Saturday, December 5, 2020

The Utility Question

I've made quilts for beds and quilts for babies.... wall quilts and minis, table runners and mug rugs. I have made quilts to gift, to use in our home, and often, for no purpose whatsoever and according to no preconceived plan. Some were made just because I felt compelled to use a certain fabric, try a pattern, or experiment with a technique. There are stacks of them in my studio and the spare bedroom, and who knows what will become of them. And that's ok with me.

But sometimes I get the feeling that it might not be the same for everyone. So I posted a random questionnaire in my IG stories recently, posing the following question.


Out of 200 participants, here's a look at the results!
        A - 26%
        B - 43%
        C - 2.5%
        D - 28.5%

Are you surprised? I was a little, that "D" - where I consider myself to fall, with "B" as a close second - was as large as it was. And also that "A" wasn't larger, as I feel like I see alot of folks who exclusively make big quilts. "B" makes sense though, as it shows a wider variety of creations, with flexibility as far as intended use. Interesting though! Where do you fall? Thoughts?

15 comments:

  1. I certainly want my quilts to be useful, whether that’s on a bed or table, under a plate or mug or even to brighten up a wall. So even if I only make a quilt ‘just because’ I want to make, I like to think I’ll find the perfect recipient who will use it one day. So I guess I fall into B and D!

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  2. I'm in D. Mostly I start a project because I want to try a particular technique and it becomes a table runner, a wall hanging or a lap quilt, or something even smaller. No-one I know uses blankets any more, but duvets, so I have no takers for full size bed quilts.

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  3. I fall under D first, then B. I am also surprised that A was not the number one choice of quilters as I mostly see people making bed quilts. Definitely surprising results.

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  4. I sew mainly for our local hospital, so charity, but also for family and our home. So I guess B. I had to look up the work 'utilitarian' first though, to know what you meant :).

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  5. I'm just like you--a D with a lot of B. The quilts to pile up, and I give a lot of them away, but last year I gifted over 30 to a retirement home for nuns. They had a little raffle and were so happy to have them.
    As I've gotten older I don't want to make bigger quilts anymore. Also, I think more about design than I used to and for me, design is easier on a smaller scale. Thanks for an interesting question.

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  6. Definitely a D for me. I make small quilts, table runners, usually nothing larger than a throw, although I have made bed quilts in the past. I enjoy the creative process of making the item. I want it to be useful and used but it doesn't have to be bed size for that.

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  7. Very interesting question and I really had to think about it for a minute. I feel I'm more of a D because most of the quilts I make don't have a specific purpose (for me) or recipient, but I do prefer making quilts that will be used eventually. So I have a huge pile of baby and lap sized quilts that need to be gifted (or given to charity).

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  8. I feel like I fall solidly in the "D" category, although it is always a delight to me when I can match a quilt with a forever home one way or another. :)

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  9. I responded to your IG survey, and see that I'm in the next-to-last minority. No surprise there. I've been making quilts for 44 years, and find that wall hangings are the most difficult size to give as gifts, and impossible to donate to charity. They have collected here like crazy, so I've turned some of mine into pet beds! These days it's mostly "go big, or go home" for me. :-) Such a fun survey to come up with Debbie! You're very thoughtful about quiltmaking.

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  10. In the past I've been a D person making for the sake of making. Needing to play with a certain design or a certain group of fabrics. I also made for my patterns and those were never "used". But as all the quilts pile up, I'm find myself leaning into B because I want what I make to be used. We have more then enough throw quilts around the house and I'm not sure how many my daughter really wants or can use. Unfortunately many of them aren't a good fit for charity so I need to rethink what I make moving forward. Just yesterday I was thinking I should consider other end results besides the usual throw size quilt. Maybe more pillows, table runners or even bed runners. It was interesting to see the results of your survey. Guess I'm not alone.

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  11. I'm an A/D my category is "use up fabric". My quilt circle made almost 700 quilts this year for children's charities.

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  12. a fun quiz, I'm also a D more and more as time goes by!

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  13. I fall under both B and D. I make mostly because I love playing with fabric and design. I do make for specific beds and people.

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  14. Very interesting! I'm always curious why people finish quilts and what they do with them.

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  15. I suppose I’m another B/D girl. I like what I make to be used and enjoyed, a throw size is so usable and I struggle to quilt a large quilt. I can’t sew as much as I used to and if we downsize I won’t have a sewing room, so I sew what I can when I can, as long as I can stitch and make I’m happy.

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