious quilts.

I’ve seen quilts over items on the back of a truck- bungee cords holding it on to protect furniture while moving. People use quilts for all sorts of things. It’s theirs. My brother used one I gave him to cover his wood pile one winter. It was his to use as he needed to. All I said was - if I’d known it was going to cover the wood I would have used denim or something stronger- I hope it survives. He smiled, hugged me & said- you always said- use them, if they wear out you can make another. The next one I made him was denim and corduroy- heavy & durable. It lives on his bed-
people are funny.
My granddaughters wanted ( beach/ picnic quilts) I made them- so cute, beach appliqués, colorful fun. They took them everywhere. One 4 th of July my youngest granddaughter was lovingly spreading out her quilt on the lawn in the park where we were going to be for the fireworks. I was about 20-30 feet behind her carrying stuff when {some Woman} stormed up to her( she was 6) yanked the quilt off the ground and started yelling at her- wanting to know where her Idiot Mother was! I dropped the stuff I was carrying and ran to my granddaughters rescue- took everything I had to not hit the woman. My granddaughter gathered up her beloved quilt and ran for the car in tears. Her day ruined. She sat on the bare ground, both of her sisters took theirs to the car too- afraid.
please- think twice before passing judgment- what is yours is yours to use as you please- what is not yours is not yours to decide.
that granddaughter is 18 now and as far as I know that picnic- beach quilt never got to be the joyful picnic it was in its beginning and the only time any of the girls enjoyed picnics on a quilt was on my picnic quilt in my yard. They were all 3 afraid to take them to the beach or park even though that’s what they were made for.

I move furniture all the time on wood floors. I use pot holders under each leg or a towel. I can't imagine being old enough to retire and not have any sense.

I use throw rugs turned upside down, if rubber is on the back.

If I saw anyone use a quilt I had made to move furniture or anything else. I would make sure they never got another from me. People need to use their minds before making decisions like that.

My friend uses his for a yoga mat when he goes camping because it's the only thing that leaves and twigs don't cling to. I love it. It is made of nice, sturdy batiks and he was told to use it. It also travels everywhere he goes out of town. What better compliment????

I think some people look at quilts like other antiques as just "old junk". It's a shame but that's the way some folks are.
I know plenty of people who have no use for anything that isn't new.

Not everyone has the same reverence for handmade quilts that we have, unfortunately. Be careful who you make a quilt for! Once it's given, you have no say in how it's used or misused.

So sad that happened to your grand kids. No one has the right to impose his/her will on a child like that woman did. If she had a problem with the kids using the quilts for a picnic, then she needed to talk to the adult with the children.

I made my beloved sister a beautiful blue and yellow throw quilt the year she moved to Iowa as she said her sunporch was going to be yellow. When I came to visit I was horrified to see this quilt placed over the dogs cage at night.....she acted as if it were nothing. After she passed away I got the quilt back and after a couple of washings it now hangs in my entrance way behind a church pew bench.

Better over the dogs cage than inside it - - - -

I think we quilters need to understand that not everyone values quilts as we do. That doesn't make them evil, stupid , insensitive, or mean. I personally don't care for tatoos, certain hairdos, some styles of clothing, or other forms of art. I don't understand why people would pay thousands of dollars for paintings that look like a 3 year old painted them. It's just my opinion. Does that make me a terrible person? I don't expect everyone to like or value everything I like or value. If I make a quilt for someone I try to make what I think they would like. And if they don't like it or don't use it like I think they should use it, I try not to be angry or hurt about it. We all have different tastes and values. And I think that's what makes our world go round.

A lot of people think a quilt is just a blanket. What are you going to do, except choose a quilt recipient carefully.

. I don't think it was her place to even speak to an adult about it. She was way out of line. She didn't have to like the situation, but there was no need to yell at the kids (or the adult with them).

I want my quilts to be loved and well used. I would prefer they don't get abused - But - they are no longer mine and can be used for whatever their 'owner' wants to use them for. I am thankful they use them and haven't thrown them away (as my sister-in-law did with the quilts I made her daughters!!!). When the quilt is going to a younger person, I do extra stitching in the hopes it does get dragged around and heavily used.

A quilt that has been made for beach/picnics or as a child's "blanky" is intended for wear. But any other quilt that I have made I have not made any quilts to give away as I still don't have finished what I need for our own home and RV. I am one of the slowest quilters in the West so the thought of all my days of labour wasted would be very difficult. I was also raised by a mother who graduated during the depression and we didn't have a lot so we valued and respected what we did have and I still do the same. This is also why I already know that I will not make a quilt for certain family members because I know it will not be valued.

I always tell the recipients to use them. However it would bother me if one was used as junk. I dont mind it if it keeps people or animals warm but hope they know the work involved and the money spent.

ckcowl, I'm sorry you lost the pleasure of seeing those quilts lovingly used, and that your granddaughters lost the pleasure of using them. Thanks for sharing that story.

It would definitely hurt to know that a quilt had been used to move furniture (or used under the car during an oil change, which I've also heard of).

janjanq makes a very good point.
I also thought of something else. You said they are retired? Could be they are elderly, sick etc. Well maybe they have a lot more on their minds that would make a quilt not that important. Moving is stressful in the best of circumstances. Who knows??

