Should I actually use my quilts?
 

I have a few full size quilts I have made and they are in the linen closet. I was sorting closets yesterday and thought I should be using them. Every time I put them out on a bed I get stressed thinking what if someone spills something on them, or if they fade when washed. Does anyone else have this phobia?

I use quilts on all the beds in my house and truly hope that those quilts that I have gifted are being used also. The first quilt I ever made it on our bed and just this weekend I had to do a major mend on it - including some appliqued spots. The Dh has split things on it, ink stains, and some of the fabric has faded but it is loved - kinda like the Velveteen Rabbit and that makes it all the more special as it was a quilt for him when we were dating. My phobia is that no one uses the quilts we had made and they never see the light of day :)

I agree with carslo - what are they for if not to use!

Exactly - use them and enjoy them. No use saving them for "best" - make every day a "best" day!

I use all my quilts. I just make sure to not lay on them. If you lay on them, you can split the seams easily.

I use mine, if they wear out it gives me the perfect excuse to make more!

I change mine out the first of every month. I've been quilting for a long time and some of my quilts have literally worn out or finished their life in the doggies basket. Keep in mind if you don't use them, your family won't see them as having any value when you are gone. enjoy them, embrace your stash ;) and make some more.

huh??????????

i try to put all of mine out. if there is no room on a bed, i hang them for display

When I was younger and received something "special" such as expensive perfume, etc., I would put it away and not use it because if I used it up, it would be gone and I wouldn't have it any longer. One day as I was dusting all these "special, unused items," I had an epiphany. By saving them and not using them, it was like I didn't have them at all. I decided that very day that when I received something special, I would use it and enjoy it.

Quilts are special items to be used and enjoyed. If you have them tucked away in your linen closet, do you only enjoy them when you clean that closet? Wouldn't it be more rewarding to have them out where you and your loved ones could enjoy them everyday of your lives? The only quilt in my house that doesn't get used (yet) is the show quilt I made earlier this year because I intend to enter it into a few other shows. After that, you better believe it will be put on a bed to be seen and enjoyed.

I have about 6 or 8 quilts and a couple of comforters for our onr double bed. We have only one bed. We don't eat,drink or work in our bedroom so nothing gets spilled. I too hope people I have given quilts to will use them and enjoy them. I hope they do not abuse them.

Not only do I use mine....I sleep with 2 dogs so they get washed a lot (every 2 or 3 weeks). I love them and enjoy them daily.

Not only do I use mine....I sleep with 2 dogs so they get washed a lot (every 2 or 3 weeks). I love them and enjoy them daily.

I use my quilts every day. A quilt that is kept in a closet gets no love. It will not bring back special memories to people when you are gone. Quilts that are on beds, couches or picnics will be remembered and treasured when you are gone.

Do you really want to be the unknown maker of a beautiful, pristine quilt that shows up at the Goodwill when you are gone because your family didn't have enough fond memories attached to it to want to keep it? I don't.

yep. Quilts are everywhere in my house. we wrap ourselves in quilts around a fire in the back yard. Horrors ;-)

I second this - huh???? I've laid on TOP of my quilts many, many times and have NEVER had a seam split. Maybe you should switch to a different piecing thread or something.

I figure if someone spills something on a quilt, or it fades, or whatever, then I have a very good reason to make another quilt!

KalamaQuilts said it; if you don't use them, your family won't see them as having any value. My interpretation of this is if you don't use them, your family won't recognize them and won't have good memories attached to them. For instance: why do we make memory quilts out of old clothes? Because our loved ones wore those clothes and we have good memories attached to them! That flowered dress that Grandma wore, or that striped shirt that belonged to our firstborn son when he was 2 - those bring back wonderful memories. Same goes for quilts. My great-great-grandmother made a quilt, it had hand-embroidered state blocks with birds on it. She gave it to her daughter, my great-grandmother, who used it on her bed for years. My grandmother inherited it and recently brought it out of storage. It brought my mother to tears. She remembers seeing that quilt on her grandmother's bed when she was a child, and it has such good memories attached to it. It is worn and faded, but that's not where the value of it lies.

Simple answer = yes.

This is a hard topic. I suppose for those ladies that can finish one up a month, 12 a year, sure use them up. But for me, I have only finished one, so at this time it is spread out like a piece of art. I suppose when I become more proficient, I too will want to use them up so I can make more.

I use mine. I have way too many quilts I want to do, I have to wear some out to make room.:D

Why spend so much time and effort on something that is only going to sit and collect dust in a closet. When I finally finish my next quilt it will most definitely get used!

I definitely use mine!

nice post ;-)

I made one many years ago that was used on our couch for pretty much the entire time my kids were growing up. Eventually, it became too worn to use. I put it away and when we lost our precious beagle that my kids grew up with, we wrapped him in that quilt to bury him. I recently found all the scraps and made a very small quilt and put a picture of my kids with their beagle on it. All the now-grown kids have to do is see that fabric and they remember. This is a link to a previous post about it..... http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...t-t158913.html

Yes... Use them! There will always be a pattern or fabric in the future you will like better!

