Vintage Raggy-ness

Confession: I made a ragged-edge quilt a couple of years ago, and promptly swore I would never make another one. Ever.

But then I did.

I'm not sure I got a picture of the first one, but since I gave it to my mom that shouldn't be too hard. (I try to get a picture of each quilt I make - not that there are very many of them, but I do hope to see progress as I look back!) So, mom, if you're reading... could you email me a picture of the flannel quilt? Thanks :0)

The first raggedy quilt was a 'special case'... My mom and her sister had a lot in common; like their love for "country" and Americana decor. Both of their homes had a lot of red, white and blue folk-art stuff. Well, my aunt bought instructions and material to make a flannel ragged-edge quilt. All the materials she chose were red, white and blue. And they all looked like the shirts my grandpa wore. I remember her showing me the material and her plans for it, but she never got around to making it. And then she died of breast cancer.

My cousin, being somewhat less domestically inclined than even I am, (if that is possible), gave it all to me, and I made the quilt, and gave it to my mom. We're not overly sentimental people, but it reminds us of my aunt and my grandpa. Good memories. :0)

But, oh, making that quilt was not fun! You don't pre-wash the flannel and little fibers were everywhere. I was constantly sneezing and scratching my nose. It was summer, and the quilt was hot and heavy. And thank goodness somebody clued me in that I should take it to a laundromat to wash it the first couple of times, because that would've been the end of my old washing machine, I'm sure! The end result was okay, but the process was... yuck.

Over the years, I kept seeing pictures of cute ragged edge quilts and being drawn to them, but I stayed strong! No more! Until I saw this at the "crazymomquilts" blog, and had to try it.

And this is what I ended up with:


It's very 'rough', in that the squares aren't lined up really perfectly, and the lights and darks don't always show each other off. But I like it. I love the soft, vintage materials, and I love the wrinkly, crinkly quilty goodness.

The material came from a collection of fat quarters I bought ages ago, so I didn't have a big enough (matching) piece for the back. I used a brighter purple, with little white flowers and leaves. All the better to hide my less than professional quilting job.


So, ta-daaa, and three cheers for the domestically impaired!

And who is it for? That's a secret :0)