I would probably be more inclined to make a wall hanging. Then you don't have to consider cuddly. The idea of a crazy quilt sounds like a good one. It would put all the fabrics together so you or your daughter could display them. If you have enough why not make one for each of you.
Making memories is fun.

Sally

Welcome...and I hope you take to quilting. In a nutshell, quilts can be made from many, many fabrics and in many, many styles....I, personally, like those made from scraps better than any other kind, and I'd think something made from wedding scrap fabrics would be wonderful.
The thing you need to do first is to go to the library and get a LOT of books on quilting, and familiarize yourself with what's available to make, the different styles, fabrics, etc. I would try to find things that say 'easy' in the title or description.
Crazy quilts are very different from other quilts, as they generally do not function as an actual quilt does....I mean they are for show not function, and are generally made from the 'posh' fabrics you're talking about. But, I'd think a wall hanging made of wedding scraps, or, a lap quilt to drape over a couch would be wonderful made with these scraps...maybe even a small hanging for each of the bridesmades. There are several excellent books out there on crazy quilts..my favorite is THE MAGIC OF CRAZY QUILTING, by J. Marsha Michler, published by Krause Publications www.kraus.com In case you're not familiar with crazy quilts, they have a great deal of top embroidery work and embellishments, so if you aren't interested in hand work, look elsewhere for a quilt idea.
Another idea is some sort of memory quilt...these may be of many styles but contain personal memories throughout the quilt with special fabrics, photos reproduced onto fabric and then incorporated into the fabric of the quilt, and inked messages, etc....these are very personal objects and I'd think your wedding fabrics would fit perfectly into this sort of thing, too. I have a Leisure Arts book called MEMORY QUILTS IN THE MAKING, which has many wonderful ideas.
So, go to the library, look at quilting magazines, look up the above books, and first make yourself familiar with all the quilting possibilities 'out there'...and, have fun.

If you have a sewing machine with lots of fancy stitches, you could make a crazy quilt or wall hanging and use contrasting threads to show off the stitching.
You can lay down the pieces onto a background and just stitch them down around the raw edges, or stitch and flip (foundation piecing) and then add fancy stitches and lace. It will be a cherished keepsake and reminder of the wedding. You can use the pieced blocks to cover a pillow, a wedding album, or make a whole quilt. But I doubt a quilt like that would be something you could use everyday and toss in the wash as needed!
A friend of mine made a crazy pieced pillow out of silk and satin and scraps of lace and ribbons to make the ring-bearer's pillow, with ribbons tied in a bow to hold the rings. I made my own wedding purse/pouch from scraps, with a simple satin drawstring and tassles. These are unique handmade items you cannot buy in a store.
BlueBars

You could take that lace and put in front of fabric for a very fancy looking quilt.
Snowball Quilt Simplified from Quilt in a day has a beautiful pattern using the lace over fabric. You can almost always check out Elanor Burns books from your local library. In fact if your just starting out I would say that's the place to start, in the library. The dewy numbers are ANF 746.46 KNO so you will find most all the quilting books at 746.

Glad you decided to join us and I hope you are successful.
Vicky

I think a crazy quilt made from the wedding fabrics would be beautiful and something you would treasure forever. It dosen't have to be a bed quilt--it can hang over the back of a couch or chair or whatever. Throw it over a dining room table just for show. Good luck and be sure to show the pictures.

Geri

ps. welcome

Here are two examples of crazy quilts,'up close and personal"

Thanks for the welcome and suggestions! A wall hanging or decoration does seem much more practical than what I was thinking. Glad I asked.

Since we are having a blizzard at the moment I can't go to the library, but I did look at the catalogue on line. It's extensive, so I'll go as soon as we shovel out. Maybe today I'll assess the pieces and press them, play a little to see what looks pleasing. I can probably cut off enough "tails" and ends of the good lengths to get a good feel.

I've been reading other posts here. Methinks I will need lots of books and magazines. I may even make a pillow or something out of clothing scraps, just to get the feel for quilting before I do the wedding quilt.

I really hate to ask this, (there is probably an obvious answer) but how do you actually "quilt" something? I can see piecing, but then that is attached to a backing and batting. If the quilt is large, can you fit it under an ordinary machine? There isn't a lot of space between the presser foot and the body of the machine. I'm getting ahead of myself, but every time I've considered making a quilt, I've wondered how it would fit under the machine.

I can hardly wait till I can get out and look at magazines and books. Thank you.

Sherry

Sandra, You posted while I was posting, so I didn't see your magnificent quilts! Oh, my! Is that the handwork you mentioned earlier? Is that what holds the piecework to the backing that I was asking about? How long did that take?

Also, I see odd shapes. You use every bit, I see. I know you didn't mean to intimidate me, but you sure did! I'll be learning a lot, won't I!?!

Sherry

Years ago one of my friends had a short jacket made out of a crazy quilt. All the embroidery was done in black floss and she wore it with a black skirt--or was it a black dress. Anyway, the effect was stunning.

