I am starting a new category of quilts — the just because quilt. The just because quilt can have many intentions, but ultimately the real motivation is that someone deserves a quilt just because. Welcome to my first just because quilt, which will now carry the acronym JB, conveniently also my initials. I made this quilt top in early 2021 with the full intent to complete it in a timely manner. Well, you know, life so this remained unfinished until a few weeks ago. I love completion and firmly believe that quilts belong out in the world living their best quilty life, not as a work in progress. However, in the case of this blanket, I am glad my procrastination led to better timing; gifting a quilt on the cusp of fall ensures maximum use.
This quilt also falls into the “random ingredients” design category; I liken this to Iron Chef, minus the televised competition. This design process is similar to when you visit your fridge and only have a random assortment of food to make dinner, but you’re too much of a slacker to drive to the grocery so you suck it up and create something that can never be replicated. All of these fabrics were in my stash and combined in this particular way create this cozy quilt. I started with a cute charm pack for the blocks, then added the grey latticed borders to all of the squares. To make the quilt snuggle size, I added a larger border with a mossy green (I know, shocking!) pink polka dot batik and finished with the addition of the second salmon colored border. It is common to see quilts with the smaller border first and the larger border on the exterior, but I like how this simple swap grounds this design. Voila, a quilt top! The fun thing about making a quilt this way is how your final design is a surprise until the very end. Oh, I can’t forget the precious back — I’ve had this absurdly cute fabric in my stash for a long time and I’m thrilled it found a forever home here. Shoutout from the rooftop to Stitch in Durango, Colorado the best quilt shop in the UNIVERSE and where I procured every single fabric in this quilt over a 7 year period!
When it came time to quilt this blanket, my original idea was to add a dramatic geometric pattern by machine quilting just like my recent “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” piece. I doodled around in the good old Paint program when it occurred to me that this more vintage patchwork style quilt would look great with some simple rustic hand stitching (what I’m calling big hand stitches with Perle cotton thread). Simpler is better here. The beauty of hand stitching at this moment in time is that it allowed me to sit, and with each stitch, send out a silent prayer of healing to the world. What has been a constant stream of bad news over the last few years now feels like a drink from the fire hydrant every time I read the news. With each stitch, I sent out positive thoughts to the millions of people facing the multitude of crises right now. My stitches became prayer beads.
The tunes in this quilt harken back to when the beautiful owner of this quilt was an itty bitty bean. I’m still in the throes of some serious nostalgia and this was a great way for me to revisit some old faves. Apparently, I am also very bad at math because all of the albums I listened to are way more than 15 years old. As I always say, time flies when you’re listening to awesome music! The focus here was on indie rock/pop bands from the Pacific Northwest and I let each album flood me with memories. Thank you once again to my beloved appliance the 5-disc cd changer that allows me hours of uninterrupted music with minimal intervention.
What I love/loved about indie rock from the PNW (Pacific Northwest for all you not up in this corner of the country), is how it is very much of this area, I mean the bands sound like here. Indie rock was MADE for us bookish nerds, coming off of the grunge era, raised with good musical tastes (think Beatles, Jimi and the Beach Boys). The music is introspective, empathetic and concerned about the future. It was crafted for those of us who unapologetically loved books, coffee shops, thrift stores, the music of previous generations and cardigans. Heck, some of the music bordered on nostalgic when it was made.
While listening again to some of the indie rock albums in my collection, I remembered when these bands went from being well known in small circles to actually being famous. Many of the original listeners really struggled with the sudden fame of the bands that were months prior relatively obscure, almost as if some part of our identity was taken from us. I reflected on the angst when “your” band is suddenly adored by people because of one popular song and the concerts that were once a refuge felt overrun. Suddenly there was a new crowd at “our” shows — the people who were not there in the smoky-sticky floor-fearful of food poisoning from the drink garnishes-scared to go to the bathroom clubs, people who didn’t look like pasty book nerds but perhaps knew about sports, people who didn’t care that a ticket now cost $30, people who shouted requests at the band. Now at the ripe age of 43 and 3/4, I have a bit of a different take on all of this, so hear me out.
What was all of our groaning about? Why do fans lament when a band they love gets big? Indeed, some musicians do “sell out”, but if you fundamentally love a band, don’t you want them to succeed? Isn’t it better for a band to make money, support themselves and a crew that can drive a decent vehicle between gigs and set up gear so that the musicians can save their physical selves for onstage antics? I think that all people who love music get wistful about “I saw them when”, (believe me, I do) but ultimately if we love music and art, don’t we also want artists to be paid well enough to continue being creative? If it’s a choice between a band playing a bigger venue with a different audience (and a higher ticket price) or dropping out to work a stable corporate job, we want the band to play gigs, right? I feel bratty that we indulged in this us vs. them fandom. Good old perspective, eh?
Anywho, I indulged in some old standbys with this quilt: The Shins, Death Cab for Cutie, Red House Painters, The Postal Service, Pavement, Built to Spill and 764-HERO. I still love all of these albums and several remain on regular rotation. The song “New Slang” by The Shins is testament to the above lament and consideration. This song is so damn good and just because it became mega popular, doesn’t diminish its value. I didn’t even venture over to all of my loud albums – Sleater Kinney, The Thermals or Modest Mouse — so this leaves room for future PNW IR inspired quilts. And if you’re wondering can someone actually quilt to the punk band The Thermals? Let me remind you that I once bravely quilted to two whole Vanilla Ice songs, so yes, I can definitely sew to anything.
What makes the New Slang JB quilt extra super special is that I delivered this in person to a sweet pea. It has been so long since I’ve been able to directly hand someone something I made and let me tell you, it is an incredible feeling to surprise someone. New Slang will be put to use and covered in golden retriever hair in no time. And this is why I make quilts.
Albums listened to: The Shins “Chutes Too Narrow”, “Oh, Inverted World”; Death Cab for Cutie “The Photo Album”, “Transatlanticism”; Red House Painters “Songs for a Blue Guitar”; The Postal Service “Give Up”; Pavement “Crooked Rain”; Built to Spill “Perfect From Now On”; 764-HERO “Get Here and Stay”.
Quiltunes 