Monday, March 9, 2015

Too Bad For Me

I have a file of quilts from online auctions that I'd like to make
But I know I never will.

This devil-may-care use of fabrics
is totally beyond me.

I guess I am just too darn sophisticated to be able to do this.

It would be totally faking it.

You have to admire the vision that combines the patchwork
pattern and the pattern in the fabric.

Neither patchwork nor prints get to dominate.

Which creates a certain dynamic

Sort of like a riot.

Somebody's calmed everything down here with a big, fat, white border.

at

23 comments:

  1. DennieleMarch 9, 2015 at 7:41 AM

    I love the riot! One day...maybe one day I will be that brave. Thank you for sharing.

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  2. Wendy Caton ReedMarch 9, 2015 at 8:37 AM

    Never say never! You just may surprise yourself one day and makes something totally out of character - it's been known to happen to the best of us. Thanks for sharing those wonderful wacky quilts.

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  3. WoolenSailsMarch 9, 2015 at 9:26 AM

    I think those would be hard to recreate since the person who made them, was not using a pattern and went wild, lol. That is how I quilt and I could never reproduce my own;) I do enjoy making smaller quilts from parts of quilts and have a couple to try.

    Debbie

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  4. Bill VolckeningMarch 9, 2015 at 9:53 AM

    Will I ever make a quilt with curved seams, sharp points, 3,500 pieces and 250,000 quilting stitches, all by hand? Probably not. Am I completely in love with and enthralled by quilts like that? Absolutely!

    Making and loving are two separate things, which can certainly overlap; but they are not necessarily each other's prerequisites.

    Hope you're enjoying your new home. Say hi some time. :)

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  5. abelianMarch 9, 2015 at 9:56 AM

    I love the pink Wheel of Fortune with the every-which-way striped corners. If I made it, I wouldn't use a border at all.

    Dot

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  6. Barbara BrackmanMarch 9, 2015 at 10:09 AM

    Abelian---that white border (I bet somebody else added that) really does ruin the riot.

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  7. Suzanne AMarch 9, 2015 at 10:51 AM

    The top one and the blue one captioned "Sort of like a riot" are almost Kaffe Fassett. Just clean them up a little, resew to make them lie flat, make just a couple of changes, back, quilt and bind -- Voila!

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  8. Suzanne AMarch 9, 2015 at 10:51 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  9. AnonymousMarch 9, 2015 at 11:24 AM

    Thanks for a common sense response to these quilts. I smiled all the way through your post.

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  10. janMarch 9, 2015 at 11:37 AM

    Too bad for me too. I really admire the total freedom of these quilts. I just don't have a big enough stockpile of scraps. Yet.. I really love the first one.

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  11. MonicaMarch 9, 2015 at 12:40 PM

    "Faking it" is my personal worry as well. At the end of the day, I think authenticity is being true to ourselves, rather than someone else's vision.

    But, I am certainly inspired by some of these elements! And, I've added the first photo to my digital collection too. :D

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  12. Judy DietrichMarch 9, 2015 at 1:13 PM

    I will always wonder what one of these quilters would do with fabrics today?? I am sure some of them wanted less riot, but had to settle with what they had available.

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  13. Nifty QuiltsMarch 9, 2015 at 2:10 PM

    Oh, so inspiring!! Sure wish I could make quilts like that too. Thanks for showing them. I'll come back to this post many times.

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  14. Becky in VAMarch 9, 2015 at 2:11 PM

    These quilts do make me smile and wonder "what was she thinking" and I agree with Judy about thinking "they had to settle with what they had available"

    The 8-point BIG star was my favorite - what a riot of action.

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  15. JudyMarch 9, 2015 at 2:47 PM

    I am one of those scrappy quilters and I love it. Very cheap quilting when my friends share all their scraps! Whoo hoo!

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  16. Judy MacLeodMarch 9, 2015 at 6:30 PM

    Ugh. That's taking "scrappy" to a whole (not good) level.

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  17. NancyMarch 9, 2015 at 7:25 PM

    I enjoyed your sense of humor in this post, Barbara. I suspect these quilts generally show a superior "make do" attitude -- but who knows: perhaps the riotous colors and fabrics were intentional choices.

    You have to admit, though, that there's a strong sense of rhythm in the blue quilt (2nd from last) with the Baptist Fans quilting.

    Thanks for sharing these gems.

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  18. AnonymousMarch 10, 2015 at 6:00 PM

    When most of the quilts were made...and I am totally guessing here..the quilter probably was far more concerned with getting it done and on the bed. Based on the scrappyness I believe most, if not all are simply utility quilts. Maybe even a beginners quilt. Beauty was not the main concern. Just my two cents worth.
    blessings, jill

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  19. lissaMarch 11, 2015 at 8:03 AM

    As always, love your wit and humor!

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  20. dustincecilMarch 11, 2015 at 3:23 PM

    I also love these, and often wonder if loss of eyesight or colorblindness in later life plays into some of these design choices...

    I've had a paper print out of that first one in my pile for year... great minds think alike!

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  21. Barbara BrackmanMarch 11, 2015 at 4:42 PM

    These are all good theories, but I also think there is a style going on here. People seemed to value the chaos. Some of them are really good design with a wonderful sense of rhythm and organization. I think I shall have to gather more pictures from the files.

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  22. AnonymousMarch 12, 2015 at 9:55 AM

    I actually like the last pink one, but would remove that white.

    Besides thrift, make-do, utility, colorblindness, etc., what about sheer orneryness or weariness of always being expected to follow the "rules" of what colors & patterns should be used together? Or that they should be good at quilting at all? Rebellion - that's the word I think I'm looking to use.

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  23. AnonymousMarch 12, 2015 at 10:00 AM

    I forgot to add - I rather like the first quilt also, at least the part with the cheddary-orange blocks. I suspect maybe the others are a bit too chaotic for my eye (yet).

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