I love that when I get irritable at some segment of this hobby that I have chosen to make my career, be it a thread breakage problem, a fabric I can't find anymore, or a statement on the cover of a quilt magazine that has me shaking my head, I can share my irritation on my facebook page. Immediately I get people to either set me straight or rally beside me in shared horror for what the world has become. Such was the case on Friday afternoon, when I returned from an out of state supply requisition journey (ie I went to JoAnns in Nashua NH, which is like 15 minutes away) having had my eyes and psyche accosted by the claim, on the cover of a magazine which shall remain nameless, that the cover quilt, featuring what I counted as no more than six and possibly only five fabrics, was "Scrappy!"
"Um, NO IT IS NOT!" I screamed inside my head. "Unless you mean you have named this quilt after Scooby Doo's buddy, TAKE IT BACK!" The cashier may have heard the inside of my head. I am not sure, but it seemed pretty loud to me and she was looking at me funny.
Once I got in the car, I rested my head mournfully on the steering wheel, trying to figure out in what world a quilt made using six carefully coordinated fabrics could be considered scrappy. It should be noted that quilt itself was not offending me in any way. It was lovely. It was only the idea of calling it scrappy that had me needing a nap so I could wake up again in a world that made sense.
Even though Friday is a slow day in social media world, I decided to see if I was the crazy one, and asked the members of my online community what they considered "scrappy". The result?
This will be a year I talk even more of scraps than usual. My first Scrap Squad assignment is in the "Blocks Finished, Must Put Top Together" stage and I truly cannot tell you the joy it is giving me. I'm not allowed to do any more than sneak peek at you, so here is all you get:
The 2014 group quilt and block swap is yielding a few packages each week, with a couple of weeks to go before the deadline. Loving all the ones I am seeing! Here are Michelle's blocks:
I leave you with my favorite quote from Friday's scrappy quilt discussion, written by Linda Lee. I do not know Linda personally, but I read this and I gave her a virtual high five and then had to sit down to contain myself. It was that good.
"When I think of a scrappy quilt, I think of the other definition of scrappy--determined, argumentative, pugnacious. A scrappy quilt should have a little conflict and push-pull. It's not supposed to be a polite, well-behaved collection of pinky-raised tea drinking fabrics. Scrappy quilts are supposed to be a loud party with a bouncer at the door."
I swear I just about needed a cigarette.
"Um, NO IT IS NOT!" I screamed inside my head. "Unless you mean you have named this quilt after Scooby Doo's buddy, TAKE IT BACK!" The cashier may have heard the inside of my head. I am not sure, but it seemed pretty loud to me and she was looking at me funny.
Once I got in the car, I rested my head mournfully on the steering wheel, trying to figure out in what world a quilt made using six carefully coordinated fabrics could be considered scrappy. It should be noted that quilt itself was not offending me in any way. It was lovely. It was only the idea of calling it scrappy that had me needing a nap so I could wake up again in a world that made sense.
Even though Friday is a slow day in social media world, I decided to see if I was the crazy one, and asked the members of my online community what they considered "scrappy". The result?
- I am not crazy.
- Six fabrics does not a scrap quilt make.
- Scrappy may or may not infer crazed fabric raves featuring mosh pits full of selvedges.
- I'm bringing the word "jubilee" back.
- Jellyrolls are not scraps, but the industry may want us to think they are.
- More is better, less is less, and leftovers rule the day.
This will be a year I talk even more of scraps than usual. My first Scrap Squad assignment is in the "Blocks Finished, Must Put Top Together" stage and I truly cannot tell you the joy it is giving me. I'm not allowed to do any more than sneak peek at you, so here is all you get:
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| I've named the quilt already. "I Carried A Watermelon" seems perfect. |
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| So cool! |
"When I think of a scrappy quilt, I think of the other definition of scrappy--determined, argumentative, pugnacious. A scrappy quilt should have a little conflict and push-pull. It's not supposed to be a polite, well-behaved collection of pinky-raised tea drinking fabrics. Scrappy quilts are supposed to be a loud party with a bouncer at the door."
I swear I just about needed a cigarette.
5 comments:
I carried a watermelon, from Dancing fame? Bahahaha! I wonder if the 6 fabrics were from different lines and that's why it was scrappy. I don't really have a problem with that. Maybe in my mind there's a difference between scrappy and a scrap quilt. A scrap quilt I could see having not one repeated fabric in it. I seldomly work with only 1 line per project though.
I loved her comment the most too! haha And I can't wait to see "I carried a watermelon." :)
Oh, my goodness! I love that description of a scrappy quilt,
That is an awesome definition of a scrappy quilt!
I agree that more is better. I love the fabric choices you're planning for "I carried a watermelon". Is this from Dirty Dancing? The scrap quilt I'm working on was a challenge to start given my scraps are mostly batiks and fabrics that read as solids. I was once told that I owned over 2 miles of fabric so imagine the surprised looks I got at my guild when I asked for scraps to make the Bow Tie quilt. I now have a tote of borrowed scraps.
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