Lessons from an Old FOUR PATCH Quilt || Scrappy Quilt Block
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
- Come with me while take a closer look at this old four patch quilt in this week's episode of Lessons from an Old Quilt. Each scrappy quilt block in this vintage quilt features interesting old fabrics, but the overall look at this quilt has some issues. I will discuss what I feel went wrong with this quilt and how the maker could have made better choices.
This is probably my favorite of the vintage quilts you’ve shown! It’s a scrappy quilt, so the blues not matching aren’t distracting for me or the lack of an obvious pattern. It’s an interesting quilt because of the variety of fabrics used and really catches your eye. Many of these older quilts have imperfections, but who knows what were the maker’s circumstances. I’d quilt it; but again you’d have to like it first, because quilting is a lot of work! I’m enjoying these videos about the vintage quilts and wondering what the makers were thinking!
The more I look at it, the more I like it. I am going to have it quilted. it is currently displayed on a ladder in my spare bedroom and every time I see it, I like it more! Thank you for your wonderful insight!
I love it. Really was shocked that you don't! We don't know why women did what they did. It's only the magic of economics, time, lack of emergencies, health and need that helps us make and finish quilts. I'm amazed anyone gets anything done.
Great points! So true. I think I have made 65 or so of these Lessons from an Old Quilt videos now, and I have grown so much as a quilter because of this, including softening and giving more grace to the makers. Unfortunately, this is an earlier video for me, and I am embarrassed at how harsh I used to be. I agree--so much goes into the making of a quilt and so many factors are involved, too.
You will be happy to know that this quilt top is in my space bedroom proudly displayed on a ladder (I haven't quilted it yet, but I intend to at some point). It has really grown on me!
Thank you so much for pointing these things out. So true. 🥰
This relates to one of the things I love about quilting. I can make the quilt that I love and it doesn’t matter if it suits someone else’s tastes. It’s my art.
Yes! Totally agree! It is what makes quilting so interesting.
I have a quilt VERY similar to this, but it is set with sashing. It is sewn by hand and finished by machine...neither process being done very well. However, it is my absolute favorite quilt! It is soft, well loved, and contains about a zillion different fabrics. Some of the fabrics come in matching pairs, and some not, some of the fabrics are vintage feed sack fabrics (because of their texture and weave), but everything is cotton. I never tire of looking at all the different fabric pairings, and finding the "easter eggs" in which fabric prints were used. It's imperfections make it endearing. Your scrappy version may not be your cup of tea, but I LOVE MINE! 😊🧵🪡✂
Thank you so much for this! It is funny--I have made 70 of these "Lessons from an Old Quilt" videos and this one still makes me cringe a little. I was so judgmental in my earlier videos! It's a bit embarrassing! 😬 Just a bit of an update on this particular quilt: although it isn't quilted (yet), I have come to love it. I have it displayed on a ladder in my bedroom and keep looking at it, wanting to finish it. It has become an endearing quilt top and a reminder of the beauty it holds. Thank you for this. You are right--this may end up being another favorite. 🥰
No you’re not wrong about this quilt. It’s not quite my cup of tea either. It’s a good practice once in a while to take a good look at old quilts to see if they have stood the test of time or to evaluate how we now respond to them. I’m glad you chose to show it to us too. Thanks for your shows. I like them very much!
So happy you are enjoying them! I’m still unsure about this one, but it is growing on me some. ❤️
I just have to say, I LOVE your videos about these old quilts, we can keen so much for them AND it's so cool, to me at least, to see old quilts. I wish I had even JUST one old quilt!!!
Yes! And country auctions are also another great place to look.
Thank you so much! For whatever reason, old quilts seem to "find" me. It's weird! But keep a look out for them and spread the word that you are looking for old quilts.
I actually really like this quilt.....
I am liking it more and more lately. I have it in my spare bedroom and keep looking at it. I think I am going to have it quilted this year. I will definitely make an update video when I do. Quilting will make this quilt sparkle, I think!
