A New Classification

 Happy Monday!

Some of us have stories of really successful quilts that we completed.  

That isn't this story.  

But it's true...

At our December guild meeting, Lorraine showed us her recent projects.  The story interested me and she graciously shared it and photos with us.  So here's the story:

"I took a large blanket to the laundromat to be washed and when I took it out of the washing machine it was frayed along the edges of the blanket.  I brought it home and dried it on my clothesline because I felt that the blanket would fray more and much lint would come off in the dryer.  I then thought the inner part of the blanket could be put to good use.  The old saying “waste not want not” came to mind so I trimmed off all of the fraying.  

I had just been rummaging around in my quilt closet and found an old flannel quilt top that I made many years ago.  I thought that this would be a good use for the dog beds.  I layered a few layers of the blanket for the inside and put the flannel quilt on the outside.  

All in all I made 3 large dog beds.  I then did very simple straight line quilting on them to hold everything together.  I took the beds to a shelter and they were thrilled.  The woman taking them said that they frequently sell beds like this to customers or the shelter would use them!"

I remember thinking when she told us this story, "Lorraine sure knows how to make lemonade out of lemons!"

Lorraine's cat and dog beds:

***

A few years ago, I fell in love with Bethan Janine's Aviary fabric for Dashwood Studios.

The fabric reminded me of the bird illustrations done by Charley Harper in the 1950s:

It was one of those "Kawabonga!" moments.  I knew just what I wanted to do with the fabric and ordered some yardage.  

First problem:  I accidentally ordered double the fabric I needed.  This has happened to me a few times.  I click purchase, don't see it in the cart, and then hit purchase again.  I didn't check the cart and dang it, got double the fabric I needed.  It's okay, I told myself.  I love the fabric so much that maybe I'll make two of the incredibly brilliant quilts I designed.  

I didn't have much coordinating fabric so I bought some more fabric...doubled of course.

And then, I pieced together a sample block and...

I hated it.

I can't remember what the design was (disgusted, I threw the block out) but I remember it was a trifecta of mistakes:  visually too busy, not enough contrast, and the poor birds were lost in the mess.

I did what any self-respecting quilter would do:  I bundled up my (double) amount of yardage and stuffed it into the already bulging cupboard.

All of us have stories of quilts gone-wrong and mishaps we encounter.  It's part of the quilting tradition   human condition.  I often wonder if some antique quilt tops were abandoned because the quilter ended up not liking the piece (although the reasons for UFOS are too numerous to cite).

Weeks ago, I got tired of making kids' quilts and opened up a drawer to see what was in there that I might be able to use up.

I found pinwheels!  I had forgotten about them.  I had made them years ago from left over backing fabric.  Often when I have leftover bits and bobs, I try to put them together in some kind of block...anything to keep from adding to the scrap drawer.  

I liked the look of the pinwheels with the old Dashwood Studio bird fabric.  Voila!  A quilt top is born!  It's simple but gets the job done.  

Best of all, my neighbor loved the piece so I'm going to finish it for her.

All this brings me to my latest conclusion.  We need a new classification of quilts.  I suggest we call them lemonade quilts or projects.  

One of the things I like about our guild UFO challenge is the motto "better done than perfect."  Our quilt history is full of quilts that were not perfect but were completed.  We even have a classification for many of these textiles: utility quilts.

We quilters tend to be highly critical of our own work (often to the point of showing folks where our mistakes are).   Sometimes we are even unkind to each other (aka quilt police). Why not embrace our work and celebrate what we can do with our lemon projects with a positive spin?

Quilting--like life--is not linear.  I much prefer to hear about how a new piece was re-imagined and celebrate the ingenuity of the maker.  What do you think? Have you made a lemonade project?

Have a safe and happy day!