Ugly quilts
 

Ok so I'm guilty of looking but did you know they have forums with posts of ugly quilts. Some don't belong and thank heaven I had a great teacher so I never made a weird or wonky quilt. Wow just had to share because I thought there was no such thing but.....at least I can learn from other mistakes. There's even a contest.....

there are quilts that are made Ugly on purpose---check out the site for (my brother's keeper) it is a charitable program-making quilts for the homeless---they ask that the quilts be made ugly=the uglier the better---just warm---because when the quilts are beautiful people steal them! i can not imagine someone stealing from a homeless person---but it happens- so- ugly quilts is one of the options. it is a great program.

A long time ago at the beginning of the internet, there was an annual "Ugly Quilt" contest, in conjunction with a book that came out. It was HILARIOUS, especially the judges' comments. I remember one that had a nylon knee-high stuck to the back somehow. Wish I could find it again.

Ptquilts, I think you must be remembering Ami Simms contest: amisimms.com
You are right -- it is hilarious!

Dayle

i never saw a ugly quilt

Ugly is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. I don't think I've ever seen an ugly quilt.

I've made some quilts I later thought were ugly. But, as always, one man's trash is another man's treasure.

Jan in VA

My second quilt is so poorly sewn that i think it qualifies as ugly. However, I think the colors are beautiful. It is all 60 degree triangles on point - I copied from a picture, had no instruction, the bias stretched, the points got cut off about half the time. LOL It looks like some poor little orphan - but the colors are to die for.

Then you haven't seen my first one-posted it here a while ago when there was another thread on ugly quilts. Actually, I have (had) an even uglier one (if that was even possible!), but couldn't waste the film taking a picture-the only quilt of over 30 that I haven't got a pic of!! TRUST ME--IT WAS UGLY!!

I remember seeing an ongoing ugly or bad quilt contest some time ago. I remember one quilt in particular, a crazy quilt and one rather large piece was wool while the rest of it was not. Well .. the quilt had been washed and dried and the single wool piece looked like it was trying to swallow the rest of the quilt whole. It was hysterical.

Ha! I would love to see that! If that happened to me I would name it "Black Hole Quilt", and pretend it was intentional.

I have one!!! I finished the top and put it away so I wouldn't have to think about it. Funny thing is that a young girl loved it and I just gag when I look at it. Too dark and not enough contrast for me, maybe it will help if I ever get it quilted---then I could put it back side up.

i have never seen a ugly quilt!!!

I saw the ugly quilt site referred to and the one I most remember is that it was quilted with large open areas and the batting was not secured so it managed to bunch up in the open areas. UGLY!!!

Well, I actually started hand-quilting it (it was a queen size!) and stuck it away 1/2 done so I could start on another-which, actually turned out beautiful-maybe because someone else picked out the fabric!! Then 10 years later, after not picking up a needle or even thinking about quilting, (they were made in a class taught as a fundraiser at the little school my kids were in-really wasn't interested in quilting then), I found that UGLY quilt and decided I needed something relaxing to do, so I borrowed a couple betweens and got out my one spool of old hand-quilting thread and actually finished it!! It NEVER helped it look better, but my son, who was about 10 at the time, loved it and used it to death (the housegirl washing it about every 2 weeks and hanging it to dry in the sun didn't help it's life-cycle!). Ok, description-it was bright pink solid 12"squares, with tiny roses on black alternating, and a chain alternating those two fabrics. Then the backing, was make with that black with tiny red roses. Can't remember the pattern, but it was an easy pattern-sort of like a basic Irish Chain. In my defense, it was in Vanuatu, and hot having any shops there to buy good fabric, I had to buy what limited cheap Chinese fabric I could get. The second one that turned out great, a quilt shop in Australia picked out the fabric in the colors I wanted for the particular pattern we were making, and sent it over. Good fabric makes such a difference. My piecing was always pretty good, and so was the hand-quilting.

I was in a charity quilt group years ago and 2 of the ladies seem to be competing for best quilt. They had more time and money than the rest of us and it turned into a bigger and better contest....whatever. I personally would make 2 smaller quilts than 1 big one. Most of my fabric came from the Daisy Kingdom sale floor and their were always cute and/or bright. These were going to kids at risk at a safe house so we were never to go to the actual drop off location. Instead, we took them to a local, well established business that is supposed to be aimed for women who need help. Guess which quilts were disappearing...probably by the employees at that center. Hard telling how many were gone before we caught them just stacking them all up. We found another way to get them to the safe house after that but took some of the fun out of it.

