Utility Quilts...

I love utility quilts. I like their simplicity and their lack of pretensions. Do you know what a utility quilt is for? Of course you do!! It'll keep you warm on a cold winter's night. They're thrifty- often made from scraps of feedsack or pajamas or ticking. The top utility quilt in red, white, and blue was made by my great grandfather and great grandmother, Grover and Oe Miller. They had 14 children and times were often lean on their mountain farm. Is it just me, or does this quilt look artsy-fartsy to you, too? Look how that blue stripe just marches up that bed! It is knotted in blue and white twist- and the red fabric has bled on it and makes it look like there is some purple twist in there, too. There is no batting in this quilt- it is filled with a very lightweight cotton fabric and backed in white feedsack. Sadly, there is a hole smack dab in the middle of the quilt...fixable? yep, I think so.

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The second utility quilt is one I bought at a thrift shop for $3. I liked it, even though it has some condition issues- I usually tuck the troubled part up under the pillow- end of issue- but flipped it around so you could see it. I have no problem with loving a quilt up, but setting the poor thing in the sun- for who knows how long...well, that doesn't seem a bit nice to me! The sun has dry-rotted some of the blocks and I think I'll replace them from my own vintage stash. This quilt has no batting either- not even a piece of flannel. It is machine pieced and handquilted- in the ditch, no less. I think this would be a grand way to showcase some cool fabs- look how great they look in those big bricks. And the grey makes a nice setting- some of the greys are flannel. The backing is an old sheet with a pretty pink cuff. Both of the bindings on these quilts are hand rolled.

When they tell you that they want to put a "booster" in your hair color, maybe you should err on the side of caution... They said it would last longer... Of that, I don't doubt. But do you really want it to last longer? That's the question. Oh, I'm not one to sit around whining about a crazy hair job- I mean, it's not like I have to look at it that much. And, technically, it is the season for candy apple red hair, right? Right?! I may have to start wearing make-up though, and that might prove the deal breaker.