Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Tolerance

I have a new obsession....this is what happens when you spend time surfing quilting blogs....all sorts of new ideas find their way into your head...

Over the last year or so, I've seen many quilters use (gasp!) vintage sheets in their quilts, not only for backings, but for tops as well. They've talked about visiting thrift stores and finding all sorts of great deals. The quilts they've made out of the sheets always look so bright and cheery in the photos. So I thought I'd join the party.

These are the sheets and pillowcases I've found in some thrift stores over the last few weeks. Don't they look pretty? The sheets cost me $2-$4 each, and one of the pillowcases was a whopping 39 cents (hey, there's no cents key on my laptop, only a $ sign).

Now I know that the quilt police insist on 100% cotton, so they're probably on their way over to my house right now...I'll just pretend my doorbell's not working...I know for certain that many of the sheets I've found are not all cotton. But who cares?

I know that members of The Modern Quilt Guild don't care. They've been having some very interesting posts discussing "what does modern quilting mean to you". One of the recent posts (read it here) summed it all up for me "Modern quilting = Tolerant quilting". What a great attitude!

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Don't worry no quilt police here! You should do what makes your heart sing.

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I actually used sheets for the backings of the first 2 quilts I ever made years ago! And I used thin worn out blankets for the batting!! I guess if people go to thrift stores to buy old cotton shirts to cut up for scraps they can use sheets too. I always hate it when the quilt police gasp and tell you what you can do and what you can't.
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/

Scarlett Burroughs said...

I so enjoyed your post today I linked to it here
http://quilting.craftgossip.com/anya-joins-the-ranks-of-outlaw-quilters/2010/02/17/

Carry on making up your own rules!

Warm regards,
Scarlett Burroughs
Quilting Editor, Craft Gossip

Heather said...

i have heard the quilt police at my guild. They were commenting that while my piecing was good, its too bad that I used that aweful orange fabric. Well, as you know, i happen to love orange.

Needled Mom said...

Great finds!! It is nice to have no quilt police. What would the quilters who came before us think of us buying "new/good" fabric to come home and cut it all up? Do you think they had quilt police?

Vivian said...

I enjoyed reading this post, and I checked out the link at the end. I also like her attitude.

Thirty years, I made my first quilt with no help from anybody. I just looked at pictures in a magazine and made a quilt. My little son's Q was an assortment of appliqued items, all sewn onto squares cut from a white sheet. The backing was another sheet. I didn't know any better.

It was cute, he loved it, and no quilt police have darkened my door.

Rene' said...

Those are pretty sheets. Unbelievable how inexpensive they are. No quilt police here. I also appreciated reading "Modern quilting=Tolerant quilting". So true.

Joan said...

The quilting (and crafting) world is something like fairy tale land: If you don't believe in the "rules," they don't exist. Life's too short to obey all the rules anyway!
I'd be a better quilter if I spent as much time doing actually quilting as I do reading quilting blogs. :)
Finally, if you want to use 100% cotton, solid-colored sheets for backing, sashing, or whatever, Ikea has twin-sized for $5. Nowhere else can you get that much cotton fabric that cheap.