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secret love: quilting

I want to be a quilter

Do you know what I love? Quilts. Quilt blocks. Quilting thread. Quiltiness. Do you know what I don't do? Quilt. Secretly, I want to be a quilter, but I'm pretty sure that I don't have the stamina. The stick-to-it-iveness.

But all of the pretty colors and designs call to me! When I was a little girl, I did a bit of quilting with my grandma. But it didn't carry on, and that makes me sad. The photo above is from a project in my Re-Sized class that I'm teaching, and it's the most "quilting" I've done in ages.

There is some fabric here, some is already cut, and it's planned to be a nine-patch lap blanket. But so far, it's just fabric. I also have a bunch of vintage quilt blocks and pieces left by a relative. Apparently not finishing things runs in the family.

But today, I choose to be inspired by some of my favorite quilters. I will not feel bad about my own lack of skills in this department...I will just soak in the pieced goodness, and share it with you!

finished!
downtown taking photosrain-y day

Amanda quilts things both large and small. She not only makes blankets, but also things that you don't always expect to see pieced together quilt style. Her sense of color and pattern are pure delight! I also adore her photography, and her sock knitting skills. Oh, and she's part creator of The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery!

star detail- this line is PERFECT for fussy cutting!
saturdaysgranny squares

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Summer Sampler 2011
Bound at last!
Modern Meadow Colorbrick Quilt

Rachel may very well be the most prolific quilter I've ever met. Every time I visit her blog, I see a new project in the works, and each one is equally stunning. How does she do it? I'm not sure, but I'm currently taking her Handstitched class in hopes that some of her amazing will rub off on me.

Herringbone finished!
Triangle-ing finished!
Whimsy Wheel Baby Quilt
Brick House Baby Quilt

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Double, Double, Toil & Trouble: A quilt pattern for twins!
Bee Tweet | May
Mug Rug Tutorial

John makes lots of blocks for swaps and, well, it's pretty cool that he's a quilting dad. Which is why he's known as Quilt Dad. In addition to his quilting, he embroiders and when his name shows up on one of my Etsy orders, I get a case of blog celebrity excitement! He's also the author of the upcoming book, Pretty in Patchwork.

FW #1 - "Attic Windows"
Outfox the Fox Quilt
FQ issue 2 | Sanctuary Quilt

How can you not fall in love with all of these amazing works? Each one pulls me closer and closer to the quilting section at the fabric store! But first, I suppose I should try and finish off the pieces that I have her already. Right? Right.

That won't keep me from drooling over quilts. So just in case you haven't seen enough, here are some more favorites: Fresh Lemons, Hexie Hexagon, Scraparadise, and Friendship Bracelets.

Special thanks to Amanda, Rachel and John for being a quilty inspiration! I just might join you yet in the piecemaking!

16 comments:

  1. I am right there with you. Love quilts but can not see my self finishing one, so don't want to start and add stress to my life. Wise choice for me.

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  2. I'm also with you on wanting to quilt! I love how gorgeous these quilts are and want to make one of my own!

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  3. I love Amanda and her blog too, and she's the reason I've decided to start quilting! I have plans for three by Christmas--hopefully I can do them!

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  4. WOW!!!!
    I would really like to learn quilting!!!!!
    I'm so impressed!

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  5. I love quilts! I have a few that I inherited from relatives b/c their children just weren't interested in them. Which is sad b/c they are handmade and beautiful! I have made a couple baby quilts but that is about as ambitious as I can get when it comes to quilting. I just don't have the time or patience for anything larger.

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  6. I hand pieced my queen sized hexagon quilt. LOVED doing it. Now I am hand quilting it. NOT so much love there...why??? I don't understand. I have sworn that I will finish this thing, but I am dreaming of Hand piecing another quilt all the while I am hand quilting this. I would much rather that I could afford to ship them off to someone and have them quilt them FOR me. Ahh, but paying someone to quilt them for me would prevent me from buying some lovely fabrics down the line to make me some more quilts, so I will sit here and quilt it by hand, and dream of the next quilt to be stitched by hand, after this.

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  7. I didn't know you were taking handstitched class. What projects have you been doing? I love seeing everyone's renditions. I'm a little behind on my medallion quilt, but I'm hoping to use this week to play catch up. I sooo want to do the other projects too, just haven't found the time.

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    1. Here's how many projects I've done so far: ZERO! I've been so busy working on things for the class that I'm teaching, that I just haven't had time. I knew that would be the case, and planned to work on things later on. Every so often, I drop in on Handstitched, drool at the wonderful things to be learned, and then look forward to when I'll actually be able to make everything!

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  8. Such beautiful quilts!! I love quilting, and one day aspire to be as good as these talented ladies!! Have fun in your handstitched class!! I just learned how to hand quilt, and love it. Looks like some great projects!! xo Heather

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  9. same here Molly, love quilts, quilt fabrics, the looks and ideas, but do I quilt? no.

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  10. I have all of the fabric I need to make a quilt for our bed, and I haven't read very much about quilting (the plan is just to start and not let the immensity of the project overwhelm me), but I keep putting it off...maybe we need a "my first quilt" support group?

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  11. I love the idea of quilting and the finished product. :) I wanted to make a quilt for my queen-sized bed ever since I started sewing several years ago, so I finally started back towards the end of last summer (August, I think?). After alternating between super-busy, motivated times (where I cut out the squares and pieced the top in less than two weeks) and frustrated, procrastinating times (my walking foot was broken and had to be replaced), I finally finished in January. I have to say that the actual quilting part was mind-numbingly dull to me, to be honest. :) I machine-quilted, because it would have taken me years to do by hand.

    Still, I'm ridiculously proud of my very imperfect quilt, and I love the way it looks on my bed. A lot of time and effort went into that quilt. It was probably a bit overboard for a first project, and I vowed it would be years before I attempted another. But now I'm itching to do something small...maybe a baby quilt or something?

    ~Kristin

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  12. Ah, what a fun post to read! You will get to quilting some time, I'm sure. We have so much time left to try out all these fabulous artsy crafts. Thank goodness!

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  13. I am a self-taught quilter and just love it. I didn't think I'd ever be able to do it either, but I was determined and stubborn about it. My first quilt was awful but each one I've done since gets a bit better each time. I think the hardest thing about quilting is using the rotary cutter and mat!! I would definitely recommend getting help for that, but besides that, just go for it!!

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  14. Very inspirational. I've made a couple quilts in my day, when my girls were babies. It is Definately a labor of love. I love the super simple designs. I like to let the patterns shine.

    Vintagehoneybee.blogspot.com

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  15. I am blessed with quilting in my blood and heirloom quilts to call my own. I absolutely love the colors and patterns in this post--so warm and retro! They make me want to add more yummy colors to my overflowing stash.

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