All that I make and give away I want to be used!!!! They are made to be loved!!!

I use many of mine and many I don't. I can't imagine not using any of them!

I do not make art quilts,I make functional quilts.I use them all the time.I put them on the bed, on the couch,all over the place.If they get used and it faded it means many happy times were had around.My dogs make an occasional claw hole and then I patch it.The patch reminds me of my dog.When they are beyond repair I make another knowing it will be used and loved.My grands have quilts here and at home,flowing from one house to another.I make them for using and enjoying.Again not art quilts.They do not break apart easily and we use the heck out of them.

Me too! I also have quilts covering my couch & chair in the living room to protect the furniture from little claws and fur.

Yep, what everyone else said............Use them! Or gift them! I have gifted most of my quits . Hope they are used. Don't have enough closet space to store them anyway. If something gets spilt on one, wash it! Never had a seam split from laying on one, but if it did, fix it! If it wears out, make a new one!

Exactly. If it's just going to sit in a closet and collect dust why not just stick the fabric in there and call it good?

Yes, Yes, and more Yes! Use them. So what if someone spills on them or they fade? Those spills are memories of good times and happiness - unless you make a "federal case" out of them!

I use the quilt that my Grandmother made - actually she made the top - my mom inherited it and stuck it in a drawer for 40 years. When cleaning out her room, with her watching every move I made, I discovered it and she told me she inherited it and didn't know what to do with it. I said, "I'll take it!"

I knew nothing about quilting at the time. Didn't want to let it out of my sight, so I rented time on a long arm, and about 3 hours later, it was quilted. Now I know I did a terrible job of the quilting, but right then I was so proud to have done it - and still am. Even with my terrible quilting, it looks better on the bed than it did stuffed in a drawer!

The quilt is used by my 'grands' when they come over. My niece and I pick our favorite fabrics from it - it's a scrappy lemoyne star. The grand boys all liked hearing the quilts story and use it, too.

So use the quilts and make some memories. If you don't, then someone else will but you won't be there to enjoy them.

You are so right!

You're right about the first quilt. It is hard to think about it ever getting a spill on it. But you are using it - as a piece of art in your home. People will see it and associate it with you and the good times they have had with you!

I not only have quilts I have made but quilts I have won in auctions. They all get used. We have two couches and a recliner in the living room and the couches have 2 quilts and the recliner has one at all times.

Yep, just like my china, crystal, living room furniture, etc.. If I can't use it and enjoy it with family and friends then I don't want it. The "stuff" doesn't matter - the fun times and memories do. I also collect sewing machines with the intent to use them rather than just display them. I won't stress if a quilt gets a stain or it rips or fades out - it all will add to its history and charm! But, I don't want my items dis-respected or abused.

If you don't use them, nobody will see them. Go for it!!! I don't think you will be sorry.

What!?! Not lay on the quilts, because the seams could split? Some of my happiest memories was when I would go to visit my Grandma, we would pull out all the quilts, and make a "pallet" on the floor to sleep on. My kids used to use my quilts to sleep on out in the yard every summer, or make play "forts" or tents. IMHO, if you take the tie to make them, you should take the time to use them.

Use them. When I was growing up you couldn't use "nice" things, you saved them. That is a hard concept to shake, and it has taken me several decades to do it. Now, I believe that I deserve nice things. I use them. I use my good dishes, I use my good cultlery, I use my crystal wine glasses, etc. I deserve to use these things. What would I be I saving them for anyway.

With regard to the quilts, I actually go so far as to sleep under any quilt I'm going to give away. I tell them that I've tested it and it is warm and cosy.

I also write the following poem in the card of every baby quilt that I give away, just so mom and dad know that I want it used. To me there is no better feeling that a kid dragging that quilt around the yard, or wherever.



This quilt is made of cloth and thread
to place upon your little bed.
It's not an heirloom - just to keep,
but to lay upon as you count sheep.
Or perhaps the floor's the perfect place
for a doll and teddy picnic space.
This quilt can be anything you dream-
from Superman's cape to the rope of a queen.
Pretend it's a raft adrift at sea,
or just cuddle up when you watch TV.
So use it up and wear it out-
I promise I won't yell or pout.
Just tell me when it's days are through,
and I'll make another, just for you.


I have not yet found a good poem to include in the larger quilts I give away, but if anyone has one, I'm interested.

Hope this helps.

I agree with the others -- to be valued and loved it must be seen and used. My mother is getting way up in age and has started sorting out stuff to get rid of or divide between us kids. There have been a few items she highly treasured that none of us cared about, mostly because they were so carefully put away that we didn't even know they existed. It was the things that was part of our life and our memories that we treasured. Have your quilts out where you and others can have the pleasure of seeing them, especially after the labor of making them..

I use everything I have. No use saving it for someone to throw out. We cover, sit, lay or whatever.