19 February 2006

A Paintbucket Quilt

PaintbucketQuilt

I save scraps, fabric scraps. I save 2.5" and 5" squares; the strips are at least 5" wide by whatever. My really scrappy quilts I call Paintbucket Quilts because the strips get shoved into a 5 gallon paint bucket. One bucket for darks and one bucket for lights. When the bucket gets so full the lid won't stay on, I make a strippy quilt.

I told you that so I could talk about this. For several months, at least as long as my thumb (remember my owie?) was acting up, I didn't make anything. Not that I couldn't. I just didn't have the passion for it. I would go into my studio sit down, look around, get up and leave. This went on for months. I was in there the other day and sat down at the machine. Looking around I spyed my "darks" paintbucket. The dark strips were spilling out and the lid was perched precariously on top. I already had some Kabenet Wax paper strips cut for foundations. I started sewing. Mindless sewing. Process. That's what it took. Just mindless sewing. It was the process of sewing that I needed. Slowly, the spark of creativety kindled. Mindless sewing did it. I looked at some fabric in my stash and started to design quilts in my head. I'm ready to create something.

Oh, and the paintbucket quilt top? I finished it in 3 days. It's not a great, fancy quilt. It's more the dragaround type of quilt. But it served it's purpose: it got me in the studio again.

2 comments:

  1. I think it IS a great quilt..and the proof is in the making. It had a job to do, and did it very well...you are BACK...*VBS* Love your approach...the paintbucket concept.
    Hope the thumb is all better.

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  2. Yes, the thumb is better, thank you. I also have the creativity back and more important -- the enthusiam!

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