Has your vision of quilts changed?
 

Happy Monday,

I was checking email, especially those dealing with quilting…

I view new quilt patterns (are there really any new patterns) And I thought back in the 1990’s …I just loved any and all quilts I saw…now I see them differently I do appreciate the expertise of the piecing .. but I just do not love all of them…

wishing every e a lovely week.

judy in Phx, AZ

Several years in, I am thinking simple is better. I just make quilts for beds and couch throws so I am looking for something that can be washed in a machine and thrown in the dryer and feels soft and cuddly..

I started quilting in the late 80's and so much has changed in the quilt world since then. My tastes have changed as well. I don't do much hand quilting anymore but I should because I love the process and the look of it. I hope to get back into that aspect.

Yes! My BFF quilting buddy and I were just talking about this. I have a ton of patterns that I bought, and all the fabrics collected to make it. Initially it was just a matter of so many patterns, so little time. As I've progressed, and my abilities have changed, and when I revisit those projects, I no longer have the desire to follow through. I set the fabrics aside, and have been raiding the fabrics for use elsewhere. I had the best intentions, but now I'm just much more selective in what I want to do.

When I first started in 2010 I was drawn to more traditional fabrics and patterns and I purchased fabric and patterns accordingly. Now that my skill level has improved and I am more confident, I much prefer more modern designs in both fabric and patterns. I love to work with batiks and am in the process of de-stashing my older collections and just keeping my Batiks.

The biggest change for me is that I have gone from "planned" quilts using a controlled set of 3-5 fabrics to scrappy projects using multiple different fabrics for each shade or value.

Most of my work is still "contemporary adaptations of traditional blocks" but I do a lot more contemporary all over designs like jelly roll race or combinations of squares and rectangles like the 3- and 5- yard quilts. I'm not quite loosened up enough to be an improv quilter but I'm willing to put a lot more chance and randomness into my projects.

Even bigger changes, however, are construction techniques. I started before the rotary revolution. Pre-rulers I did figure out I could use blotter sized quad grid paper to scissor cut more than one layer at a time. Some of the techniques I use happily today (like using two squares and sewing along the diagonal to make a HST) I used to sniff at and call them "fabric wasteful techniques". I've gone from being very precise with measuring and piecing to cutting large and trimming down -- and my end results are actually more precise.

I like the older style quilt patterns. Traditional quilts, I guess you could say. From the 1800's through the early 1900 through to the 1950's)

I love the traditional blocks. Every so often I will venture from that. My biggest change is in fabric choices. I didn’t like the 30’s or civil war fabrics. Now I love them both. Still not crazy about some of those wild, bold colors. Maybe in time I will work with them too

I really love the modern vibe of quilting. I haven’t been able to get into more traditional quilts. I started out using solid colors and that’s mainly what I did for years. Now I’m attempting to try more prints. Still having a problem with that, but working on it.

Over the years I've grown into appreciating scrap ones more and more.