Your quilt reminds me of that dog at that pound that everyone passes by; he's waiting for that special owner who will appreciate his quirks. I vote for finishing it then passing it along to someone who loves that "mod" design.
YES! I love this analogy! Funny you say mod--next week's quilt is a mod quilt. Now that you say that, this is a bit mod, isn't it?
Love the guidance and information on this video thank you. The maker of this quilt feels like she/he's at the same stage of exploration and experimentation as I am. Getting better, but not ready to fiddle too much for perfection. And pushed into a cupboard when it got too much to finish or even alter. Bless em.
It was my pleasure! That is such a wonderful perspective on this one. Thank you for sharing. Just beautiful. ❤️🥰❤️
It's gorgeous and clever. Love it!
Glad you like it! It is growing on me! LOL!
I agree with you completely. It's trying but not quite there. I'm with you on the sight lines, and directions your eye likes to go. I think your point about the back ground, the blues is one of he main problems. Karen Brown of "Just Get it Done Quilts," has been teaching me something about color intensity, and I think the value or strength of the blues is too close to the levels also found in the patches. You hit the nail on the head with this one. No, you're not being too critical. You're learning and teaching, so it's important for all of us to see with a critical eye. How else do we learn? Whoever made this, also didn't know how to finish it, so if it's nice on the ladder, might be a good home for it. I love that you share these examples with us. I'm so encouraged to see what you see. It helps me as I go forward. Thanks for showing us all these great examples.
First, I love Karen Brown! I have learned so much from her, too. She is amazing and her color/tone/hue videos are amazing, as are her other videos. Thank you so much for your kind words. My goal is always to learn and in turn, to teach. I know not everyone feels the same way about this quilt top, but I am happy I helped open up the discussion. Thank you, as always, for watching and commenting.
The name of the quilt must be 'Truncate and Defragmentation'.
It looks the way the old computer screens did back in the DOS days when we had to unclutter the computer before going to lunch each Friday.
It is not an art quilt.
It is a computer geek quilt.
Circa 1980 - 1990.
I love it.
It brings back memories.
If you finish it, I would suggest the continuous line quilting pattern that is all elongated squares in elongated squares.
Feathers, circles, anything frou-frou will ruin it.
Then, it will be perfect for someone's computer room or game room someday as wall art.
I remember those days! It does kind of look like that, doesn't it? Thanks for watching!
I like it more than you do. To me it has a modern vibe, which appeals to me.
I love that! Yes, it does have a bit of a modern vibe. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I think that the backgrounds and the shifting sight lines give this quilt top a modern feel, and adds interest. If quilt were more balanced it would be less unique. But of course you are entitled to your own opinion!
Great points! I know there are many who agree with you. That's what makes quilting exciting--we all have our own distinct tastes, likes, dislikes, etc. Thank you for watching and commenting!
Hi Kris. I’m glad I don’t own this as I’d have to unpick it, to address the blue tones more evenly and get those seams sorted. The seams really would drive me crazy xx
I completely understand this! I have come around some since making this video, however. I have it in my spare bedroom on a ladder, and each time I see it, I love it more and more. I really have to get this one finished! It is so intriguing and unique! BUT I completely understand what you are saying! It is also very chaotic! 😊
I really like the quilt..love scrappy...that's my two cents -;))))
It is growing on me. :) Thanks for watching!
What a fun discussion. To me the challenge of using scraps I have for a quilt is what I like most about making one. Buying fabric for a quilt is against my personal rules. Though I have occasionaly sacrified a garment that could have lived longer around my body to get tthe scraps I wanted.
What you dislike about the design, and discuss with great acumen, is what makes it a delight for me. That band of different background color adds great exitement for me. It sits just where it should to liven up a tame concept. Added vibrancy comes from the slanted lines of different tonalities. This quilt displayed on a wall jumps at you with the exuberance of a young puppy, uncoordinated and utterly wild and adorable. Nobody will ever know if the maker planned this, or even understood what she was creating. If she didn't she stumbled onto a happy accident that reminds me of the wilder shaggy rugs woven in Morocco or Iran by tribal people. Thank you so much for sharing the quilt you dislike, that makes my day.
