My Dress Colors

There was a time in my life when I was at my heaviest that I wore the same dress over and over again.  It was made of 100% cotton.  It was a high waisted short sleeved summer dress, which functioned for about half the year for me.

When I lost nearly thirty pounds in 2006 I decided to retire these dresses, but I wanted to save the fabric for a “commemorative” quilt.  Mind you, I had not quilted in over twenty years, but I had high hopes that I would eventually get around to this project.  I didn’t just save the dresses.  I cut them apart and stored the fabric in a box, and filed it away on a shelf for future reference.  The colors include pastel green, yellow, pink, and orange.

My Box Of Dress Fabrics

The following year I retired.  I had all the time in the world on my hands, but I procrastinated.  I also regained those thirty pounds, and ended up missing the dresses, but that is another sad story.  I wasn’t sure about what to do with the fabric, and it hardly seemed right to “commemorate” losing the weight when it had found its way home again, so the fabric continued to sit on the shelf.  Luckily I did whip myself into shape and lose the weight again, so I was more in the mood to utilize the fabric if only I could motivate myself to get back into the quilting game.

When I recently reconnected with quilting through my love of hexagons I decided to cut up some of the fabric into 2.5″ x 2.5″ squares and make a few hexagons.  The fabric happens to be a twill, which is heavier than the usual quilt weight fabric, so I was disappointed with the way it handled when I tried to baste the hexagons.  Sewing them together gave bad results too, so the fabric has sat around for a bit longer.

Attempted Hexagons

I’ve decided that the best use of the fabric would probably be to make large solid colored squares and to quilt those squares individually by machine and then join them with a print lattice, or group of print lattices that are harmonious with the colors of the original fabric.

I may wait until the Spring lines come out before I attempt to pick compatible prints to accompany the solid fabrics.

This quilt is currently being used as a barrier to keep cold air from getting from the dining room to the kitchen.  We have another quilt hanging between the living room and the hallway for the same purpose.  I made that one myself over 25 years ago.

Grammy’s Scrappy Patchwork Quilt

Notice that the lower right corner has been pinned back to serve as a clue to the cats on how to get past the barrier.  This side shown above faces the dining room.

Here we see it from the side facing the kitchen.

Yes. It’s Dirty.

Detail of Block

The quilt was made using scraps to create flowers, which were appliquéd onto the surface of square white blocks which were then joined.  You can clearly see the seams showing where the blocks were joined.  The quilting design is simply crossed lines of quilting creating a grid.   This clearly is a quilt that was meant to be used.  I think I remember sunbathing on it in the backyard as a child with my mother.  She taught me at a young age how to broil myself, a habit which I unlearned in my young adulthood.  My face thanks me now.

How we hang it

The safety pins can’t be good for it, but when it came time to hang the quilts for the summer I couldn’t lay my hands on the T pins I had used last year, and I had to run out and buy some safety pins.

I am currently working on a panel specifically designed to hang at the location between the living room and the hallway.  After I finish that panel I will design a panel to hang between the kitchen and the dining room.