Rag Quilts for the Nashville Winter Storm

A perfect time to talk about quilts ~ right before the winter storm is scheduled to arrive in Nashville.  We're supposed to get up to 5 inches of snow, which is unusual for us.  We are usually right there on the border between snow, freezing rain, and sleet mix.

I'm a sucker for quilts.  Whenever I'm out junking, I usually come home with at least one.  Several years ago (2008 ish), I started seeing rag quilts on various blogs and websites.  They had that "oh so shabby chic" look and feel.  I fell in love with them!  You could create them from fabrics old and new, and even from chenille blankets and scrap quilts.  The only downside are the strings associated with certain kinds of fabrics from the ragging/clipping part.  Any suggestions as to how to deal with those?  You also have to be careful when washing and drying them - the lint traps get filled quickly.  But the effort is worth it!  Here are a few I created:

I made a bunch of lap size rag quilts that were perfect for babies playmats too.  I experimented with adding a center of cotton backing and flannel to make the ragged sections fluffier.  I also experimented with different sized squares ranging from 6 to 9 inches.  The larger sized squares were easier to work with, but also too more time to clip.

 I was asked to make a larger one for a dear friend that was going through chemo.  I used all the pink breast cancer ribbon and hope fabrics.

 I love love love how this flag quilt turned out.  I used an old chenille quilt for the white and homespun fabrics for the other colors.  It sold right away!

I haven't sewn anything like this in a while.  I went through two second hand sewing machines.  My mom surprised me with a new Brother sewing machine from JoAnn's.  I also lucked up on a little singer featherweight - $20.  It needed a bobbin and a tune up, but after $150, it was working like 1950.  I was going to sell it when the market was hot and they were going for up to $500.  But I used it one too many times and fell in love with it!  It's so simple and easy.

Stay warm and craft on!