Sooooo....for some reason I find myself with many projects going on right now, moving a lot forward each week!!My husband asked: "What are you going to do with all these quilts when they are done?"
Hmmmm.....that question never occured to me.
I just love making quilts right now.
I love the variety.
I love the creativity.
I love the experimenting.
I love the learning.
I love the process.
I love the friendships.
Okay, I even love the shopping!
I'm having fun...making all kinds of quilts at the same time. See:
So that got me wondering. Do you always start a quilt with an intended purpose/recipient?
I mean for me, every family member has more than their share of quilts now. As you can tell, I'm having great fun just being free and exploratory with my quilting right now.
What do ya think? I'm curious, why do you quilt?
Tomorrow we'll be sharing our alphabet projects.
I'm sharing here:
Tell your husband it is the JOURNEY, not the DESTINATION! (That's what I tell mine!) Enjoy the process and all your wonderful projects you have going on right now. You can't always 'reason' the creative process.
ReplyDeleteExactly! I agree and know he would too:)
DeleteI quilt for all the same reasons as you, creativity and an outlet for stress from the work world. Putting thread into fabric is much less expensive than therapy, LOL!! Many quilts I give away, but I also keep a lot. I change them around the house with the seasons, and I am working on more table toppers and wall hangings this year. Not every project has to have a destination, I agree with Debra, it is the journey that is the joy.
ReplyDeleteIt is the journey that is the joy....I like that!! And yes, I have to agree, sewing is the best stress relief. :)
DeleteI quilt for my sanity, my children and grandchildren. I also quilt for me because it is my "thing" and gives me pleasure.
ReplyDeleteI quilt for many of the same reasons you do. The creative release, learning new techniques, meeting new people it all makes it worthwhile. I often don't have a purpose for a said project. I find that comes later.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Debra - but I also like to make and donate a lot of charity quilts so there is some thought and process into those (as to where and to whom they are going).
ReplyDeleteLooks great Val!
ReplyDeleteQuilting is a great way to enjoy fabrics! The colours, the patterns, the selection! Amazing!
And it's a great way to meet great people!
My wardrobe consists mostly of gardening clothes and a few "casual wear" items. So quilting gets me into facric stores! :)
Take care,
Joanne
I quilt for pleasure and stress relief. I like the journey more than I like the final product. And then I quilt for having all nice contacts all over the world, like you. It's also good for my languages, because I can read and write English, German and French, and of course Norwegian.
ReplyDeleteQuilting is my therapy! It helps me unwind from work and enjoy making something beautiful. The process is even more important to me than the product. My family grudgingly puts up with my obsession even though they are happy recipients of many of the fruits of my labor.
ReplyDeleteI use to paint and loved color, as I went to art shows I was drawn to those who sewed with vibrant colors. I stopped by a fabric store and that was the beginning of the end of my painting. It just sorta transitioned from there. The creativity is a huge part for me. But I think all stitchers have most of the same reasons and enjoyment of sewing. That is why we usually relate to each other so well. I just love the dressed people and houses you have started. While I do make dolls, I have never made any quilting blocks with people, I have done houses and they along with cats are my favorite. I enjoy the wonkiness of both sets of your starting blocks. And you have inspired me to try the same. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteBlessings
Tonia
It's all about the process more than the product fr me. I enjoy playing with the fabric, the color and the challenge of quilting. I seldom have a person in mind when I make something but almost all my quilts leave home. In fact I've yet to make a quilt for my own bed!
ReplyDeleteThe process is my entertainment. I rarely have an attachment to the quilts I finish so many of them get donated. It feels good to share them with others.
ReplyDeleteBoth Carole and Debra said it best! I might just jot that down. If quilting makes us happy why do we have to justify it! Just do...besides I swear, it's in my DNA!
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, I've never even thought about that question. It is just what I do and I enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great question. I think we all have our own reason (or two) for quilting and I for one, love to hear about fellow creative people. I rarely have a reason for making a specific quilt. In fact, I find that when I do (new baby, wedding, etc.) I am not nearly as creative. I somehow get bogged down in what I think the recipient would want. Much more fun to "let it go". Thanks for posing the question.
ReplyDeleteI quilt to relieve the stress of a very stressful job. So, quilting, I guess, is my drug of choice.
ReplyDeleteI quilt for the challenge and stress relief...like some people above, the end product is less important. I do not feel precious about the quilts I have made, because once they are done, I move on to the next challenge. Actually I think I have a problem...I do seem to need that sense of challenge and self critique and thrive on continuous learning. Quilting, of course, gives me endless opportunities, particularly FMQ.
