I made my first quilt about 20 years ago. It started out on my bed, then folded up, and now it is used everyday as a cuddle up on the couch or take to the park quilt. I also made a small throw size one about 10 years ago, it has gone through 3 kids. My littlest one has deemed it her "favorite blankie". Most of the others I have made have been given as gifts.

Both of these quilts are worn down, holes in them, batting falling out, binding worn to nothing. Basically they are both irrepairable.

I have had many people encourage me to try to patch them and they seem disappointed that they are in such shape.

My opinion however is, I love that fact that they have been used so hard. They are not worn or ratty to me. They have just been loved to pieces. And even if they are tossed away next week, I am happier than if they sat on a shelf for 10 or 20 years. Wall hanging types excluded of course.

So my question to you all is, do you stow away your quilts or do you welcome them being loved to pieces?

I made my nieces a couple of quilts and my sis lovingly "put them away" and now she is divorced from her husband and the quilts dissapeared!
I feel sad because the nieces never got to "love" those quilts and they barely remember them...
I have since made them quilts, pillows, pillow cases, etc...but just doesn't take the place of the earlier ones...and I specified to my sis, don't put 'em away cuz if they use them to death,,,I can make more!
Ah wells...
I even have a couple I made for myself that have been loved by my use, the puppies love to teethe on them and well, they are being loved.
Just my 2 stitches...
K

It varies, but the majority of mine are to be used.

Some are made to be heirlooms and treasured, and there's the odd wallhanging or two.

But the vast majority are to be loved, and dragged round, and used.

The majority of my quilts go to Project Linus. I hope they are also being loved to pieces.

Mine are given to be loved to pieces. That way I know they were wanted and loved.

I would rather see them loved then put away in a chest.

All of mine have been given away. The ones that have been given to me are used on a daily basis. Yes, it's hot here on Guam, but the a/c can get pretty cold. :)

MOst of my quilts have been given for charity, gifts and to my kids. I do hope they love and use them as they should be. Cause I am always making more. Although Ido have a daughter who put them away for safe keeping. And I told her thats not what they were intended for. Her son (27 yrs) has used his quilt so it is thread bare. I made him a new one but he still won't part with the old one. Yes, I have three queens size of my own that I alternate on our bed. Marge

The ones I have made are being used. I mean, if they just sit on a shelf taking up room, we don't have an excuse to make more.LOL

My quilts are used,however I now have a couple that I am going to put away before they fall completely apart. My grandson is now 15 and when he out grew his first quilt he begged me to make him another. I made quilts for all my children to take to college with them. all of these quilts have been lovingly used and I am glad of it. Now I am starting to plan the college quilt for my grandson. If they can be restored then do so. You will be remembered for your cuddling quilts someday! :D :D Ninnie in NC

I did give a lot of mine away to Project Linus..I do hope they are being loved. I also have some that are on our couch and on the bed...I'd much rather they be used.

I have made most of my quilts for people I love and make them with love, so I want them to love them ragged!

If they are worn to the point of no return cut a piece out and frame it with a history of all who used it. Maybe each person involved would like a framed part also.

I want any quilt I make to be used and loved.

Case in point: When I went away to college, my grandmother gave me a "brand new quilt" that my greatgrandmother had made. Even though I wasn't a quilter at the time, it seemed very special and I remember marveling at all of her hand stitching. Long story short---I used it and used it and washed it with regularity. It is now faded and well used but I can't describe the comfort of having it being away from home for the first time and having this little part of home and family. Regardlesss of its present condition, it's still beautiful to me!

Thirty years ago my mom made a quilt for my DD and my sisters DS. She hand made both of them. His is gone, but hers was used and loved by all three of my kid. Youngest daughter slept with it til it was nearly in pieces. She folded it and has stored it with her other blankets. (Couldn't get rid of it. Grandma is gone and it is a little bit of her here ) DGD went checked out the pile of blankets and claimed the threadbare quilt as hers. That's when I decided I wanted to quilt. If a simple quilt could hold so many peoples hearts I wanted to do that too. I want my quilts to be used and loved as much as this one was. And if they are threadbare and ragged I just see them as very loved.

