Old patterns = old friends
I’ve been sorting through piles of quilt patterns and more.
Some were purchased, others were pulled from magazines or outdated books. There are articles and ideas galore.
I go through the piles every few years in order to make room for other things. I’ve been making quilts and saving quilt-related “stuff” for almost 40 years.
Some patterns have consistently made the cut. Although I may have had something for a few decades, I’m still interested in making it should the opportunity arise. And who’s to say it won’t? Remember when we were suddenly locked up tight in 2020?
Other patterns have been on the bubble for one sorting session and discarded during the next. I’ve been thinking about why. Mostly things get the axe when my tastes change or a technique is no longer appealing.
I noticed in my sorting quite a few things that I never intended to make, like Pecking Order above. I bought this pattern because of the color scheme, which was bold for the time. I hoped that someday I could imagine such creative combinations.
I saved many photos, drawings or patterns because they inspired me. Maybe a color combination caught my eye. Sometimes a shape inspired a broad idea which later became a quilt design of my own.
There are lots of Christmas quilts and sampler quilts and best of all, scrappy quilts. Before I even knew it, scrap quilts were my jam. I love to make a quilt with lots and lots of different fabrics. Wildly entertaining.
And you know what? I realized that there are a few things I am technically finished with, i.e. I’ve been inspired by them and won’t ever need to make them—and yet I can’t get rid of them.
It’s because they feel like old friends.
A few of these things have been with me since the 90s, when I went off the deep end into quilt making. And that’s a long time to cart things around, you know? These piles have seen me through ups and downs, marriage, kids, jobs, relocation, illness, injury, divorce, remarriage, making friends, losing friends, heartache, victorious days, a pandemic…and there is still more to come.
No, these precious things in piles won’t be going anywhere. They know all my secrets.
Quilt on,
Tags: destashing, make extraordinary scrap quilts, quilt ideas, quilt lifestyle, quilt patterns, quilt studio
Dot
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I am the same way! I did a lot of downsizing before my last move, and that was hard enough. My kids will need to deal with the rest of my old-friend patterns and UFOs and vintage sewing machines …
Marty
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Oh my oh my, the patterns I have, and books from when I started quilting in 1987. I’ve always contended there are so many, same blocks, just different configuration, rebranded as something “new”. And, I could stick with one pattern and by just using different fabrics, never have the same quilt. Now, how much fabric do I have from 1987 to now? I’ll never tell! But the hubster says I “own a cotton plantation”.
Leslie D. Schmidt
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This is me all over. I have over 1000 patterns, not counting the ones torn from magazines or printed from online sources. I wish I had the time left to make more of the ones I really liked. It makes me wonder what kept me from sewing them way back when. I noticed I have a few of the ones you pictured. Those Gingerbread Boys are still calling to me. I started quilting in 1998 after being obsessed with counted cross stitch. When the shop that I made samples for closed, I had to find something else to go overboard with, and quilting got elected.
Renee Arnett
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I have a similar experience anytime I sort through or downsize my patterns. Many still remain on my very long wishlist. Have you ever given a pattern or book away only to buy it again after seeing it made with current fabrics? I have twice! Haha!