Sunshine quilt

Sunshine quilt

Wednesday 4 December 2013

Don't tell the quilt police!!

I was someone who took a long time to pluck up the courage to make a quilt. As Jane Brocket describes in her book The Gentle Art of Quilt-Making I feared not being able to do things accurately to make something I would be pleased with. I think she aptly describes it as the 'tyranny of perfection'(p8). Eventually I plucked up courage to give it a go and though I love my first ever quilt for the pleasure it gave me choosing and placing the fabrics it is full of imperfections - seams that don't match and squares that are wonky. This is a picture of it above with a distinctly non-square 'square' right in the middle.

And then I had a revelation. Quite a long time later, after improving my technique and actually managing to learn how to match up seams I came across this book. And suddenly it didn't matter about squares being wonky or seams not matching - in fact wonkiness was a positive virtue. Surprising how hard it can be to be deliberately wonky. So I have started to make some of Lucie Summers lovely quilty wall hangings.


This is my second attempt - I can't show you my first cos it's my older daughter's Christmas present and she might see it. It was so much fun to sew as I could focus on choosing the colours and the fabrics - and in my liberated state of mind I found myself choosing and using fabric I would not previously have had the confidence to use together.

And I realised, of course, that there are no quilt police, and if there were, they exist only in my own mind. The only person who looks for an unmatched seam is another quilter - and if they find one it probably makes them feel good as they realise that perfection really isn't necessary.

3 comments:

  1. Yes I might see it!! And although I do always try to find out my presents before Christmas, I want to wait to be surprised by this one. In quilting (as in life!) I think that constantly striving for perfection can make the whole process of making something less pleasurable. When you ignored the neatness of the seams and squareness of the squares it seems like you had much more fun! And I think that comes across in the fabrics and design you chose. Ps-lovely light in these photos!

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  2. YES!!! You are exactly the type of quilter my book is aimed at - personally I find perfectly made quilts a bit dull - they were made by a human being, not a robot so it SHOULD have mistakes and mismatching points and all the rest! :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Lu
      Just thought you might like to see the other quilt sampler I made. I can't attach it but you can see it here http://porterhousequilts.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/being-thrifty.html
      Really enjoyed the book and will certainly try one of the big quilts
      Best wishes
      Judy

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