Monday, November 14, 2011
The Ugly Quilt
I have never never seen an ugly quilt and always told new quilters that to boost their confidence. As I mentioned in the last post I taught Karen how to put quilts together and I told her that there has never been an ugly quilt. Fast forward to a very cold day in Barrow, Alaska when the phone rings, the conversation went like this: What you doing? Sewing. Can you come down here? Yes. JoLynn, you know how you said that you had never seen an ugly quilt? Yes. Well I think I will be able to show you an ugly quilt! No way. I walked down the hall to Karen's apartment and on the floor is the quilt top spread out in all of it's glory. I took a minute to think of something positive to say, I swallowed, I kept my eyes down and then I broke out laughing. Not just ugly but if you are from the south you know UGLY. We laughed until we cried and then sat down and figured out what was wrong with it and then how to fix it. I am proud to say that after removing a few wild and crazy blocks Karen again created a master piece. But let me tell you that was one UGLY quilt!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This is a wonderful thing!! You see, you original premise was simply a maxim to help newbies get past their fears of quilting, and it's a wonderful thing! But then you saw the truth of the matter and you were saved! There are indeed ugly quilts! And that's okay! The other lie we tell is to expectant mothers who fear having an ugly baby. We say, "There's no such thing as an ugly baby", and they feel better. But you and I both know it's a lie!! I've seen ugly babies!! And I don't mean one with a rash, or pimples, or wrinkly skin, I mean butt-ugly-baby!! I mean eyes WAY too close together and a turned up nose! UGLY! Now, they are indeed few and far between, and we should indeed keep telling those little lies to quell the fears of new quilters and mothers everywhere. We should also feel fine wrapping ourselves up on a chilly winter evening in that hideous quilt our niece, or child, or grandchild made because it's fabric infused with love. And we also should indeed cuddle and coo and marvel at the miracle that is a baby, even an ugly one, because they are a flesh and bone incarnation of love. Because, as some blues singer somewhere at sometime undoubtedly once said, "Ya jus' don' nevva toin ya back on luv"
ReplyDeleteI can hear you laughing from here Jolynn! My most prized possessions are also my ugliest, but to me they are beautiful. At least you guys were able to "fix" it :) and will always cherish that night's memory! Priceless.
ReplyDeleteI am completely inspired by your blog! I have been looking into creating a quilt now that I have seen all the amazing quilts you have created, and although they can be "ugly" at times, it's all about the adventure to the final product.
ReplyDeleteWhat a funny and warm story! I have never seen an ugly quilt either - but I can imagine a SKUG-UGLY quilt would be a poorly made quilt with horrible cloth & pattern choices.
ReplyDelete