what to do with quilts

Don't say send them to me.

I make a quilt because I like the look and then I sometimes don't know what to
do with it. I made a "Deb" quilt from an RCTQ swap that sits in the closet.
Now I am finishing a "My Favorite Things" quilt and am set to take a bargello
class. These quilts are uniquely "me" quilts and have no real place to call
their own.

I make some that go nicely on the walls or make great gifts but sometimes I
create these "nice but now what" quilts. I'm thinking I need to give more
thought in advance to where will this quilt go.

Anyone else have this problem?
Debra in Idaho

With larger quilts I don't have much problem. Large enough for the bed? It
gets rotated with other bed quilts. Not large enough for the bed, but large
enough for a lap? It gets rotated with the other couch quilts.

My art quilts and wuh, wuh, wuh's are a different matter. Right now we're in
an 800 sq ft house, so there's not much wall space. I have 3 quilts hanging,
and the rest are piled in my studio. In a few months we'll be looking for a
larger house, and wall space for quilts will be a priority (sure have
trained DH well -- that was his idea!), but I may have to put a little more
effort into selling completed quilts. (It doesn't help that all the quilts I
foisted off on, er, generously gave to, MSM are now back in my possession. A
couple of her friends may be getting used quilts for Christmas this year!
LOL)

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
longarm machine quilting, Queen of Fabric Tramps
http://www.kayneyquilting.com ,
remove the obvious to reply


"DebsPrintOnIt" wrote in message
...
Don't say send them to me.

I make a quilt because I like the look and then I sometimes don't know
what to
do with it. I made a "Deb" quilt from an RCTQ swap that sits in the
closet.
Now I am finishing a "My Favorite Things" quilt and am set to take a
bargello
class. These quilts are uniquely "me" quilts and have no real place to
call
their own.

I make some that go nicely on the walls or make great gifts but sometimes
I
create these "nice but now what" quilts. I'm thinking I need to give more
thought in advance to where will this quilt go.

Anyone else have this problem?
Debra in Idaho

I sent a pretty lap quilt I made for mom when she was ill
to her oldest lady friend. SHe wrote me a nice thank you
and said I should have kept it for DD. I guess she doesn't
realize DD is never going to be needing for quilts! I meant
moms friend to have it as a remembrance. She was always
an advocate of my sewing as a child. Helped me at 10 learn
to use my 'new' treadle. I hope she enjoys that quilt : )
Taria

Kathy Applebaum wrote:

With larger quilts I don't have much problem. Large enough for the bed? It
gets rotated with other bed quilts. Not large enough for the bed, but large
enough for a lap? It gets rotated with the other couch quilts.

My art quilts and wuh, wuh, wuh's are a different matter. Right now we're in
an 800 sq ft house, so there's not much wall space. I have 3 quilts hanging,
and the rest are piled in my studio. In a few months we'll be looking for a
larger house, and wall space for quilts will be a priority (sure have
trained DH well -- that was his idea!), but I may have to put a little more
effort into selling completed quilts. (It doesn't help that all the quilts I
foisted off on, er, generously gave to, MSM are now back in my possession. A
couple of her friends may be getting used quilts for Christmas this year!
LOL)

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
longarm machine quilting, Queen of Fabric Tramps
http://www.kayneyquilting.com ,
remove the obvious to reply

DebsPrintOnIt wrote:

I make some that go nicely on the walls or make great gifts but sometimes I
create these "nice but now what" quilts. I'm thinking I need to give more
thought in advance to where will this quilt go.

Possibilities include:

Charity. Homeless shelters, domestic abuse shelters, Project Linus,
police cruisers, all can use quilts. The personal touch makes a world
of difference.

Sales. You make the quilt because you want to without a thought to
making money off it. THEN you consider that someone might like to pay
for it. I've only sold 2 quilts, but those 2 sales were thrilling. It
wasn't the money; it was the idea that some total stranger liked my
quilts enough to pay for them. Even if they don't sell, they take up
space in the gift shop, not your closet.

Use. Extra blankets. Lovely wall-hangings.

Gifts. To tell the truth, I'm careful about who I give quilts to. I'm
glad to make a special quilt for a special occasion, but has to be
something big like a wedding, bar mitzvah, birth or 50th wedding
anniversary. I don't give quilts for any old birthday or mere hostess
gifts. Maybe I'm stingy that way, but I'd rather donate a quilt to a
homeless shelter than encourage my friends and relatives to think my
quilts are ordinary housewares. Still, while this suggestion doesn't
work for me, it might for you.

Recycling. I saw this on another list. I was appalled. The writer
said she makes artwork because she wants to. After a few years of
having a quilt around, she cuts it up and makes new artwork with it.
Something to think about.

--Lia

Not really. I normally have a long list of people that need quilts or I
want to give quilts to, so they all find a home and are usually made
with someone in mind, sometimes DH or myself...

DebsPrintOnIt wrote:

Don't say send them to me.

I make a quilt because I like the look and then I sometimes don't know what to
do with it. I made a "Deb" quilt from an RCTQ swap that sits in the closet.
Now I am finishing a "My Favorite Things" quilt and am set to take a bargello
class. These quilts are uniquely "me" quilts and have no real place to call
their own.

