Patchwork

getty images

Hey, Quilters!  Isn't this a fun image for fall?  Does the season influence the fabrics you choose to work with?  Have you ever made a fall leaf quilt? 

I have made a couple of them.  My first effort was quite exciting for me.  I made it 15 years ago or so, after a hiatus I had taken from quilting.  The blocks were in the design of maple leafs, all pieced, including a tiny stem.  I quilted it by hand, believe it or not, in a gold metallic thread.  I gave it to my daughter, and wonder if she still has it.  Sara?  It went really well with a dark green couch she had at the time.  It was kind of a pitiful effort, compared to where I am now with my quilting, but I do remember the joy I experienced in making it.  I loved working with the dark greens, golds, russets, burgundies and browns.  I have seen some stunning leaf block quilts in recent years, and have vowed to do another one someday.

The quilt I am working on currently, Birdseye, is very much a fall themed quilt as far as the color scheme is concerned, and that is part of the fun I am having while working on it.  The colors of my fabrics are very much the colors of the season.  See yesterday's post for a photo of the blocks to see what I mean.

 

This is a quilt top I finished about seven or eight years ago.  Believe it or not, I have never had it quilted.  I think it deserves quilting, don't you?  I made it one fall and had the same feeling of rightness & satisfaction while I was working on it, that I have now while working on Birdseye.  The colors seem right with the time of year.  But here's the thing.  I let myself be influenced by a comment someone I really respected made about the quilt.  She said, "Oh.  The colors are so dark.  You must have been really depressed when you made it.  The colors quilters choose always reflect their state of mind.  I'm sorry you were going though a troublesome period".

I thought to myself, "I didn't think I was depressed when I made this quilt.  But maybe it IS dark and somber and depressing. Maybe things weren't so great with me when I made it."  The quilt now felt tainted with a cloud of despair.  Was it indeed a testament to a bleak period in my life?  Did I want to be forever reminded of that?  A lot of the love I felt for this quilt was diminished by my friend's thoughtless, but possibly well meaning comment.  Now that I take the unquilted top out of the closet and spread it out, it doesn't seem dark to me in the slightest.  Do you agree?  This is not a dark quilt!  But it does have a feeling of the changing seasons, which is exactly what I had in mind while I made it.  Why did I let myself be so negatively influenced by someone's comment?  This is a great quilt!  And it has been hanging in a dark closet for years with no one loving it or using it.

Has something like this ever happened to you?  Tell us about it.

Comments

[Dianne]

I don't have a similar story to share, but I DO think that it is beautiful and that you should quilt it immediately!

[Betty]

I love that quilt. It has the happy golds and reds, and is really a bright quilt. I would probably have thought it was more of a happy quilt. I also like the pattern. And yes, people's comments do taint how we feel. The silence in show and tell isn't a good thing either. I recently asked people to tell me their favorite out of my "showings". Everyone chose differently. Guess we just have to please ourselves.

[Nancy E]

Block out of your mind what your friend said. It needs to be quilted & displayed. Love your Birdseye quilt, too.

[Lucy]

That quilt has great color, but I'm guessing the "dark comment" came because of the black. I'm drawn to any quilt with black in it -- love them instantly -- including Birdseye.

If you ever decide to sell the one above I hope I see the posting first - I'd buy it in a heartbeat!

[Nan S.]

I love the colors and don't find it dark or depressing at all. They seem very vivid and make a quilt that's lively and full of movement. I'm wondering if the person who made the comment is someone who works mainly with pastels?

A friend of mine was working on a basket quilt for a guild challenge recently when someone told her that all her points were going to be cut off when she sewed it together. She almost quit at that point, but decided to finish it anyway. It tied for Viewers' Choice a couple of weeks ago! So...we can't always put too much credence in what others say about our work. We just have to do what makes us happy!

[Tricia L.]

I'm my own worst critic when it comes to crafting. I'm always worried about my color choices and am always admiring others quilts thinking to myself why can't I pick colors like those....yours is one of those quilts. The colors look great and it's perfect for fall. Time to get it quilted!

I'm also from the school of, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything!

[margot]

"Dark" is definitely not what came to my mind when I saw this quilt. You need to get it quilted and start enjoying it - it is beautiful!
I actually wonder if your friend was going through her own "dark" time in her life since she was the one who saw the quilt in that way.

[Cara]

It doesn't seem dark to me. It is darker than some but not dark/depressing in anyway.

As for the fabric choices...those I just go through several times in a year. But then I tend to change my hair colour depending on the season.

[Thelma]

I LOVE this quilt. I think it says "Lets go ride a hay wagon, pick some apples and grab a pumpkin".

Margot had an interesting perspective, one that I had not thought of but do agree with.

If the colors I choose reflect my state of mind I must be one angry person, most of my quilts are red!!

Sounds like this top will be going to the quilter!

[Jen]

I don't have a story to share but that top needs to be quilted and loved. It totally reminds me of falling leaves this time of year.