Lynn - The cynic in me often wondered about dropping off quilts to be "delivered". Not anymore. I donate to a group in Pacific City, Oregon that makes quilts for a place called the Caring Cabin. It is a beautiful home that families who are dealing with cancer can come to for several days for a break from everyday life. Each cancer patient is allowed to pick a quilt to take home with them.

I like to donate four or five quilts a year to the group, but always make sure it is a quilt worthy of giving to my very best friend. I want them to have a beautiful quilt, not something I just threw together. I had to pay to have them longarm quilted, but it was worth it to me so it would look its very best. Now, I own a longarm (very new to it) and the group sends me quilts to longarm for them so I can get more practice. I don't charge them anything and each quilts looks better than the last.

Some quilts that I have put together that I thought were pretty ugly have been snatched up by family members and loved for many years - one made from orphan blocks that had absolutely nothing in common went to Minnesota with my niece when she moved. I couldn't believe she chose it out of all the "beautiful" quilts that were there. Another was from blocks that I had won - none of them were the same size, some were pretty poorly constructed. I fought with it for a couple of months trying to make it work right, finally gave up and just put it together - my son loved it - everyone has a different view of beautiful - thank goodness!

We have several, actually MANY homeless in the Portland, OR area. and the downtown resources are always asking for blankets in the winter. Maybe somebody on QB wants to start an ugly quilt "show" instead of contest and then we donate the quilts.

"Ugly Quilts" or "My Brothers Keeper" is an excellent organization. They had a chapter in New Hampshire when I lived there but do not have one near me here in Virginia (that I'm aware of). It was fun and certainly not difficult (large 72"x72" quilts were tied, then someone put them together to make a sleeping bag. I loved it knowing what we did was going to keep a homeless person warm.

Oh, I have. The technique may be fine, but what were they thinking about the colors?! It's like people who knit or crochet afghans in hideous color combinations but the workmanship is terrific. Fortunately, I have never received one of those as a gift. LOL

I have seen ugly quilts. I have even made a few. One of the ones I thought was the worst, we actually sold. So someone liked it.

I agree about the afghans in hideous colors. So much work, why not make the colors nice ones?

I love quilting, every part of it, but there have been a couple in my 40 years of quilting that I would not want anyone to see.

I don't buy ugly fabrics, so I don't think I could make an ugly quilt, but I may be wrong! I think it must be with the ugly fabric choices, but I have read here about fabric shrinking at different rates, poor piecing and poor quilting that made ugly quilts. Also, with pairing up fabrics that don't go together, like a dark green, orange and pink, just off the top of my head. But those combinations may be pretty to someone!

I think this would be a very worthy cherity, take all the ugly scraps you have even mix cotton, flannel etc and put them together in a wild way and a ugly quilt is born then take them to someplace where the homeless hang out. In my case there is a place right on the corner where I turn to come to work and I'll bet those people would love them. Makes me sad for them every day. Let's post pictures and see who wins and the winner could win a nice fat quarter or something like thatfrom each participate and make another quilt.

At the church I used to belong to, when a couple was getting married all of us girls would each make blocks and put together a nice quilt for them. For one of the weddings, it was decided the men should make a quilt for the groom, who is a ferrier and blacksmith. The guys were amazingly creative...I wish I had a picture of it. It had everything from burlap and leather to horseshoes and barbed wire on it, and got a great laugh at their wedding dinner!

I can see the point of making them not so beautiful do to them getting taken by others; it would be sort of fun to make one not beautiful, but definatly warm and lovable.

I belong to a group that makes quilts for Lutheran World Relief and boy, are some of our quilts UgLy! They're made from whatever anybody has ever given to the group in the way of textiles. Use your imagination and you won't be far off.

At one point, I wrote to LWR to ask them what their guidelines for quilts were and I will share with you the lovely response I received from them:

"As far as looks, we believe that every quilt is beautiful in its own way because of what it does for another person. It's our/your way of wrapping God's loving arms around someone in need and what's more beautiful than that?"

As the good Lord would say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and He always thinks we are beautiful and doing the work of our hands unto Him, it always turns out beautiful.

I know I have made some wrong fabric choices that turned out to me to be not so "pretty", but as you have all said, someone else thought it to be beautiful. We have a gal at our group that seems to think everything has to match perfectly, including the back. Then there is another who uses what she has, always seems to look wonderful, and uses muslin on the back.

So glad there is a variety of us all to enjoy our wonderful works.