It depends - I have a few hangin on the wall that were hand-pieced and quilted so a LOT of work! :D But the kids have lap quilts that are theirs to do what they like with - tents, teddy picnics, play marbles or lego on, whatever! THOSE are meant to be worn out! :D

K x

I tell the people who I make quilts for to "USE" them. Life is too short to save them!

I give my quilts to people I KNOW or hope will use them. The ones at home are washed and silky and just one thread away from falling apart, or they are being loved to death by claws and covered in fur. :wink: I don't believe in keeping quilts pristine, which is why most of mine start utilitarian in nature.

One exception that upsets me every time is in the movie "How to make an American Quilt" when Wynona Ryder drags that GORGEOUS hand-made quilt through the red dirt. I could walk into the TV frame and slap her!

I just watched that again a few weeks ago... I whole heartedly agree, someone should have slapped her. :D

Glad I am part of the love it to death club!

When I give baby quilts, I includ the poem "It's okay to sit on your quilt, It's okay to spit on your quilt", because I want them to be USED. If you're interested, you can google 'quilt poems' - I think that's how I found it. Otherwise, PM me AFTER May 3 - that's when I'm back in CT where the poem is!

Thank you for the hint. I found some wonderful poems. Some will be perfect for the three baby quilts I'm making. I want them used and loved. I have found my labels.

There is absolutely no reason to spend hours and $$ on a quilt that will never see the light of day (my practical side coming through).
I made a quilt for one of my brothers, who informed me that he was going to save it - - it was an heirloom! (it wasn't, but he said it was). I objected, telling him that I didn't make it for an heirloom, I made if for warmth and color.
He leveled his gaze to mine and said: You gave the quilt to me and I will do what I want with it. If I say it is an heirloom, it is an heirloom.
He was right... when I give an item away, no matter the item ... it belongs to whomever receives it, and they have the right to do what they wish with it.
I make quilts for practical reasons, and for the creativity outlet they provide for me ... what the recipients do has got to be their decision.
there are creative souls who take a threadbare quilt and turn them into all sorts of other objects.
I was given a quilt that was worn on receipt, and we wore it down some more. Finally, I needed a warming pad for my tractor, and guess who got the job? Told hubby - - we know we are really a ranching family, now! Our tractor has a homemade quilt for a cozy! LOL
Blessed be the people who can afford to look at things, but blessings also to the souls who use what is provided to them for their intended purposes.

Well said. :D

Tough question, really. I have a handmade quilt that was made by my grandmother that I wouldn't part with, and I wouldn't want anything to happen to it, so that I can pass it down to my grandchildren. I guess they can fight over it.

However, some quilts are made to impart love to the recipient.

Around our home we try to hit a happy medium. Display, but care for and treasure.

Seeing a quilt loved to pieces is the best compliment to the quilter. One of mine, loved by my daughter, was torn to shreds by the metal brace on her leg after a very bad car accident. My heart is so happy she's alive. I've repaired the quilt by putting a sheet over the front/back/whichever side. She still uses it - and she is 44.

I tell people who receive my quilts to use them, abuse them, wash them and wear them out. If they are left on the shelf, they self destruct in 5 years.

Love that. I have to remember that one.

The nature of a quilt is to be used and loved. What greater honor could a quilter possibly have?

i most definitely want them used. the third quilt i made was for my youngest - it will soon need to be replaced - he is now old enough to choose his own fabrics so when i finish his two of his older sister's he will ge to go shopping with me - he's happy!

I want my quilts to be used. I make a lot of raffle quilts, so I don't know how they are being used, but I hope they are being USED! :lol:

Quilts have always been a part of my life. Growing up, all that covered our beds and warmed our sleep were hand made/ hand stitched quilts that my grandmother and great-grandmother made. I never knew there was such a thing as a blanket for many years. I still have one they made and a couple that my grandmother made. Grandma made each of the grandkids a quilt for graduation from high-school.. all of those have covered beds in my home from the last 20 to 40 years, one or two have been "loved to pieces" and have some disintegrating pieces, others are still intact and holding their own very well.. but if you come to my house to visit ..one of those quilts will grace your bed.

