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DK Quilt Guild: Utility Quilts [1]
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Date: 2023-04-16
Detail of utility quilt made from vintage hankies and embroidered linens
DK Quilt Guild: A place for quilters to gather, share ideas, projects, and to make the world a better place, one quilt at a time. Join us and share your thoughts, projects, questions, and tips. Quilters here are at many different levels of skill. Beginners and non-quilters are welcome, too.
We NEED diarists!
Your diary can be elaborate and full of photos, a simple story of your own quilting history or that of someone you love, a discussion of a current project or a technique you're learning, new adventures... You could post quilt retreat-day recipes (things like crockpot meals, so food appears without much attention from you)…
We could do show and tell or open thread, also, but either way, we need diarists to host. It is EASY if you're willing to take the chance.
Diary Schedule
4/23/23 — OPEN
4/30/23 — winifred3
5/07/23 — OPEN
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
This is a story about community service, introvert style. And how many small things can add up to a big impact.
My local charity thrift store was closed for a long time due to COVID, but recently re-opened. I read on their website that they turn old sheets into crocheted rugs and was eager to help out with something that didn’t require person-to-person contact. However, the person who was involved with that type of recycling/upcycling was no longer with the thrift store and there was nothing in place for any kind of craft component.
I contacted the director and he hesitantly agreed to let me try and “do something” with items that either weren’t selling or weren’t fit to sell. In addition to making bags from tired t-shirts for them to use at the store for purchases and crocheted rugs from scraps of donated yarn, I have been making utility quilts from all sorts of donated items.
My definition of “utility quilt” is a simple pieced quilt, usually just squares, that is hand-tied at the intersections. My husband is kind enough to label them as “folk art”, but their true value is that they are quick to make and warm!
The thrift store is now selling these quilts and getting a reputation for upcycled crafts, which brings in more customers and helps them with their own community outreach. We are keeping things from the landfill, which benefits not only the environment, but their disposal budget as well. And I get the challenge of creating something useful from strange and interesting materials.
This type of quilting is very easy and would be a wonderful activity for beginning sewers. It doesn’t take a lot of time...many of these quilts only took 4 hours from cutting out squares to the final finishing. And since the materials used would have been thrown away, there is very little risk!
Here are some examples of the quilts I have made for the thrift store. The batting used is anything from a worn flannel sheet to tired old blankets. The backing is usually a sheet and is lapped over the front to form it’s own edging.
Two outdated wool skirts and a pair of black wool pants
VERY bright “wool” skirt suit paired with black flannel
Faded linen tablecloth with fruit print and brown twill pants
Actual print fabric that was donated and dark, plain sheets
A bit of wildlife print, three jeans and an orange plaid tablecloth
Lace bits from curtain valances and brown print fabric
Baby quilt from blue sheet and doilies
Cross-stitch tablecloth, pink and white sheets and dark green fabric
Baby quilt from hand-embroidered hankies and matching print fabric. My first time doing diamonds!
Crazy-quilt style from vintage hankies and linens (detail at top of diary)
Men’s ties pieced onto squares from sheets and then sewn together
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