Monday, August 18, 2014

Quilting Inspiration - Embrace the Ordinary (Vol. 2)

Yesterday during Mass, I was standing back in the narthex holding a cranky toddler, and I found myself staring down at the tiled floor and admiring the designs the tile-layers had created. 

I know, I should have been attempting to hear what was going on in the church.  Instead, my mind began to wander as I thought about ways to translate the design to a different medium.  I was thinking how one of the tiled sections in particular might be a good starting point for a quilt I've been toying with the idea of making.  We have a bunch of no-longer used flannel receiving blankets sitting around (three kids in, I've discovered the wonderful Aden + Anais blankets, and I'm never going back!).  I'm thinking that instead of getting rid of the old blankets, maybe I could turn them into a cute baby quilt for someone.


When Mass was over, I grabbed my (new birthday gift from Tom!) camera, and snapped a picture of the floor.

Since I'm still very new to quilting, though, I'm not sure how well previously-used fabrics turn out in a quilt.  The blankets have probably shrunk as much as they're going to, so I don't think I'd get that nice puckered look in my finished quilt.  Anyone have experience with this?



Thanks to Gina and Theresa for hosting Embrace the Ordinary

3 comments:

  1. When you make a quilt, you don't usually prewash your fabric - so don't worry about if they will shrink some once quilted - if they do it will be fine! Quilts made with prewashed fabric turn out nice as well.

    I've used flannel receiving blankets to make cloth diapers, burp cloths, feminine products, and as quilt blocks and it's always worked really well for me. I say try it!! Maybe a raggy quilt - flannel is AWESOME in them!!

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  2. Awesome idea for a quilt. And happy birthday!

    The blankets won't shrink, but if you use brand-new 100% cotton batting that might do the job. I don't know how you quilted last time, but squiggly quilting will always crinkle up more than straight. Good luck!

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  3. What a fun idea! I can't wait to see how it turns out, if you go ahead with your idea. Glad to have you link-up this week!

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