Saturday 15 September 2012

"Tell me, they don't...

put these on beds any more do they?"
The lone male looking at the quilt display had been moving very slowly around. Unlike many people he really was looking.
We had a lot of people through the quilt display at the Show yesterday. The weather outside was cool and blustery so people headed indoors to the other displays. Many of them did a circuit of the quilts. Some just walked around and out of the area again. Others went a little more slowly but few of them really looked.
I can understand that. For most people they are just "nice" to look at. People have no idea how they are made or what is involved. It is like a great deal of the other craft work there - and in other places.
Unless you actually do the craft yourself or do something similar you cannot understand. The Senior Cat refers to the shawls I make as "those things you make with all the holes in them". He means the lace patterns. He does however understand that work is involved because of his own shed based woodworking.
So, seeing a lone male going very slowly around the quilts and looking very closely was something different. He finally reached the place where we were sitting and demonstrating other things and asked that question.
       "No, most of them do not go on beds these days," we told him.
       "Well, what do people do with them?"
       "Sometimes they get hung on walls but often they just get put away."
Yes, he could see that it was a problem. If you make multiple quilts then what do you do with them?
We explain that some of them are "art" quilts. They are intended to be wall hangings and not bed coverings. He can appreciate that but... the biggest ones, the size of a king sized bed? No, some of them still get carefully packed and put away. Storage? Yes, it is a problem. Cost? Sometimes extraordinary but, for the addicted quilter, this is less of an issue than not having enough fabric to continue making quilts.
He nodded and I showed him the quilt they have dubbed "Nearly Insane" because it is made up of quilt blocks within quilt blocks - one square about eight inches in size is made up of nearly four hundred pieces. The entire quilt is made of thousands and thousands of pieces.
He went on looking carefully at the last pieces in the display and then came back and thanked up courteously for the explanations.
        "It is," he said, "a magnificent form of madness."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cat,

'They' may not put art quilts on beds, but some of us not only put them on our beds, we sleep under them, wash them, and when necessary, mend them.

Every quilt I have made over cot size was made to be used, and even some of the smaller ones are usable by very small people, or their doll, but are usually destined for hanging around on walls.

After all, if we don't use them and wear them out we have no excuse to keep making them.

Judy B

catdownunder said...

I want one Judy - I might even tidy my bedroom if I am allowed to have one.
There were about three that were actually going to be used but the rest were not...really rather sad the way they hide all that work!
You have more sense.