I'm sorry, ckcowl, I'm not picking on you. But I have to say, when a quilter gives a handmade quilt to a loved one and states that she hopes the quilt gets "used", I have a hard time with people who think that means tossing it over a wood pile instead of putting it on the bed, where most people usually put blankets and quilts. I don't think that's ignorant; I think it's downright disrespectful. And seriously, wouldn't a tarp be more efficient and water repellent anyway?? :(

I bet that husband would feel differently if it was something he had put tons of time, energy, talent and expense into creating.

I don't think I'm going to clean for the couple that abused that quilt anymore. They just seem disrespectful in general. They showed me disrespect in ways when I was there and also disrespected the quilt. Personally, I want the quilts I make to be used as enjoyment. A quilt used as a picnic quilt would make me feel appreciated. A quilt put under a metal bed to help it slide through the house, while moving the bed is not showing appreciation of a quilt. It's not a moving blanket and could easily rip. Not that it would of mattered to this couple as it was just being kept on top of boxes in the garage. Plenty of people out in the world that don't itch me the wrong way, so I'll just keep my cleaning business for those people.

True, but we teach our kids to respect adults. They have no way to judge whether the adult is justified doing/saying what they are doing/saying or not. But the adult with the kids would and could also put the intruder in her place very quickly.

That is a good decision.

You'll get there. It's not much fun. LOL tim

Don't be so vain. I have 8 quilt tops ready to be quilted and another half dozen projects in the half (or less) stage. Three or four more with the fabric bought and plans printed out and kept with them. And I live in California so I am at least as far west as you. LOL tim

Perhaps we should not expect others to love the things we love and appreciate. My mother loved to crochet. Her work was meticulously done, crocheted starched baskets, ribboned and filled with artificial flowers, wreaths and hats starched and decorated to hang on the wall, fans, bells, etc. She insisted I take her work home. I did, but put it away in a closet. It wasn’t my decorating style. They were well done and artistic in their way, but not my taste. My mother passed away last November. I love her dearly, but does that obligate me to keep and display her work to show respect? I am feeling somewhat guilty clearing off the shelves of her crochet work, and disposing of her houseful of her work, but I need the space, I won’t bring more home and it won't keep me from cherishing her memory. To expect that our quilts should be cherished by anyone we give them to may be naive. If we want our quilts to be cherished and respected, they should be given to those we know will love and cherish them and not judge those who don’t. I have a stack of quilts and the first grandchild who says, I love that quilt, grandma. Can I have it sometime? gets it.

Good for you. My friend calls that, "Voting with your dollars."

A friend of mine was very insulted when her grandson and wife let their dog sit with them on the quilt she made them. I too was rather horrified when a friend told me she loved to cuddle with her dog and have the quilt I made wrapped around them. But then I read the book," That Dorky Homemade Look" and enjoyment it the name of the game. I don't make heirloom quilts. I do spend a lot of money on them, but I want them used, and I want them worn out so I cI can make them more knowing they are enjoyed. If the end of out on the wood pile then they obviously don't need another one, but if they end up in the dog's bed not such tragedy. We had a dog that fell in love with a Christmas rug I had made. It was a hooked rug so it was shaggy and he loved it. We finally decided it was best to let him have it. He slept with it until the day he passed away. And when I washed it, he would go around the house looking for it.

We always say we want them used with live, and he *clearly* loved that rug, right? :)

A quilt made for my daughter a few years ago. She posted this picture last night; they were at "Movie in the Park" night. It's been used and abused, and I love it.

I love the stories of how the quilts were used and abused. I think it comes down to: some people love them and cherish them and some people don't. Maybe those "don't" people have no conception of what goes into making quilts.

I remember speaking with a lady in a fabric store. She told me of finding the quilts she had lovingly made in her DIL's garage sale.

bkay

I think it is adorable that my little dog seems to prefer my quilts. This is a sweet story. Maybe I need to make him a rug.

Ah not really, it is being loved and used. This is the perfect quilt to use outdoors. I think that is different than using one as a tarp or a moving blanket underneath furniture.

That smile says it all. This quilt is being used perfectly. LOL. I know that you wouldn’t want it any other way.

Ahhhh, tim you are obviously more experienced than I am. I have finished 1 pillow, 1 throw, one lap rug, and 2 throw sized flimsies, but we can be slow together.

I made a baby quilt for a neighbor years ago, after the child reached about 6 the quilt was laying on top of the trash. My daughter saw it and grabbed it because she knew I had made it. Some people don't value the time, love and money that goes into making a quilt.

Kelsie,
I have been around here for awhile. I have taken a couple years off from quilting but am now starting to look at these projects and want them done. If you look at my photo, it is one of the first quilt tops I finished in 2007. Not quilted yet but soon. I have to get the long arm tuned up, the work flow remembered, and some of these quilts Done. It's good to see Patrice has kept this place afloat. BTW... Think Big. Nothing like finisheing a queen size quilt. Just amazing sense of accomplishment. tim