Saturday 25 June 2016

Musings on quilts

This week I popped up in Issue 18 of Simply Sewing magazine, as part of a feature on sewing for the home. Although my main sewing focus is usually dressmaking, I've enjoyed sewing a few quilts and cushions over the years, so I was thrilled to be featured.


2016 was the year I actually completed a quilt for myself (previous quilts had all been for family members). I always knew I'd enjoy having a quilt of my own, but what I wasn't prepared for was just how attached I'd become to it. It is, without doubt, my most precious sewing creation and I absolutely love it. I was never the kind of child who carried a blanket everywhere Linus-style, so I don't know where this mad quilt-love comes from!


It might just be the warmth and comfort a quilt brings that makes me feel like this, I don't know. What I do know is that wrapping myself in my quilt makes me happy. Problems lessen and worries become fewer - it sounds ridiculous but that's how it makes me feel! I never tire of looking at the colours and textures. And the stitches! I love looking at the stitches! Who would have thought that sewing a few squares together could give me such pleasure.

My bestie!
I'll never be a serous quilter - I'm far too impatient - but I do quite like the process, so I've decided to make another quilt for the home, this time for the guest bedroom in the loft. Cutting and sorting the fabric will be the perfect summer occupation and sewing the quilt together can be a project for the autumn. My grand plan for the quilt top is to use Liberty prints. Unlike other fabrics, I never get rid of Liberty scraps, probably because the fabric is so expensive in the first place, but also because I love the prints so much. I've sewn with Liberty Tana lawn quite a lot, so have accumulated a reasonable collection of offcuts over the years - enough for a decent sized quilt anyway.


I was inspired by this Striped Throw from The Liberty Book of Simple Sewing (reviewed here). Obviously I don't have great long strips of fabric to use, so mine will be patchwork squares, but I do like the fact that the quilt features lots of random prints. Liberty prints all seem to work effortlessly together, so I'm using this as my starting point. I may have to buy a few lighter colours for contrast, but hey, that's no great hardship! Wish me luck!

Am I the only one to feel sentimental over a quilt or do they bring out strong feelings in you too? x


16 comments:

  1. Quilts are definitely full of memories and comfort. When I went to see my day-old grandson in hospital I was really touched to see that his mum had taken with her the quilt I made for my son a few years ago. Lovely that she found some comfort from it after the trials of childbirth.

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    1. That's such a lovely story, the quilt is obviously very special. A quilt must be so comforting after giving birth. x

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  2. I love quilts, to me they represent the worth in small things, things discarded. Making something useful out of leftovers. It is something that is disappearing from our modern society, even though there will always be some poeple who continue to do quilting. I've never owned a homemade quilt, but my mom has some. I hope to one day make one, I am not lacking scraps, that's for sure. Love the quilts you made, and look forward to see the new one :)

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    1. Thanks so much. Yes, it's nice to recognise different stories in each bit of fabric. Quilts do take a long time to make but the end results are always worth it. x

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  3. How lovely for you to be featured, Jane! Yay! Like you, I'm more a dressmaker than quilter but PinhouseP's words of "they represent the worth in small things", for me, is the perfect way to describe it! Have fun planning your Liberty quilt...you realise we'll all be waiting for progress reports. (No pressure. Haha) :)

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    1. Thank you, I was thrilled! Yes, I have to be true to my word now and get on and make it! x

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  4. Hi Jane, How lovely to be featured in the magazine! I am totally with you feeling very fuzzy towards quilts and I too have no idea where this love came from. The the only memory I have of anything blanket related as child was a hamster nibbling a hole through the middle of one! I have been working on my first quilt for a few years now as I did not make it easy on myself by making a rather sizeable sampler, but I'm getting there and I know I will be so proud when I'm done. x

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    1. Aw good luck with it, I'm sure it will be worth the wait. And you WILL feel proud after all that hard work, quilts really are a labour of love! x

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  5. Good Luck! I am on a quilt made of squares at the moment too. Great stash buster. Jo X

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    1. It is isn't it?! So satisfying! Good luck with it Jo. x

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  6. You're not alone in being attached to your quilt. It could be its because of all the work you put into it and also a scrappy quilt can bring back lots of lovely memories. I'm hand quilting a quilt for my daughter. It's only made of squares with a couple of borders but I've made a template of her hands so I can stitch her handprints all over it. You can't buy that kind of thing in the shops. Good luck with your new quilt.

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    1. Aw what a lovely idea! And I agree, you certainly can't buy that kind of thing in the shops! x

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  7. There's something about quilts that just inspires affection! I have an absolutely sickening collection of them (my mom used to be a big quilter, but none of my siblings really appreciated them so I ended up receiving the bulk of them). I have a tattered quilt that she made for me as a kid, one for when I went to college that fits those oddly-sized dormitory beds, one she made me when I went to college, another that was intended for my sister but rejected by her. Plus, we have a quilt made for my husband by his grandma when he was a kid, and another that was a special wedding gift- it was an unfinished quilt top, one of many in his grandma's stash from before she got sick and eventually left us, and a family friend finished it and quilted it. I can't think of a lovelier gift! I can't stand to part with them even though I can barely justify the space they take up in my apartment. :)

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    1. Ah how lovely - I love the fact that each of your quilts has a special story attached to it. I agree, I can't think of a lovelier gift. x

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  8. PS I got so distracted thinking about quilts that I forgot to mention how much I love the idea of a Liberty strip quilt! The one in the photograph is AMAZING! Excited to see yours!

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    1. I hope it turns out well! I cant wait to make it as all the beds in my house will then have quilts on them made by me! x

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