One of the reasons I love my work is that every quilt is one of a kind, and I love using the unique quality of each piece of clothing to its full advantage. I use placards with buttons, zippers, snaps, pockets, and any special parts of the garment. I often use lacy edges and decorative neck lines. Even blouses or dresses with lace over a fabric panel can be used in a quilt. Sleeves and cuffs can be fun to use, too, especially on shirts that have buttons on the cuffs.
Even bears can have pockets. This sweet bear has a pocket from a jacket on his behind.
I also like to combine elements from a piece if I can. For instance, if there is a small logo on the front or sleeve and the large graphic is on the back, then I can move the smaller item, and integrate it into the larger graphic through applique to create a square.
Since all of my quilting is hand-guided, meaning I do not have a computer connected to my APQS Lenni. I move the machine for every quilt I make, and I can more easily avoid fun bits and bobs that I cannot quilt over, like metal zippers, buttons, larger sequins, beads, and bulky pieces. I can also quilt around pockets to leave them open and useable. Speaking of pockets, I have used a lot of different kinds of pockets in quilts, even side pockets in shorts, flannel pants, and jackets.
This sweet little heart is made from the strap from the bridesmaid’s dress used to make this unique baby quilt.
I also like the nod back to its original iteration that bits and bobs offer. Placards and pockets show what the fabric was, and I think these bits and bobs highlight the life lived in the clothing, too. Layers of meaning and memory built into the layers of the quilts.
Sending Quilty Love,
Ginger
Next Week: Next week I am going to discuss Quilt Vocabulary. Do you have any words or phrases I use that you would like more information about? For instance I used “fussy cut” in a picture description this week. Leave me a comment below to let me know what I can define for you!
Reading: I am well into You Can’t Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe, and for a novel published 1934, it has some very timely descriptions. The Great Depression has just started, and George Webber postulates that the corruption and grift in America lead to the hard times. His descriptions sound eerily familiar. I am still contemplating my next read, but I am thinking about rereading Middlemarch by George Eliot, and reading My Life With Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead. I have a lot of good options. Too, Cherrywood fabrics announced their challenge this year and it is in honor of Jane Goodall…did you know she helped write several books? Of course I am going to read some! My reading life is full and lovely.
Be kind to yourself and others this week. NPR is still an excellent source for knowledgable news coverage.