Do You "Quilt?"

I've never really been "in to" quilting. Maybe it's because my mom wasn't much of a quilter. We tied quilts, and even hand quilted quilts, but they were always just large pieces of fabric, not pieced quilts. As I've warmed up to the idea of "quilting" I've had two caveats.

I don't want to make grandma quilts.

This caveat has two parts--I don't want to use grandma fabric, and I don't want to use a grandma pattern.

Now I recognize that people love their grandma quilts and and even go to great lengths to recreate old patterns and fabrics and that's fine. If I had had a grandma that was a big quilter then I would probably would be into that too. But I prefer a little more of an updated look, while using the same old techniques.

The other reason I don't like a lot of grandma classic patterns is because they use such little pieces.  I respect the historical reasons for that-- our pioneer great grandmothers found an ingenious way to use teeny scraps leftover from clothing construction to make beautiful quilts to keep their families warm in their snow-drifted log cabins all winter long.  But these days we buy yardage for quilt making--pricy, designer yardage.   So caveat number two is:

I don't want to cut my fabric up into teeny tiny pieces, so small that I can no longer really even see the pattern of the fabric I spent good money on.  

So really number two ties back into number one--I like nice contemporary quilt patterns with some large pieces that showcase the contemporary fabrics.  Though I sound really pickiy I've actually had two quilts this last year that I have fallen in love with immediately.

 This Circle Around Quilt. Such a fun quilt!  So I decided--like a novice-- to make not one but two of these quilts.  One for Owen and one for Jonas for their big boy bunk beds.  I was a good little quilter and bought the magazine for the pattern and bought all the supplies it told me to.  But in reality--I think I could manage without the pattern.  (And yeah--these quilts are still "in progress".)

I also saw this Sixth Time's the Charm crib quilt.  I love it.   I love how big and bold it is.  And I decided since I heard mixed reviews on the piecing method the author uses (leaves a lot of leftovers), and with the fact that I don't need a crib quilt right now, that I would just wing it, and try to create something similar for myself.

HAhahahaha!  I know, I sound crazy.  Unless you've met my Dad.  Then you know that I am the daughter of Macguiver, and honestly--because of him I usually end up doing most things my own way anyways. 

I am actually making progress on this quilt, and I am very excited about it.  I'll share my madness method next time.