I make some that go nicely on the walls or make great gifts but sometimes I
create these "nice but now what" quilts. I'm thinking I need to give more
thought in advance to where will this quilt go.

Anyone else have this problem?
Debra in Idaho

--
Dr. Quilter
Ambassador of Extraordinary Aliens

At PIQF I saw several vendors with "quilt racks" for sale. I bet you or DH could
make one as good as the ones I saw. A neighbor of mine many years ago had her
bedroom done in "Southwestern" style and had a reproduction Pueblo ladder (sort of
wonky, poles closer together at the top than at the bottom) with some quilts
folded and displayed on it.

And if you had too many to display (the racks I saw held up to 12) you could
rotate.
--
Anne in CA
"It's not having what you want; it's wanting what you've got." -- Sheryl Crow
http://home.covad.net/~arudolph/annes.htm


DebsPrintOnIt wrote:

Don't say send them to me.

I make a quilt because I like the look and then I sometimes don't know what to
do with it. I made a "Deb" quilt from an RCTQ swap that sits in the closet.
Now I am finishing a "My Favorite Things" quilt and am set to take a bargello
class. These quilts are uniquely "me" quilts and have no real place to call
their own.

I make some that go nicely on the walls or make great gifts but sometimes I
create these "nice but now what" quilts. I'm thinking I need to give more
thought in advance to where will this quilt go.

Anyone else have this problem?
Debra in Idaho

Yeah, I sorta have this problem, too. And I used to make every quilt for a
purpose--give it to this person; or for that raffle--but the drawback to
that was, I didn't let my curiosity go where it wanted, at least not as much
as it does when I have no one or purpose in mind; the purposes became
limiting. For now I'm figuring that some of them--and like you, they are
*special to me*--I am not willing to part with them to just anybody or even
to specific great charities--will find their new owners when it's time, and
until then they'll be rotated in this small "castle" of ours...

Dogmom

"DebsPrintOnIt" wrote in message
...
Don't say send them to me.

I make a quilt because I like the look and then I sometimes don't know
what to
do with it. I made a "Deb" quilt from an RCTQ swap that sits in the
closet.
Now I am finishing a "My Favorite Things" quilt and am set to take a
bargello
class. These quilts are uniquely "me" quilts and have no real place to
call
their own.

I make some that go nicely on the walls or make great gifts but sometimes
I
create these "nice but now what" quilts. I'm thinking I need to give more
thought in advance to where will this quilt go.

Anyone else have this problem?
Debra in Idaho

what to do with quilts

(DebsPrintOnIt)
I make a quilt because I like the look and then I sometimes don't know
what to do with it. I made a "Deb" quilt from an RCTQ swap that sits in
the closet. snip
...no place to call their own.
Debra in Idaho
------------
I once saw a collector's display: he had simply laid them all out,
neatly, one at a time, on his guest bed. He rotated them when he wanted
new 'art' to look at.
Cea

DebsPrintOnIt wrote:
Don't say send them to me.

I make a quilt because I like the look and then I sometimes don't know what to
do with it. I made a "Deb" quilt from an RCTQ swap that sits in the closet.
Now I am finishing a "My Favorite Things" quilt and am set to take a bargello
class. These quilts are uniquely "me" quilts and have no real place to call
their own.

I make some that go nicely on the walls or make great gifts but sometimes I
create these "nice but now what" quilts. I'm thinking I need to give more
thought in advance to where will this quilt go.

Anyone else have this problem?
Debra in Idaho

I have a friend with naked walls I may give a wallhanging to. Other
wallhangings are spoken for by family members.

I have a spare bed with no quilts. I feel like making at least one for
the cats to shed all over, and one for that bed for company.

But the real winner may end up being my parents' cabin in the woods.
That's at least 8 beds of various sizes, and only one of them has a
quilt on it. Or I may just start making wallhangings for various family
members for holidays.

We'll see.

-georg

I rotate the quilts on my walls. I haven't been able to change my
furniture in 15 years but when I change the quilts on the walls the
place takes on a new look.

The one in the kitchen doesn't have to match anything so I just make
sure it is about the same size. The one on the living room wall is
usally seasonal. Don't want it to overpower the room but if it is
seasonal it doesn't have to match perfectly.

Near where I read the paper each morning is a quilt rack with Mom's
quilts. These are usually too pink for the men in my house but I made
them because I liked the fabric. I feel like a princess when I choose
which one to use that morning. I also have some that I just take out
and hug every once in a while.

For years I gave away all of my needlework and quilts. Then I decided
that I deserved to enjoy them too. I try to keep at least one big one
and one small one each year. After a few years they are starting to
build-up.

Susan
On 12 Oct 2003 14:44:13 GMT, (DebsPrintOnIt)
wrote:

Don't say send them to me.

I make a quilt because I like the look and then I sometimes don't know what to
do with it. I made a "Deb" quilt from an RCTQ swap that sits in the closet.
Now I am finishing a "My Favorite Things" quilt and am set to take a bargello
class. These quilts are uniquely "me" quilts and have no real place to call
their own.

I make some that go nicely on the walls or make great gifts but sometimes I
create these "nice but now what" quilts. I'm thinking I need to give more
thought in advance to where will this quilt go.

Anyone else have this problem?
Debra in Idaho