a wee quilt for the bread
2012
I know. I know. A quilt for the bread?!
Jane, one of my students from many suns ago, told me that her mum so loved quilts she had made them for all the pets as well as family members. These were country folk so I’m guessing there were a lot of pet quilts.
I was incredulous. How could you ever be so mad as to make quilts for the pets? They would get dirty! They could be wrecked! Yes, I was young. Naive. Truly hadn’t realised the depths that could be plumbed when you have a fetish for buying large, expensive lengths of fabric and cutting them into pretty scraps so that you can then spend hours sewing them back together.
Now, I can say … Hello, my name is Lily and not only have I made pet quilts, but today, I made a quilt for the bread.
I was putting away the fruit and veg and groceries. Practicing making and drinking tea with tea leaves in a pot, rather than with one of those “vulgar” teabags. Trying to be more elegant and all. And there was last night’s loaf of bread. Sitting on the bread board. Looking so forlorn and … well … downright unprotected. It needed something. Something pretty – and you know, I try to live by William Morris’ maxim … “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
Ah! You might remember. Didn’t you make a bread bag a few years back? With an appliqued dresden plate? I did. But, I made a really yucky fruit loaf a few months back that was so hard and dry we didn’t want to eat it, and then forgot about it, as it sat there atop the fridge … going mouldy. Yep … the dresden plate bread bag ended up stuck to the unloved fruit loaf with mould. Eww!
Today, two 49c Ikea tea towels and a few scraps of fabric later … and we have a quilted bread bag. Oh the bread was so happy. It glowed with relief as I tucked it in and pulled that red drawstring tight. And now the bread is hanging in the kitchen, with those two layers of teatowel and a wee quilt (batting and all) keeping it that little bit fresher and happier. This baggy quilt is both useful and beautiful – Mr. Morris would approve :-)
As for the chickens … they watched the bread quilt photo shoot with undisguised and loud envy. They’ve now declared, being unionised and all, that if they don’t get a quilt for their nest asap, they will be forced to escape and find Jane’s mum. She’ll make them one.
p.s. I literally pulled these scraps out of a cupboard – first three would do – and now so love the combination – gingerbread brown, primaryschool blue, and 1930s yellow – that I just know that there will be hours spent at fatquartershop this evening, creating similar combinations in my shopping cart! Good thing I can’t remember the new paypal password!
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well…your color combinations are so inspiring so keep it up! and post your fat quarter mosaics :D
Ahhhh …. mosaics – I’ve not done that before … will have to look into it … sounds fun
Really?? A fabric bag will keep bread fresh?? You just made my day!! I’m trying to move away from using plastics and disposable bags in my home. I like making my own bread but never know how to store it. This is awesome! Now I have to make one… :)
I love your color combination!
Well … in my experience a double layer of cotton does better than paper. It probably isn’t as good as plastic, but I tell myself that our obsession with “fresh” bread is so recent and privileged! To be sure, fresh bread is divine the first day it’s baked but then it’s downhill from there … fine the second day, brilliant toast the third and then it’s time for a new loaf on the fourth. And that’s surely how it must have been for hundreds and hundreds of years ;-) So, away with you plastic!
well the least you could do is make that chicken a little crochet sun hat or something.
hee! hee! hee! Yes, I think they’d like one – a different colour for each, like meg, jo, beth and amy in little women! But I’d have to superglue them on. No necks to for tying.
I like it.
Blessings Gail
I love that William Morris quote. I hate the bread going all hard and yukky, you are brilliant my girl, brilliant!
Oh Mosaics are very fun! I have been buying old china at the thrift store and smashing it up -I hope to make a mosaic table top for an old chest I have in my dining room. I have mosaic’d some planters for my back porch and it was fun! The gluing and grouting is a little messy but the end result is very nice and unique.