Quilt Blocks

I haven't counted how many squares there are in the completed quilt but there are dozens, different sizes, mostly different patterns and every one a different combination of fabrics. This is an entirely different approach to making a quilt since I'm not arranging them into the finished design until I've finished all the squares. Whether the squares look good in the final design depends on using fabrics that all look ok together regardless of placement of the blocks. This adds a new dimension and challenge to the process which is another thing that helps answer the question of why I keep doing this.

My grandmother made quilts and I inherited a couple of them. I used one of them as a bed cover but perhaps because of it's age, It wore out after several years. I appreciated all her handiwork, but it was the knitting that occupied me initially. I did have a couple of very early attempts at quilt making, which did not lead me to continue the effort. 

The whole idea behind quilt making was originally to use worn out work clothing, flour sacks and other fabric sources that were primarily designed for some other purpose.* I decided to try my hand at digging into the rag bag but found that I had no ability to create or design anything without access to a huge range of fabrics and colors, but it sort of defeats the original purpose of making a quilt, to spend a lot of money on fabric. 

My second early effort was a baby quilt for a friend. I hand sewed blocks together and hand tied the result. I don't think I had any idea what I was doing but I rather liked the result. Many years late, in fact long after the child had grown up and left home I was visiting and noticed that the baby quilt was in the dog bed. A lot of people thought I should be offended, but I thought it was great that they still had it and that it was still in use. And I knew that they loved their dog, I didn't make another quilt until my grandchildren were born.

I left off yesterday with my return to quilt making years after we moved here to Santa Rosa. Making Covid masks reintroduced me to my fabric stash and I decided to see if I could make a quilt entirely from my stash. I can't remember what happened to that quilt, but a friend asked me if I would make a quilt for her daughter's birthday. ** I think having a specific person in mind provided some inspiration.

The final influence on the process was Kaffe Fassett a fabric and wool designer who grew up in California but who has lived in England for many years. When the fabric stores closed during the Covid lockdown I discovered his books on quilts and his beautiful fabrics on line, offered by small fabric stores all over the country. I still use this source of fabric since most of the local stores didn't survive the lockdown. I am down to one local store dedicated to quilting with sewing machines and fabrics. 

The current quilt has no designated recipient.  I've made more quilts for most family members and friends during this phase two and have saturated the market. I've only kept one quilt and it is on our bed. There's really no place else in this house for another...except maybe the guest room, but I'm quite attached to the decor in there which was inspired by some curtains from IKEA.

So,  amando Alantejo, so you got this whole long story, and I still didn't answer your question, because I've never kept a tally of my quilts. I have  have taken pictures of most of them, so maybe one day there will be a part three to this story.

*There is a wonderful book, later made into a documentary called the Quilts of Gee's Bend about the women in a small, remote community in Alabama who have made hundreds of quilts this way.

**I had long since reached the conclusion that by the time you factor in the cost of fabric (even if the top can all be made from a stash, the back and the batting needs to be purchased) the quilting (which I can do by hand on a small project but not on a large quilt.) and the time spent, you can't charge enough for a quilt. So I decided to do it in exchange for a donation to charity by the recipient.