[Melissa]

Your "friend's" comment was just silly. Why would the color of your quilt be indicative of your mental state? More likely it is just the colors that you are loving at the time!! Or representing a theme or season.
I LOVE your quilt and think it is actually quite a bright,happy quilt!
How boring would it be to have all your quilts from the same color ways and hues because you were always trying to make a quilt that didn't read "depressed" SILLY!!!
I agree with one of the commentors above, it is more likely that your friend was unhappy at the time and was reading THAT in your beautiful quilt.
Make and love whatever brings joy to YOU!!
Ignore anyone who is ungracious enough to make you dought yourself with a hurtful comment.

[di]

The quilt is beautiful! Quilt it and enjoy it!

Based on your friend's comment - Kaffe Fassett must never have a down day and Lynette Jensen needs therapy! Now.....that makes no sense - does it?! I think they are both happy people - their palates are just different.

The only person you need to please is yourself! Even if what you are making is a gift - the recipient doesn't know what choices you had, so make what is pleasing to you!

I think I'll get off my soapbox and have another cup of coffee!

[Mary Flynn]

I see a wonderful variegated on that quilt for sure!
You know, I'm always drawn to the darker tea dye antique colors....mud I guess. But that is what I find soothing in my home. Oh I do enjoy stitching on brightly colored or pastel fabrics for a change...but in the end if they are mine to keep I love the look of old in my home. I think what we work with is what we find comforting or seasonal...this is how it is with me anyway. I don't find that quilt to be dark...perhaps this friend is the floral cottage type personality?

[Jackie Hicks]

Get that top quilted quick and enjoy it!! It is a beauty and great fall colors.
I agree with Margot - she must have made it fit what she was feeling.

[tjesa]

Oh, if we could all go thru life without people's offhand comments influencing us. I have had these types of comments 'get' to me too... and the people that make them don't even give it a second thought. My feeling is that your friend must have been going thru a dark time in her life to think your wonderful salute to fall quilt came from some depressive feelings on your part. Reminds me that those 'judgemental' comments can be hurtful and we all must internally edit our comments before we make them!!

[Laurie in Iowa]

Your quilt is beautiful and it deserves to be quilted. The negative comment that was left years ago reflects more on the commenter, not the quilt being commented on.

[Patty]

I tend to favor brights and high contrast patterns so when I made a very soft, earthy colored quilt many of my friends had the same type of comments. I just reminded them that it's good to do something different every now and then. Challenges me to use those colors since they aren't my usual ones. Love your Birdseye and this one too (Even though they aren't hot pink, blinding yellow or neon green :)

[Karen L.]

All of your quilts are beautiful and are a wonderful reflection of your spirit. I often wonder when I make things whether the recipient realizes what a quilt is - all the time, effort, heart, (sometimes blood since I hand quilt) that goes into it. When I don't see the quilt being used, but folded on a shelf in a clost, I begin to doubt myself and wonder why I'm doing it. But then I see your quilts and get inspired again. I hope you don't find this burden we're placing on you too heavy ;)

Karen L.

[Ingrid]

I adore this quilt! I have a sister who is always commenting on my artwork and photos trying to tell me what mood I was in when I created them. She is never right and when I was very young it hurt and confused me, when I was a little older it irritated me and now it only amuses me. I realize my sister does it so she feels she has some special insight into people and it makes her feel more in control or superior or something. I would call the colours you used in that quilt rich. The colours we choose do reflect our state of mind but maybe the rich colours you chose meant coziness, love, warmth and (hehe) passion.

[Zarina]

I think I know why she say that but the colors does reflect fall and the coming of winter. I would love to live where there are changes of season but through these blogs, I too am experiencing them hence my entry to Park City Girl's fall quilt - my Pumpkin Goes Wild quilt (which I won Sarah's thread book btw - just waiting for the book to arrive to blog about it but could not resist the opportunity here).

[Jan]

That quilt is bea.u.ti.ful!!!! Get it quilted now!! A woman I know and her cousin once assured me that I'm "not a real quilter" because I don't have a stash! Ouch! But I'm one of those quilters who works on one project at a time, buying only the fabric needed for that quilt. Does that make me "not a real quilter???" I don't think so! It stung for awhile but I finally let their comment go...I think.

[Michelle]

I love the deep rich colours. I did my first mini quilt swap this year and when I put the picture of it on flickr I got no comments at all. It definitely hurt so much that I was not going to do another one. However I changed my mind and did do another one and I am glad I did.

[Karen Beigh]

I like dark quilts, so yours looks great to me. I like the on point setting of the blocks. And I do like the leaves you show. I want some of them!

[MichelleB]

Too funny. I've gone through some dark feeling times recently - but you should see my quilts - none of them are dark. Some are eye popping bright!

[Diane]

I would say the colors are rich. Even luxurious feeling to me.

I had to decide a long time ago that I quilt for me. If I like it, that's all that matters. It was hard to come to that conclusion when I compared myself too closely with others - especially when I was starting out. Now I admire others' work and try to incorporate the parts I like of their works into mine.

Your quilts are exquisite.