Friday, November 8, 2013

The Ugliest Quilt in the World

Several months ago, I made a quilt out of Tula Pink's Saltwater collection as a sample for the shop.  One of our more colorful characters informed us that is was "the ugliest quilt she has ever seen in her life."

Pictured: The Ugliest Quilt in the World

Frankly, I am pretty fond of the quilt..I mean...there are cephalopods (which I say just because I don't know what the actual correct plural form of Octopus is) on it.  But besides that, it really isn't an aesthetically offensive quilt, unless blues and turquoises aren't your thing.  But after that, I had an idea. What if I tried to make the ugliest quilt in the world?  How would one go about that, making an intentionally ugly quilt? That's kind of subjective, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that jazz, right? Challenge accepted. 

So it occurred to me...all those extra blocks from projects past, all those strips and segments from cutting said blocks, and all those practice blocks that just didn't work out were just sitting in a bag, all sad and lonely.  What if they all got mashed together?  I organized the pieces by colorway: brights, holiday and muted.  With all that, I had enough for three very ugly quilts.  So I set off on making a very bright and garish quilt.  I took my finished blocks and added pieces parts to then until the finished square measured 12.5" square. 

Let me just say, this is probably the most fun I have ever had making a quilt, EVER.  It felt so good to not have to fuss with color placement very much, or what looks good and what doesn't.  It gave me the freedom to just put things together that on an ordinary quilt, I never would have.  Plus, using leftover blocks, you learn real quick what color phases you've gone through over the years. (News Flash: I like orange and bright pink...shocking to no one.) 

And even though it was intended to be ugly and horrible...I really love how it turned out.  To everyone else, this may really be a loud, so-ugly-it-might-be-seizure-inducing quilt, but I am so happy with how it turned out. 

Say hello to the ugliest quilt in the world: 






A funny side note about the dino block...that was one of mom's leftover blocks from a project she made for me...when I was 3.  Just goes to show I have always had strange taste.  Dinos for life! 



4 comments:

  1. hmm... an actual ugly quilt. I think that would be really tough. I suspect a quilt made of all muddy colored solids with both red bias and blue bias colors would be pretty darn ugly. Certainly not the one you made! That's called "scrappy" :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I'm not very fond of those muddy colors either... but I suppose they have their place out there too!

      Delete
  2. I would buy this quilt from you! I totally dig it! But I also like loud obnoxious and haphazardly stuff.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! This one I really love...that Dino block was made when I was 3! I will probably make more of these as blocks accumulate and I'll think of you!

      Delete

I welcome all comments and constructive criticism! All I ask is that you keep it clean and keep it kind.