I’ve made three rag quilts during my quilting career.
I LOVE these blankets. They are cozy, easy to make, and people love them.
But. I’m not really sure if they really are technically what you would call, “quilts”.

I thought that what made a “quilt” was the actual stitching that puts all three layers of fabric together. In my rag quilts, there are no real quilt stitches to be seen. Just stitches that put all the squares together. Maybe I am being too technical and nitpicky about this… and maybe, just maybe, it really doesn’t matter. But this is a question that I’ve been wondering about since I made my first rag quilt. So if you have any thoughts… please. Enlighten me.

The first rag quilt I made was for my first baby. At the time I didn’t know what I was having, so my MIL and I chose bright colors that would do for either sex. The MIL bought the fabric as a present and I was ever so glad… because well… I was broke at the time and fabric can be expensive. I ended up having a boy and this boy is now four and a half years old. He still sleeps with his rag quilt every night and he absolutely cannot be sick without it. I swear, that blanket has healing powers. Can you tell?

The second rag quilt I made was for my second baby. This time I knew that I was having a girl so I picked out what I thought was the cutest flannel ever made. My Mom was with me to pick out the fabric and she bought it as a present to my unborn baby. (Once again… I was broke!) My daughter is about to turn three and she hardly EVER uses this blanket.

She prefers the jersey knit baby layette blankets to any of the MILLION quilts and afghans that I made for her. (OK. I only made one other quilt and crocheted her one afghan… but that is two more blankets than I made for my boy….) I think it is hilarious that she could care less about my craftsmanship… One day she’ll appreciate me and my work. I know she will…. Right?

The last rag quilt I made was a HUGE one (alright, twin size) for my little sister. She loved my kids’ blankets and since she is the baby of a family of six kids, she just HAD to have one for herself. So my Mom found herself in a fabric store buying a LOT of flannel for her baby…. Who just happened to be nineteen years old.

I made the nineteen year old “rag” her own quilt though. For me, that is the worst part of the whole process. My hands hurt after about ten minutes of “ragging” and my scissors take a beating. I figured my little sister was qualified. She is, to this day, my only quilting pupil. I taught her to quilt during her senior year of high school… But that is a story for another time!

Have any of you done any sort of rag quilting?
Care to show me any pictures???
(I love seeing pictures of other people’s work. It inspires me. And, as it happens, I am still in desperate need of inspiration!)