Rag Quilt Love

I should ammend that to say Rag Quilt Dye Cutter Love. Another Christmas gift I made, this one for my (husband's) first cousin once removed. Hah. That is a cousin's kid. She and her sister live with her Grandma, the aforementioned Aunt-in-Law. (Argh - saga, family yucks, etc.) But the blanket is super cute!


I do like rag quilts, but I don't like the cutting. Duh, most people don't. One of the stores near me has one of those accu cutter thingys with a 10" fringe cut square. You rent the machine for like $5 an hour. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY I COULD GET CUT IN 1 HOUR? Gobs! And the fringe is longer, skinnier and much more consistent than I could ever do. Then you whip that puppy up in less than an hour of sewing time. Just love it. Need to do more of these. On my list...

(That seems to be my new mantra, On my list.... And I really do have one, in my head, of all the things I want to do. I think I need to put it down on paper somewhere. Or maybe on this blog somewhere. Yep. Look for it soon.)

One for you, and one for me

Over the past weekend I made a gift for a friend having surgery. It actually came together pretty easily, and it was by no means a hard project, just a rag quilt. But since I have a one year old daughter things need to be broken down into smaller chunks, each with their own time frame and negotiations. I guess that is how it is for everyone. It just feels so much more challenging now.

1. Get fabric - which requires juggling a nap schedule with Dad and then worrying about how much time I spend in the store to get home in time. This also entails seeing everything that is on sale for the holiday weekend, endlessly debating exactly how much fabric I can buy and how many projects I am willing to have sitting and waiting for me. And then the inevitable 'guilt' at possibly buying too much at one time. Knowing I won't get to these new projects any time soon because they go to the end of the line on things I want to do. Turns out this time it was all flannel so the projects won't take too much time once I get into them. Its just a matter of prioritizing within the big 'to-do' list.

2. Cutting the fabric. I find this to be my least favorite part. But this time it was easy - what size squares will make the easiest cutting and mximize the fabric - why 10" squares will do that just fine. There is a LQS somewhat near my house (okay, an hour a way, but worth it) that once a month has a valet sewing night. They pick the pattern and you basically buy the kit plus a small fee. The nice thing about the 'kit' is that you get to pick your own fabrics. The store then cuts it all for you. You show up on Friday night with your gear, they feed you dinner, you start sewing right away since it is all cut for you, and THEY IRON AS YOU SEW! How fantastic is that? I don't know if I would necessarily choose those patterns on my own, but the night is so fantastic I keep coming back. It is a wonderful little mini-retreat for me and I am learning so much by working with new patterns.

3. Sewing. I love rag quilts because they do come together so easily. Seems silly that this one is all the same fabric, so basically I just cut up one big piece into smaller pieces and then put them back together in one big piece again. But it was exactly the soothing pattern I was looking for. And hopefully will comfort my friend in her recovery. When I brought it over I realized it will work nicely in her understated family room. See, rag quilts aren't only for babies!

(I loved the fabric so much I made one for myself at the same time! I love it.)