Fun plus Ugly equals Fungly

Tonya and Bonnie has been on a secret giggle mission. They mixed their oddest combinations of fabrics in really big blocks just for the hell of it. Go see, I'll wait.

Ok, so the knitting world has been free of Knitting Police ever since, I think , Elizabeth Zimmerman. For those of you who who are not knitters and not quilters why the heck do you read my blog again? Oh, right because you love me. Any way, EZ was the knitter who told us all that we were smarter that we thought, that we could be the boss of our own knitting, and that there was no wrong way if we liked our results.. She was a genius for coming up with methods that served as a canvas for the individual's creativity, while still producing very wearable garments. Quilting doesn't have that.

Quilting has a stuffy, holier than thou, perhaps well meaning at one time but currently waaayyy over the line of civility vibe. There are lots and lots of people out there who feel perfectly justified in saying that there Is One True Way to make a quilt, and it's there way or the highway. They are not a subtle group of critics. These are people who will comment unfavorably on the color combination of the fabrics as I am buying the fabric. These are people who feel your binding ( the edge of the quilt) and say, shaking their head, that you need to put more batting, or less, or that your stitches are showing. Right while I'm standing there. These are mean people, and they are somehow deeply ingrained in the culture of quilting. This is the reason that I am not involved in a guild on a local level, and that I rarely take classes. I just don't need the crap, and there are a million reasons why the Quilt Police are wrong, not the least of which is it's mean!

Now, the whole world of quilting is not like this. Gwen Marston, Freddie Moran, Mary Lou Wiedeman, Mark Lipinski, Lisa Boyer,Tonya and Bonnie all spring to mind as kind voices in the quilt world. Good artists, too, and good quilt makers. These are the fellow artist who fill my cup, and I try to hang out with the good guys, at least virtually, as often as possible. And now, we have a new strike against The Quiltzillas: The fun plus Ugly quilt challange: Let the clashing begin!!

I have to wait until tomorrow to post a photo, as I am away from the home computer. That's ok, though, it will give you time to purchase some sunglasses. You're gonna need them!