This is possibly the most beautifully written comment ever. It makes my English teacher's heart happy. Wow! Yes! It is like a young puppy! You may have made me actually like this quilt top a little, too. Thanks so much for your kind (and beautiful!) words and for watching my video.
@@SewtheDistance thank you for the praise. English is my 3rd language. I do use it a lot and have lectured and published in english over many years.
@@friedasorber1653 I am in awe of anyone who learns a second language. My last three years of teaching was as an English as a Second Language teacher. For you to know three is amazing!
@@SewtheDistance actually I live between 4, can read a few more and more or less understand a few others. It helps to have grown up and live in western Europe and to have friends on skype and whatsap all over the place. I grew up hearing languages so they came natural. Another great help was tv, no dubbing where I live. My mother and I always did textile things while sort of watching tv in the 60's and 70's. This meant you had to play it by ear if you wanted to know what was going on. CZcams does the same.
Sorry was not ready yet. If you watch some strange textile technique in bahasa Indonesia or turkish you try to understand at least some of what people say. If you have no fear of another language many come relatively easy. The ideal is solo travel in a country with an unknown language. Grammar is another thing but I feel studying grammar before having vocabulary is counter productive, a big hurdle. Immersion in a foreign language is the ideal, at least for me. But immersion is hard in many parts of the US and easy in small European countries, at least for those curious to learn.
Here after hearing about you on “Dave’s Craft Room”! Really enjoying your content!
LOVE Dave! Thank you so much!
Honestly, if it were me I would finish it and then use it as a less precious quilt...one you can take camping or send off to college with a kiddo
That's a good idea! Thank you!
I think it’s unique! Please don’t fold it away - give it to someone who would love it.
It is starting to grow on me. For now, I will keep it on display, but it may be finished in the future. Thanks for watching!
I think this quilt looks nice on your ladder. I'm wondering if the quilter just joined 9 patch squares as she went just using the colour blue square that she had at that time and just added it as she went along. Lesson for me is... make all the squares first then join the squares together when the squares are laid out in a pleasing manner.
Yes! I totally agree, although like I said in another reply, I may be coming around to this quilt. I keep looking at it. What if I quilted it with a bright-color thread and embraced its craziness? I am not sure. For now, it is going to remain on the ladder, but it may break free in the future. :)
I love this top. Would love to buy it from you!
So happy you love it! I am not selling it at this time, but if I ever change my mind, I will let you know.
This is just my taste. I am not a fan of scrappy quilts. I made block quilts when I first started quilting, and that was a long, long time ago. I want my quilts to have a design, and lots of color and contrast. That is just my reference. This quilt reminds me of my grandma's type of quilts. She didn't have a store to get fabric from, and so she used old clothes to make them. She was born in 1898, and so she quilted in the early 1900's. I was given a couple of her quilt tops, and that is how I first learned to quilt. My first quilts were a HOT MESS, but I kept trying to improve. Now my family wants them, before they are even long armed.
What wonderful memories of your grandma! This quilt is growing on me. I haven't finished it yet, but I do have it on a ladder in my spare bedroom. I am loving the colors and the interest more and more every time I look at it. Thank you for sharing this! I love that you are quilting and sharing the legacy! ❤️❤️❤️
I agree with you - the different blue backgrounds placed in bands is not as effective as mixing the blues throughout the quilt would have been. But it is a utility scrap quilt; I am sure the maker used what she had and added rows as the piecing was completed. I actually like the fact that the “sight line” zigzags around. The unexpected twists and turns adds interest to this very scrappy quilt. I am tempted to make one like it to use a cache of scrappy squares.
Wow! I am happy I showcased this one then. I love that it inspired you. Thanks so much for watching!
I love the pattern of this quilt. I am actually cutting scraps and slowly piecing either to do this same thing.
However, my eye has a hard time with the background squares on this quilt. I do think scrap quilts can be a challenge to organize though.
Totally agree! Scrap quilts seem like they would be easy but they certainly aren't easy at all.
