Let's start a MetaFilter quilting bee! No previous quilting experience needed (I've only been sewing for a month, let alone quilting): just an ability to sew pieces of fabric together.
I'm working on my first quilt (really, my first bit of sewing
ever), and I'd love to keep this going by collaborating with crafty mefites. Inspired by
Block Party, I'd love to set up an online bee. Join me!
Here's how this might theoretically work: if we have 12 people, each month, one bee member (that month's designer) will send enough fabric for one block to all the other members with instructions indicating the kind of design the designer would like to see (traditional, modern, exact, loose, whatever). The bee members create the blocks, using their own artistic instincts where possible, and send them back to that month's designer. The designer then has a set of finished blocks and can assemble their quilt however they desire. At the end of a year, each member has a quilt, and has learned lots about quilting.
We could also set it up such that each month each member makes two blocks: one to send to the designer, and one to keep. Then, not only do you have blocks for your own designed quilt, but also for a quilt to remember the entire bee. (I think this would be super cool, especially since blocks are likely to be different sizes, and each person will undoubtedly put them together in a different way.)
If we have, say, four members instead of 12, the project could still be a year long and we'd each design three quilts instead of one.
It's a project that can fit into just about anyone's schedule, since you're only making one to two blocks per month.
I'll set up a blog where we can each log in and post about our projects.
Let's do it!
posted by ocherdraco to MetaFilter-Related at 11:19 AM (155 comments total)
22 users marked this as a favorite
posted by Madamina at 11:29 AM on October 19, 2011 [7 favorites]