“Quilts are at home in any style décor. They are friendship and hospitality brought together with a needle and thread made by someone who loves what they do.” ~ Unknown
Working with a needle and thread has brought me many hours of pleasure. As a young girl…probably around 9…my mother put together a sewing basket for me and taught me how to embroider beautiful floral designs that were pre-stamped on the hem of a pillowcase. That began my fascination with what could be made with fabric and a simple needle and thread.
Through the years I have made clothing for our two daughters and myself along with many home décor projects, but my real love is that of piecing a quilt. Piecing a quilt and doing an Interior Redesign bring two of my passions together and the principles for doing both are similar.
I purchase quilt fabric much like you purchase accessories and furniture for your home…sometimes you have a plan for what you buy; sometimes you don’t. You just buy it because you like it. Size, shape, color, and texture may have something to do with your purchase as it would in my fabric choice for a quilt.
My family and I have relocated over 12 times, and each move meant incorporating the furniture and accessories we had collected throughout the years into a new house to make it our home. These moves help put my life into chapters….much like blocks of a quilt.
Many of you have made a quilt, inherited, purchased or received one as a gift. Quilts are not only valuable, cultural, sentimental, memorable and treasured, but are appreciated as works of art. Because a quilt is decorative, its texture and color help to create warmth and welcomes those who enter your home.
Quilts are made to be enjoyed. Bring your quilts out of storage and use them in decorating your home:
- Stretch a colorful quilt, old or new, over a frame like a painter’s canvas and hang on a wall for an instant shot of pattern and color.
- Frame a small quilt or preserve an antique quilt block by framing it.
- Drape a quilt over a banister, the back of a sofa, or over the top of a door.
- Line up 3 or 4 colorful quilted pillows on a sofa for an inexpensive way to add a new look quickly and easily.
- Roll small quilts, or large quilts, and place in a wicker basket.
- Highlight a table with a quilt, using quilted placemats or a table runner. If you use a quilt as a tablecloth, be sure to protect when food is served on it.
- Create a tablescape by scrunching a quilt to drape around special items you want to display….maybe a grouping of old family photos or heirlooms.
- Hang a quilt on a wall. This can be a dramatic decorative touch.
- Layer your quilts to add color and to display more your quilts. This can be done by rolling several quilts at the foot of a bed or by folding and stacking them on a bench or shelf.
Quilt makers are real artists and put a lot of creativity and imagination into their work. The Forsyth Piecers and Quilters Guild bi-annual quilt show, “Winston-Salem Quilts” will show off their work November 2 – 3 at the Gateway YWCA, 1300 South Main St. W-S from 9:00-5:00. Check out forsythquilters.org for more information. I have been a member of the Forsyth Piecers and Quilters Guild since 2005. For me, it’s been a place to make friends and become a better quilter. Hope to see you there!
ReDESIGNS by Ava takes your ‘pieces of fabric’…your furniture, art, and existing architecture…and skillfully pieces together a room that not only reflects your personal style but also brings a sense of warmth and welcome to your home…one room at a time. Call to schedule an Interior Redesign, Redesign for Resale, Relocation Redesign, Interior Decorating or Color Consultation.
