Now see? It's not that bad...

Sarah and I stopped in at an antique shop the last time she was in town, two years ago- wow, how time flies. As usual, we were looking for quilty things. I found this quilt top and thought, "Hey, the price is right!" It was $3.50. I added the outer borders from my vintage stash- used every single inch I had. I think the vintage fab came from more of Sarah's grandma's closets. Those were some cool closets... I wish I'd had some interesting pink in my stash, but sorry, no dice. I think this quilt is what the magazines refer to as "naive." I haven't got a problem with naive. Kinda like it actually. What makes it naive? Well, there are rules- just general guidelines, to my way of thinking. Things that folks have learned look good to most people. Just a couple in particular that might apply to this quilt:

1. The sashing should frame the entire top- not just end on the inside of the blocks, at the end of each row. In this case...it doesn't bother me.
2. If you're a beginner quilter, ya might want to consider cornerstones. It might seem more difficult, but it really will help to line up all that sashing so that your rows are straight in both directions- tilt your head and take a gander at the close-up. Most horizontal blocks are almost one inch off the straight line. Still, doesn't bother me.
3. Dimension is important- if your quilt is four feet wide, it should probably be less than 8 feet long. But maybe a tall, skinny person will find it a perfect fit!

And yet... you know me, don't you? I couldn't care less about rules when I just like something. And I liked this quilt from the moment I saw it. Some of it's good qualities are:

1. The colors are very cheerful and mid-century modern. Love that.
2. That brown- who would have thought to put it with that pink and blue combo? But I just fell in love with the quilter when I saw how carefully she cut the brown half-square triangles right on the same line of flowers. Isn't that too sweet? And no easy feat in the days before rotary cutting! It's one of those imitation colonial designs that's just funky and fun.
3. It was $3.50!! The border fabric that I added was free- as was the pink sheet my Aunt June gave me that I backed it with. I might have paid $5 for the batting and I have a quilt for under $10. And doesn't it look charming on a bed?

So... I think even Sarah will agree. It's really not bad at all.