I think this maker could have benefited from a little bit of planning ie planned scrappy. I agree with everything you said.
Thank you! I do feel I was a bit harsh in this video 😂. I have to quilt top hanging on an old ladder in my studio and I am liking it more and more. I still need to finish that one! Thanks for watching this oldie! ❤️
Maybe they constructed it in sections as they had enough fabric for a section?
That could be it, although there are some repeated fabrics throughout the quilt, so maybe the maker just didn't have enough at the time but found more? I wish this quilt could talk. Wouldn't that be cool?
I agree with you that the quilt is not my cup of tea. It has all the elements of a great quilt, but the final design doesn't quite get it to that level. It's disconcerting to me to see the swaths of blues - distracting. Interesting analysis from you - the first I've seen. Dave of Dave's Craft Room mentioned you and I'm glad I checked it out.
Dave is awesome! Love him! ❤️ Thanks so much for coming over to see my videos!
This is one of those quilt tops that I am still not sure about. I have it on a quilt ladder in my spare room. It definitely catches your eye. I want to finish this one. ❤️
I’m not a fan of this flimsy either but I did want to make an observation. When you show the overall quilt from a distance in the beginning the solids look very green to me. Then when there were close-ups the solid squares looked more blue. I noticed even when you were talking about the problem block with the large print and plaid that the solid colour looked different in the two images of the same block. Weird!
That could be because of my lighting or white balance on my camera. Or it could be that the design kind of messes with your eyes. It sure has created a stir. People seem to either love it or hate it. Thanks for watching and commenting!
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The dark and bright squares of the four patches change their direction. That is confusing. But you won't recognize it if the quilt is used. You see it from far away like through your camera.
Sell it on Etsy, if somebody likes it, as it is happy. Or add dark sashings between the blocks to calm it down. Then you could re-organize it, too.
Some of that could be from my lighting and white balance. I am still working on that aspect in these videos. It can be challenging, that's for sure.
Good idea! I may sell it as is. Thank you!
I think it still makes a great utility quilt. If you finished it and documented. Then let it be used up
That's a great idea! I still haven't gotten to finishing this one. I have so many great intentions! Hopefully after the holidays I can tackle some of these old quilt tops and make them usable. Thank you for the great idea!
I think if the darker background areas were at opposite ends like a border, maybe even you would like it. I LOVE scrappy quilts so I do like this one, but would like it better if the darker areas were on the ends.
Great points. I think I would like it better if were done that way.
The back of a flimsy disappears if the Quilt is finished so why does it bother?? It is a scrappy quilt, so sight lines are not required, for me it is a spontanious and colofull flimsy that will become a beuatifull and happy quilt! Lets agree to disagree about this quilt.
I agree to agree to disagree, although after reading all these comments, I may be starting to come around to this quilt top. I was looking at it last night and wonder if I quilted it, would it then sparkle? Maybe going with a bright thread? I am not sure. Still processing this one! Thanks for watching. :)
I think it’s just as important to study quilts that aren’t as successful, as there are still plenty of lessons to learn.
Great point, Barbara! I agree! ❤️
If you really want to finish it, make a smaller quilt from the part you like best. Donate the remaining part? I like it, but I can see the problems you point out and they are good learning points for a new quilter. That quilt was probably going to be a utility quilt but never got finished. Maybe the maker didn't like it, either!! Ha!
Maybe the maker didn't! LOL! Great idea! Maybe I will do that someday! Thank you!
I'm wondering if it was a child or a grandma that may have made it. I would quilt it with some kind of flowers. It might clam it down.
Ohhhhh! Maybe! A few weeks ago I took another look at this quilt top and am liking it more and more. I love the idea of quilting it with a floral motif. I think I am going to have it quilted by a local longarmer. I will definitely provide an update when it is finished. The quilting may make this quilt top shine.
Maybe a child made this quilt, but I must say it's not one I like either
My first quilt was the ugliest, ugliest quilt ever....EVER. I didn't finish it and used it for my dogs. However, it made me sick to look at it and I threw it away. This has a lot going for it and I'm not a fan of the background, but it is a good effort.
