Quilting is my passion. It's what I do when the kids are in bed, when there's a few spare moments through the course of the day, when I need a break and a moment to recharge. It's also my creative outlet.
I have found that in the world of quilting, there are really cute – sometimes “too cute” - baby quilts and large quilts. Not a lot of quilts are designed for twin beds. Yes, you can adjust the design, but it will look different in the end. You may lose design elements by chopping off the sides. Blocks may need to be resized. And depending on the design, you may have to refigure border elements.
I like big baby quilts. Baby quilts that will fit a toddler bed the way a regular quilt fits a regular bed. With drop and good design for the size of the bed. These quilts I prefer to have more classic design and color. I tend not to use nursery prints but may use a nursery print as inspiration for the colors, then put away the nursery print. When the child is done using the quilt on her bed, then it becomes a blanket big enough to curl up in. Something to sit in a chair and read a favorite book with.
I recently purchased quilt design software and it is amazing. Of course it still has certain parameters that it can work in, but it’s perfect for getting ideas out of my head and recoloring on a whim. My daughters are not the froo-froo and frilly type. Well, one isn’t, and the other doesn’t mind a little. But it is hard to find little girl quilts that aren’t “too cute” for the girls. We always tweak something.
My oldest is like me. She doesn’t like frill or froo-froo. She, however, is at the opposite end of the colorphobe spectrum. I’m breaking loose from colorphobe world, and she loves what she calls the “fire colors”.
Next... She loves purple in just the right shade. She also likes the “fire colors” but really tends to lean very heavily toward purple. She would add the brighter pastels quicker to her color palette.
Next... A little boy who combines every shade of green imaginable. EVERY shade. He makes no preference.
The little guy shows no preference toward anything but his baby quilt.
The hubby…. oh, the hubby…. the hardest man to get any opinions out of when it comes to what he would like for a quilt for us. So, I’m not asking his opinion and doing what I want.
I get distracted by another design or idea floating around in my head. But I prefer to have several different projects at several different stages in progress. That way, if I have a few minutes here or there through the day, I can work on something. Hand work for the TV watching evenings. Something that can travel. Something for the machine.
family, quilting, schooling the kids
