Anne's First Quilt

Anne decided to make a Lisa the Unicorn quilt from Elizabeth Hartman for the fair. Like most of her patterns, Lisa is a little intense to cut out as it has many unique pieces. Anne got a little overwhelmed and a few weeks before the fair, we decided it was not realistic for her to finish it.

She had been playing with my scrap basket all summer and began organizing pieces into strips. With some encouragement, she assembled an improv top for a quilt for her American Girl Doll. I may have bribed her a little by promising Minky for the back if she finished the top before she went to a week of summer camp. While she was gone, I sandwiched and quilted the piece (acceptable for her 4-H level for someone else to quilt it). She finished it with a facing when she got home.

The county fair 4-H judge was not impressed. She pointed out nearly every aspect of the quilt as something she did not like - the colors, the fabric, the design, the size, her seam allowances, it should have a hanging sleeve, the facing, the hand stitching on the facing. Honestly, the only thing she liked was the quilting, which she was aware that I did. One of the lessons of 4-H that is sometimes hard for youth to learn, is that the result is one judge's opinion on one day. Usually judges provide constructive criticism to help youth understand that decision and provide a learning experience so the next project is better. In this case, every statement started with "I don't like ..." Had she phrased her opinions using elements and principles of design or quilting procedures from the project manual or acknowledged that she read the one-page narrative Anne provided, I would understand. Yes, the quilt could use more contrast. No, it isn't the most complicated pattern ever made by an nine-year-old. The hand stitching was pretty awful. As a 4-H judge who has been through judge's training in many disciplines and taught it, I was frustrated with this judge's feedback. (And, I've shared my frustrations with the 4-H staff in my county office.)

We had decided to enter her quilt in the Nebraska State Fair Open Class show prior to the county fair. It was a better experience not only because of the appropriate feedback from the judge, but also because Anne had a wonderful moment with some of my quilt mentors who took the time to encourage her and give her feedback that will make her next quilt better. Thank you for great mentors!

Upcycled Picnic Blanket

One of my quilting mentors, Dorothy Heideman Nelson, has encouraged me for a couple of years to enter in the Textiles Open Class show at the Nebraska State Fair in addition to the Quilt Show and I finally had a project in 2018 I wanted to make and enter. One of the challenges is that the entry cannot be eligible for the Quilt Division.

When planning a denim upcycle night for my 4-H club, I found a post on Pinterest that was a denim quilt I wanted to make. Simultaneously, I had been looking for projects to use the feedsacks chicken feed comes it. It is a woven plastic, much like a lightweight tarp. Thus, the upcycled denim picnic blanket was born. By sandwiching two sturdy layers without the batting in the middle, it would not be a quilt by definition and only eligible for the Textiles Division.

As the blogger describes, I cut six- and two-inch strips of various shades of denim and used a 60° angle ruler to join pieces to make strips. I happened to have one pair of red denim capris that had an unfortunate incident with a purple crayon in the laundry to add some accent to the blues.

The top was sized for four chicken feed sacks cut open and stitched together. For added interest, I rounded the corners. The binding is a raw edge denim strip.

It earned a fourth place ribbon at the Nebraska State Fair in the Open Class Textiles Division in an upcycling class. It took me a bit to find it in the show because it was hung with the feedbacks facing the viewer and the denim "quilt" hiding in the cabinet. :)