Oh, wow! Sometimes it takes a bit to figure out the color thing in quilting. I completely understand!
It is a unique quilt. It is growing on me some. I want to quilt it because that often helps, as I am sure you know. Thank you so much for watching and commenting! 🥰
I love these old quilt lesson videos and I am learning so much from them! I am far from being a "quilter", or an expert. I do love scrappy quilts, but this one-it is too distracting! It looks better folded up on the ladder.
So happy to be part of your journey! I think it is going to stay on the ladder, at least for the foreseeable future. Thank you so much for watching and commenting!
I adore the small squares and block pattern, love scrappy quilts but I am very sensitive to hues, tones. I personally think the blues are not right they don't sit well with the small squares at all, there is no complimenting, a more neutral tone for the plain pieces would have thrown the quilt into something far more appealing, that's what I think anyway. The little squares are a fine mish mash just not with the blues. Thank you for showing that, but I think I'm a bit traumatised, hope no nightmares about dodgy quilts lol 😂
LOL! I love it! Sleep well. It will remain folded for the foreseeable future! I wonder if the maker would have used black fabric--that would have been interesting. Or even navy blue? Hmmmm. Something to think about.
The fact that there are all those solid blues and grays in competing tones was the first thing I noticed about it. It is difficult to work a turquoisey-greenish-blue with a pale powder blue, they sit on different parts of the color wheel. The fact that the blues of different types were not distributed did it no favors. I wonder, did the maker work on it in chunks as she got ahold of yet another piece of blue she thought she could use? I also doubt that the maker had a space where she could "try out" positions of blocks. This has the look of someone pulling parts out of the basket one by one and sewing them together. I love scrappy crazy quilts because they are so over the top scrappy that they hang together, but this one with it's partial attempts at organization, not so much, it's not my cup of tea.
Not to my liking either
Yes! That color is tricky to work with. Great observations! I can envision the maker sitting with different baskets. I love that! I would so do that, too. :)
I, too, like things balanced. That probably contributes to many unfinished projects, and even some that get no farther than the planning stage. My instinct is to deconstruct it, perhaps in the big 9-patch sections, and lay it out more pleasingly. Then try to find a fabric for the back within the ages of the fabrics used. Second hand stores often have older fabrics. But, that's a lot of work.
I completely understand that! Since recording this video, I have grown a fondness for this quilt top. It is currently in my spare bedroom, and I think I am going to have it machine quilted, maybe with some bright-colored thread to make it sparkle. It is definitely growing on me. I will make a follow-up video when I have it quilted. Thanks for the suggestions! If I don't have it quilted, I may do this.
I love that it’s scrappy and alternates a whole block with a four patch. I agree the blues should match or alternatively each nine patch section could feature a different color. The sight line should be straighter but it’s not a deal breaker to me. I put scraps in jars and vases as I go and this seems to be just right to use some of them. I hope that you gave this to someone who wasn’t driven crazy by it and finished it and appreciated it.
I’ve grown so much since I recorded this video., and I’ve since fallen in love with this quilt top. It’s being quilted by a local longarmer. It’s a great quilt top. I can’t wait to see it finished. Thank you so much for taking the time to watch this. ❤️❤️❤️
@@SewtheDistance I learned a few things from watching it. I found you by accident and I am making my way through all of your videos.
@@destrygraves That is so nice! I think you will see that I am less and less opinionated as I look at more and more quilts. It has humbled me as a maker myself.
I’m guessing the maker may have had one or both of two issues. 1. Not a natural crafter. Sometimes you do what you have to do, or what you’re supposed to do. So many vintage quilts seem sloppy to me-just as if I were a shop mechanic, I’d probably be sloppy because that’s just not my forte. Sewing may not have been this maker’s passion. In past eras, you did what was expected, not what you wanted. Not everyone’s good with their hands. 2. Cataracts. This would explain the placement of the blue patches and the red sightings.
