Who needs complicated patterns? Sure, I love to look at all the fancy-schmancy patterns and quilts when I'm at a show or surfing on the net. But when it comes to actually making quilts, I'm way on the other side of the fence...nothing fancy comes from my studio...I only make the simple quilts. I took a class with Anne Gallo and Susan Raban several years ago, and the class was called "Idiot Quilts". Yup, thats the perfect term for what I do. Mary Ellen Hopkins calls them "Kindergarten Quilts". She says why do something complicated if you can use a simple pattern and let all the great fabrics we have do all the work for you? I have wholeheartedly embraced this attitude, and so I make simple quilts. 95% of what I do is quilts for kids, so they need to be sturdy, bright and fun, and Kindergarten quilts work well for that. Some of the ladies in my guild ask how I manage to make so many quilts, and the answer is this: KISS (Keep It Super Simple) and let the fabrics do the work.
The quilt pictured above is a simple 4 patch that I did last fall. The fabrics are fun and bright. There are lots of bright fabrics and some novelties in there to keep a child entertained and happy. I had fun making the quilt, never had to pull my hair out. To me, thats perfect :-) I plan to do another one like this soon.
4 comments:
Love the simple 4 patch! I've been trying to get some of the folks in my group to understand a well made simple design is much better than a poorly done complicated one! The basics are best.
Yahoo! You speak my language! I too like to make simple quilts--quilts to be used and loved. Your statement was so well said!
I love KISS quilts! They are user friendly and fun to look at. Nice job on this one.
Love the quilt. Easy and done is always better than perfect and not done...smile
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