ReplyDeleteI rarely have an intended recipient I'm just loving the process, inspiration and freedom that quilting offers. Like you i have lots of projects on the go atm that are being worked on every month and i love them all, they are so varied in styles it's amazing. But that's what is wonderful about exploring :-)
ReplyDeleteAsk your husband to explain why musicians are always writing a new song, or why dancers are always choreographing a new dance, or potters are always throwing a new pot, or why gardeners are always planting a new variety of rose bush..... ! :)
ReplyDeleteI stitch for my sanity! Being retired and living on my own with no local friends to pop in it fills my day, also do embroidery and tatting. My trouble is I get to the flimsy stage then take it no further so just as well I am not making for anyone,though I have made a few for family who know nothing about stitchery so are uncritical. The few I have finished have mostly been quilted by hand as machine quilting is still a problem to me.
ReplyDeleteDitto on what you listed but bottom line, I quilt because I must. It is in me and must come out.
ReplyDeleteI quilt because a can't not quilt. It's like asking why I eat. Does one need a reason? I rarely start a quilt with someone in mind. Usually, I start them because they appeal to me. Sometimes I'll decide to give a quilt to someone for a special occasion, and sometimes the quilt will tell me where it wants to go.
ReplyDeleteQuilting is my creative outlet. One I never knew I had until I learned to quilt. It allows me to explore color, techniques, and keeps my mind going! Rarely do I quilt with a 'person' in mind.
ReplyDeleteI quilt because I enjoy the finished project. It gives me something that when done, stays done. So unlike cooking or cleaning or most else I do for my family. I rotate my quilts hanging them on the wall but I don't mind just having a stack of completed quilts that I have made. It is a stack of accomplishment!
ReplyDeleteGreat response. The on-going, never-ending nature of cleaning and other household duties is enough to drive anyone insane.
DeleteI kind of fell in love with the idea of quilting when I saw so many beautiful quilts online. I love being creative and having something practical and useful to show at the end of it, but I have only made a few quilts and am starting to run out of practical and useful reasons to make more, so I am already slowing down :)
ReplyDeleteHave you thought about selling your quilts, Val? It could at least give you enough money to keep making more without having to justify it :)
I like to make quilts and other stuff for my home, it gives me great pleasure, and we like to use them. To me, there is no such thing as too many quilts (at least for now). I make quilts for others too, but it makes me more anxious.
ReplyDeleteI quilt because I have to! ;)
ReplyDeleteHaha Val! I remember hearing the exact question from my husband a couple years ago, when my sewing just kind of started to be "what I did"! And it is so funny because my reaction was also identical to yours.."huh! Never actually thought of that!!" I guess it just seemed self evident...like, I am making these quilts because...it's fun and I want to and we live in the middle of no where with nothing else to do much of the time...and I am newly obsessed with all these quilters and fabrics and easy techniques and I can finally ACCOMPLISH finished quilts instead of just making one here and one there, like when I tied quilts just so they could be finished! I appreciated his question then, mostly because I thought it was really funny, but I still appreciate his "wonderment" at this new approach to something I started the year we were married, in a hand sewing class with his Mother :)
ReplyDeleteis it okay to say that I quilt so I won't stab people? :) Seriously, it's such a stress buster to do something with your hands, and then wrap up in it to stay cozy. It's just calming. Except when the hubs asks what I'm going to do with all of them, then I get a little crazy. :)
ReplyDeleteI quilt for all of the reason above, especially Mari's reason. I'd go nuts without time in the sewing room. As far as starting projects, some are started for specific people, some because I have the perfect fabric for that pattern. Others just because. Thankfully my family gets the "no reason" stuff. Though if Drama Teen keeps finding friends who need quilts I won't need to find any more room to store them.
ReplyDeleteI quilt for lots of different reasons. I enjoy the journey and want to keep going, but sometimes I wonder why I'm making something. The reason sometimes comes later with a recipient I didn't think of before.
ReplyDeleteI have seven siblings. Each of them has a spouse. Between them there are fourteen kids. My husband has a sister, a husband and two kids. I have a husband and two boys, a mom, a dad and a mother-in-law.
ReplyDeleteOnly eight of them have quilts. My goal is to make each of my nieces and nephews a graduation quilt, each of my siblings their own throw quilt, and each couple a bed quilt. I also have a couple of favorite in-laws I'd like to quilt for. If I live long enough, I will achieve my goal!
But in between obligation quilts, I make other quilts just because I want to.
I can remember the thrill of the first time I had a wall full of "projects in progress" like yours! Up to now, I actually felt I did need a "purpose" for a project just to make sure I didn't let them sit too long if I hit a road bump! Now I have a few projects that I'd like to tackle "just because" but since I still have so many "To Do's" yet undone that I never get to the others!
ReplyDelete