Don’t finish it. Let the next quilter do it.
Could be! Great insight! Thank you! ❤️
There doesn't seem to be enough contrast. Colors are more or less the same value. Maybe needs white added but to take it apart and add contrast would not be worth it. I would probably leave it folded. Just thought of another idea...take it apart and separate out the 9 patch jumbo blocks then surround them with big areas of white as in a modern quilt. Here again, more work. Is it worth it?
Exactly! Is it worth it? I am not sure. So many quilts, so little time.
I agree with you Kris. Keep folded.
I agree, but there is a lot who don't agree in these comments. Eek. :)
I'm with you on this quilt. I have a problem with what I call 'chaotic quilts'. They bother my brain. I have a dear friend who absolutely loves that kind of stuff. So I know how I feel isn't the way everyone else feels. I don't care for Crazy Quilts for this reason and I know that's not a popular opinion.
It's weird--I am currently making a crazy quilt and that doesn't bother me, but the whacky sight lines in this does bother me. I just can't look at it for very long. That said, there are plenty of people who love this quilt. Isn't it great that we are in a community like that? Thanks for watching and commenting!
Hey Kris! Not every scrap is worth keeping and not every quilt is worth finishing, IMO. What bothers you about this quilt also bugs me. But I have a different theory about how it was made. I think they were doing it to keep themselves busy using what they had. I think that they made the nine patch blocks using the fabric they came across and that's why some are blue and some are turquoise as well as why the sightlines are wonky. Also keep in mind that there are women who were raised during the depression who were taught to use everything and their sense of color just never critically developed because they were focused on using what they had rather than wanting something else. As a result, I think that they didn't finish it because as you said, it just doesn't sparkle. They didn't HAVE to finish it to use it, so they didn't.
I am really enjoying these lessons from old quilts. I'm not so in love with vintage fabrics (actually not at all), but I agree that we can learn from them.
Great points! And I totally agree about the "not every quilt is worth finishing." I feel the same way about books. A book has 100 pages to impress me. If it doesn't impress me, I stop reading it.
I wish these quilts could talk. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Thanks for joining me on this journey, Marilyn!
Maybe this could be a cutter quilt?
Could be, although I am loving it more and more now. I haven't done anything with it yet, but I do have it having on an old ladder in a bedroom and every time I look at it I like it more and more. ❤️
This quilt really should have had more consistency throughout, I also do not think it is visually appealing. When making scrap quilts you need something to pull it together, this quilter attempted to but was unsuccessful, maybe that's why they left it unfinished (they didn't like it either). Scrap quilts are universally loved because they are basically fabrics that are given more life and these quilts are intended to be used. If this ugly flimsy could talk, it would want to be finished and used. I would suggest finishing it and donating it to a good cause, some people donate to homeless shelters and nursing homes, I'm sure there are some local places in your area that accept these types of donations. Quilt it with something that will make this quilt special, maybe dense wool batting and a full size back.
Great idea! Thank you! I love the idea of donating it and having it loved somewhere.
the light and dark diagonals in the 4-patch squares don't line up That is, if you try to travel from block to block on the diagonal you don't get all darks or all light in that diagonal direction . I think tee different solids would have worked if there was a good secondary pattern on the diagonals
Great observation!
I think this quilt would be “fixed” if it were quilted. Quilting would cover a multitude of errors, and a little love would help a lot. Don’t send it to the land of misfit toys... No quilt is truly beautiful until it is loved and used.
I think you are right! And the land of misfit toys reference shows me we are kindred spirits. :) I does need to be quilted and loved! Now to find the time to do it! Thank you for watching and commenting!
putting time and effort into finishing a quilt you don't love is not worth it, In my opinion. there are far too many projects we love and would rather do. About the maker of this quilt; perhaps the maker just didn't have an awareness of color value, or skills developed to nest seams. And certainly no cell phone to take a black and white photo. I do like the quilt, but would keep it folded.
Great points! I wish the quilt could talk. I would love to know more, like if it was intentional or not. Thank you so much for watching and commenting!