I have been making ugly quilts for the homeless for 8 years now. May they do it in your area

I have a quilt I have referred to as 'the ugly quilt' since I started it. It was a BOM and I hated the colors. The quilt itself is okay with the blocks... it is just the colors. I have had a real hard time working on it, and have gotten down to the end. I have to iron it, layer it, and I am going to tie it so it gets done in a hurry. My SO loves it, so it is his. The hard part is the darn thing is a king-sized quilt... lots of fabric to look at when I hate working in browns!

[QUOTE=Favorite Fabrics;5036895]I belong to a group that makes quilts for Lutheran World Relief and boy, are some of our quilts UgLy! They're made from whatever anybody has ever given to the group in the way of textiles. Use your imagination and you won't be far off.

At one point, I wrote to LWR to ask them what their guidelines for quilts were and I will share with you the lovely response I received from them:

"As far as looks, we believe that every quilt is beautiful in its own way because of what it does for another person. It's our/your way of wrapping God's loving arms around someone in need and what's more beautiful than that?"(QUOTE]


The response that "Favorite Fabrics" received from Lutheran World Relief, really says it all doesn't it? Thank-you for sharing in your reply Favorite Fabrics, it really puts this discussion in the right perspective for me.

I've been quilting for years and just two days ago put out the ugliest quilt yet. It sure seemed like a good combo of fabrics at the time, but it turned out UG-LY. What a disappointment after all that work. :(

My quilts turn ugly when it comes time for me to quilt the sandwich, I love putting the fabric together, it is just that end part. I can't afford to send them out and when I try quilting on the machine, I have broken upteen needles. And hand quilting holds them together but nothing to show off. - J.

I think ugly quilts are like ugly dresses. Haven't you seen someone wearing a dress that you wouldn't be caught dead in? And they were proud of it! One of these statements must account for every ugly quilt ever made:Pt. Barnum's "There's one born every minute" or else "Ugly is in the eye of the beholder."

Now, how did you spy the quilt I have on my longarm right now? I used to say I've never seen an ugly quilt...well, I take it back!
Someone (I know who, but she shall remain unnamed)..took bright red and royal purple and made 4 patches (ok, not bad...they can go ok together). Then they took the royal purple and mixed it with a thin (sheer almost & not cotton) hawaiian print with yellow, lime green, hot pink & black on a purple background...and made half square triangles...with the print arranged to look like a square on point in the center of each block. I can even live with that... get ready...then they put a 3-1/2" bright yellow border...and I can almost live with that...but the 5-1/2" bright green border...holy smokes that's just not cutting it! I'm to the last row of blocks...just secured the bottom border..and two of the blocks in the last row are 1/2" to 3/4" larger than the others.
The quilt measured square (well pretty darn close)..but I sure didn't count on these last two blocks!
I've got the blocks quilted...but the quilt is not what I wanted it to be...I started with freehand ferns & swirls in the top border...half circles and teardrops across the yellow border...thinking I was gonna make this quilt blend some...so the green has a denser pattern that I intended for the center. I decided to use the same design in the center of the quilt (on the blocks)...in a random pattern...then when I rolled the first row...the ugly thin fabric...was showing in dots on the back...I had to pull the entire section. I am so annoyed...I am putting a big swirl in each of the 6" blocks & that's it... I'll finish the borders...as I've fudged in the too big blocks as much as I can...and be done with this one. UGH..I'll post a pic later. Oh, forgot...the backing...bright red & the bobbin thread is rainbows..yep, glad this is for a family member...easier to shrug it off. I'm doing 15 quilts for her..this is the 6th in the group & the first I couldn't do anything for.

In 30 years, you can bet I have seen UGLY quilts. Sometimes I fear i have become a bit of a quilt snob. The charity quilts my group make aren't too bad actually, but again, i have been doing this a while. I heard some time ago that the "Nice" quilts weren't stolen from the homeless, but that they sold them for the money for food or drugs. so sad.

I think I saw it and yes, it was truly ugly.

it might be a tx thing, bunbyte, because i have seen ugly, too. but i don't think i've ever seen an unloved quilt. and really, that's a lot more important, to me anyway. i've made a quilt for my new grand-daughter, and i realize i didn't know many of the 'rules' so it isn't a classic beauty. lol, but it will be loved with all it's mistakes and every color of the rainbow in it! it was made with love, and it will wrap her in love and that's all i really care about, too.

It is not just a tx thing.

Oh boy, I have seen quilts being worked on at Hancock Fabrics...that I just can't even think of a way to describe.