Tippy, I'm on the next plane...! :D

K x

When I made baby quilts for my nephews. I expressed how much I wanted them used. I even hoped they might follow them to kindergarten. Now that they are big boys, their mom has put them away so they can have them for their babies, which I also appreciate. I always put in washing instructions, which helps preserve the quilts even though they are used. What good are they, if they are put up and go unseen and unappreciated. I use to be bad about putting things away people gave me because I was afraid something would happen to it. I finally came to the conclusion what a waste, people give you things to be enjoyed. I now use or display everything that I am given and hope everyone else does the same.

I too have a few quilt here at home the I made and have been loved to death by the kids, the dogs, the cats and me and DH. One has a hole I swear I can step through...lol
Some I have made have been given as gifts and I have learned that some are used and some are used as decorations.

I made my Auntie a quilt with a florida beachy theme (she lives in kentucky but loves Florida) and it is on her bed during the day as a decoration quilt and at night it is folded up and put in the chair. I did tell her Auntie, sleep with the dern thing but she is scared to "mess it up" I did tell her well if it gets messed I can always make another one.

In my house the family knows if its drapped over a chair a couch or any where within reachable grabbing distance its fair snuggle game.

Lisa

Several years ago I made a quilt for an elderly friend who had watched me make several quilts for others. She kept teasing me and asking when I was going to make a quilt for her. She loved looking through my Q books, and she kept going back to one watercolor quilt in particular that she had seen me working on as a wedding quilt for a young friend. I was handquilting another one with that design when she asked 'When are you going to make one for me?' I took the last stitch and said,'This one's for you.' She was speechless. She slept under it until she passed away - even insisted on having it in Hospice. She was a dear, dear friend, and I miss her. Her family keeps it on her bed to this day.

I have a Lof Cabin quilt made by my grandmother...given to me for my high school graduation. It's not currently being used, because the edges are fraying from lots of use. My plan is to bind the edges with a cream-and lavender binding and put it to use again. (Lavender was my grandmother's favorite color...and should look really different with all the colors in the Log Cabin blocks!) I have other quilts also from my mother, and they are still being used. If they fall apart, I'll always have warm memories of the beloved maker.

Jojo

This thread turned out to be a joy to read. Lovely memories and
very special thoughts. I especially liked hearing about littlehud's quilt and Joanne's friend. Makes me proud to be a quilter.

I want the quilts that I make to be loved and used. When I give a baby quilt I always attach a little note or tell the mom that this is NOT an heirloom quilt. It is made with love to be loved. That baby can pee, puke, and poo all over it. All she needs to do it throw it in the washer and dryer and it's good to go again.

The first quilt I made (1995) is used daily. It's draped on the back of my recliner and anyone who needs a wrap can pick it up and use it. That's the quilt we throw on the floor when a baby falls asleep. It's been a tent and a picnic quilt. The binding is getting thread bare. I wish I had kept a piece to re-bind when the time comes.

I hope loved to death!

I too, have a quilt that my Grandmother made for Rich and I. She made it in her favorite pattern....9-Patch. The front is made of polyester fabric and she backed it with flannel. The flannel is starting to fray. Those frayed spots show that the quilt has been loved. When it gets too bad I will replace the flannel and continue snuggling up under the quilt that Grandma lovingly made just for us.

An idea for quilts that are beyond repair. I worked part-time for a woman who owned a antique store. We would take old worn out quilts and salvage the good spots. We would cut small blocks, stars, hearts, ovals, etc. out of the salvaged pieces. We sewed pairs together and then stuffed to make small pillows. She placed these small pillows in wooden bowls, antique wooden boxes, etc. and sat them around the store. You would be surprised how many of those we sold to people for decorations.

We also made small pincushions, doll quilts, potholders, and framed some of the pieces. We also did this with hankies, linens and old clothing.

There are so many things you can do to recycle old quilts that some might think are useless and need to be thrown out.