You've encountered them every time you visit your local quilt shop, surf the quilting websites or open a quilt magazine: those new, young designers are everywhere. Their designs are prolific; in books, patterns, and by the yard. Is it just me or do they seem to get younger and younger? I had two in the house a few weeks ago. Working out of a box of precut scraps they pondered, placed and replaced. They stepped back and took stock, they gave each other advice; and then, finally, they were pleased with their layouts. They were each designing doll quilts and, at 4 and 6 years old, were quite serious about getting them "just right".
Lynnleigh with her design.
Lucy Ann with an extra-long quilt layout for her "taller" dolls.
The girls "helped" Nana, after they completed their work by taking each and every square off the wall and piling them on small tables so that I could assemble them later. It's a good thing I took those photos above! 😀
Somewhere along the line Lucy Ann's layout changed from 8 squares across to 9; Nana adjusted the sizes to fit.
After they were sewn together I loaded them both, end to end, on a single piece of batting and backing and did a quick meander quilting pattern. Each was later bound with each girl's favorite color binding. Their babies will now be safe, warm and cozy under these new, designer, quilts; in fact, one can even be used as a table runner! 😉 I wanted these to be finished as soon as possible, demonstrating to them that their work has value and significance. My hope is that they will remember laying these out and be proud of their creative efforts; that they will be continue to be inspired and express themselves in original and artistic ways.
When you next encounter those new, young designers, think of this: they likely started just this way!
Life is Good!
