I want a quilt that'll use up a ton of ugly scraps and turn them into something that looks neat. I want one that I can spread out on the grass at the park because that's much more comfortable than trying to sit and knit on one of the concrete benches. I want one that won't require a whole lot of accuracy while I'm working on it.
I think I've got a good start --
I've been going through the bags of auction and thrift store fabric, pulling out oddly shaped pieces that I'm never going to use in a regular quilt, and cutting them into strips. There was a little plastic bag that turned out to be full of fabric already cut into strips, and I just hauled down one of the plastic tubs of Mom's scraps (which, for some reason live in my sewing room instead of hers) and found a bunch more strips.
And I figured out what was wrong with my rotary cutter, which hasn't worked right in ages. I had changed the blade a while back, but that didn't help matters at all. Then yesterday I read on one of the quilting lists that it works to take the blade out and flip it, so I decided to give that a try.
There were TWO blades in the dumb thing. They must've stuck together when I was being so careful to take the new one out of the package.
It works much better now. And my 10 year old still hasn't stopped laughing at me.
I can sympatize for your rotary cutter woes. I have worn out one already in the 7 years that I have been quilting.
ReplyDeleteYour utility quilt looks great! Those types of quilts intrigue me as well. I will be looking forward to seeing progress on yours.
I love true scrap quilts!! I just started a quilt today - well at least I pulled all the scraps together for a red and white one...(My scrap pile is big enough that I had over 100 different reds!)Can't wait to see yours! Bet that rotary cutter is working better with 1 blade!
ReplyDeleteHa ha, isn't that just like a kid? If 10 year old doesn't quit laughing, threaten to post pictures of them as a baby doing something embarassing . .
ReplyDeleteMy kids are still young, and I'm making sure to get lots of "ammunition" for when they hit the early teens . . .(Forewarned is forearmed, I always say!)
My great-grandmother made crazy quilts with the oddest scraps of fabric, and somehow they were such beautiful works of art! She would sew them together with a funky zigzag stitch using a really brightly colored thread. Somehow the bright thread (although it clashed with some fabrics) tied the whole thing together and made it look more cohesive. Just a suggestion!