Sherry.....the pics were of a couple of the old crazy quilts I have....
If you read up a bit on quilts in general, you'll find that 'ordinary ones are composed of 3 parts....a top (probably pieced), batting and a backing..all 3 are put together in a quilt 'sandwich' and then quilted together. However, a crazy quilt is very different...there is NO batting, and when they were the fashion, there often wasn't even a backing. The front was all that mattered, and as it was only used for show, not functioning as a 'real' quilt. Generally speaking, with a crazy quilt, you work with squares of the backing fabric...whatever size you want them to be...then, you apply your pieces, one at a time, starting in one corner, then moving to cover the edges of that with another piece, and on and on, till the cut square is covered. I'm including a couple pics of how one woman did her squares...placing the right side of the backing fabric down, she applied the crazy pieces to the wrong side of the fabric. She did this by placing them onto the fabric, edges tucked under, and then basting them...when everything was basted she went back and with her embroidery floss, she not only sewed the pieces together, but through the backing fabric....one is a pic of the right side of her square...note you can still see the white basting threads. The second is a pic of the back of the quilt..you can see, the basting threads haven't yet been removed, and the gold floss she used to embellish the piedes, and attach them to eachother and the back.

This didn't make a 'pretty' quilt back, but it didn't seem to matter to women then.

this is not a quilt idea but I took the leftover fabric from my daughters gown and bridesmaid gowns and made small hearts tree ornaments out of the fabric to give to the mothers, bridesmaids and bride...a nice rememberance every year for them. I would also be incline to make a small wall hanging for them if I had enough fabric... another nice reminder...especially when made by a family member.
Barbara

At the Jefferson quilt show their guild was working on crazy type quilts made from donated wedding gowns. One quilt had been finished and another was in the planning stage. The revenue from the quilts were to be donated to a charity. They were gorgeous. I'll check tomorrow to see if I still have a picture on the camera.
Carolyn

Perhaps an appliquéd wallhanging of a wedding dress (or more than one), using the bridal party fabrics?
Here's a link to one pattern... there are others on the same site.

Here is a link that might be useful: wedding gown quilt

Hello Sherry ~ welcome to the Quilt Forum

Marty

Sandra has given you a very good picture of quilting. It is a lot of fun. I think your idea of making a start with other scrap fabric is a wonderful plan as it will help you understand the differences in sewing for clothing and making quilts and wall hangings. Although silks can make charming quilts and wall art, it might be a challenge to begin with them. If you have access to a quilting class I recomend taking one to pick up the basics. They can be learned from books but having an instructor to quide you is difficult to replace. I know you will find it a thrilling addition to your sewing skills, welcome. Jayne

Hi Sherry! Welcome to our forum. Lots of nice talented people here, that are always ready and willing to help answer your questions. I'm fairly new to quilting, but I've become rather obsessed with it!

I thought you might get some ideas from these quilts. I've seen these quilts, and they are just beautiful!

Here is a link that might be useful: quilters against breast cancer

I forgot to say that, if I remember right, the last one was all silk. It was made using Rebecca Wat's folded flowers.
Janice

Here is a link that might be useful: folded flowers

Wow such beautiful ideas! The question "If the quilt is large, can you fit it under an ordinary machine?"
Crazy quilts don't usually have batting. They are often made one block at a time and then assembled.
Large quilts that have top, batting, and backing can be quilted using a walking foot or a free motion foot, rolling the bulk as needed to fit under a sewing machine bed. Or they can be quilted on a long arm system. Or, they can be quilted by the block, and then assembled "as you go" method (link below).

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.secretsof.com/content/624

I am amazed at all there is to learn about quilts! I'm so glad that I came over here. I thought that because I can sew, I can quilt if I just get myself going on the project. It looks like this is rather one that will take a lot of planning and learning, just like any other worthwhile project would. I'm looking forward to the challenge!

I have seen quilts like the ones in your pics, Sandra, but I didn't "understand" them at the time. This was very helpful.

We had so much snow for so long yesterday (16 inches in 20 hours!) that we still have more digging to do before I can make my escape to the library later today. I was way too tired to fool around with my fabrics last night, but I'm anxious to get going. I can't thank you enough for your suggestions, tutorials and encouragement! Finally, I feel like this is a good project that will be fun and satisfying - my dtr has been married for ten years! It's about time!

Sherry

Hi Sherry and welcome from SE Ohio. I'm sort of a newbie on the quilting forum and never really made a full sized quilt until two years ago, I'm about to finish up on number three now, and number four is almost ready to be quilted. I hand quilt, and have not tried one on a machine, and don't have a suitable machine anyway.

I just wanted to say, like you, I've been sewing all my life, everything from curtains to wedding gowns to suits and formals and everything in between. I have never taken any quilting lessons, and just make up my own patterns as I go along. You can invest as much time/effort/money into quilting as you can imagine, or very little. That's the joy of it. I work with scrap material and learn as I go along. That doesn't mean I don't get quilt books from the library and drool a lot. The fine folks at this forum have also given me a lot of inspiration for future quilts. The techniques though? If you are a seamstress, believe me.....they'll come to you and the inet is a great resourse for "how tos".

IOW don't be intimidated at all about starting a quilt. You may get hooked, like me. As for turning fine silks and satins into quilts. Well, today, you see mostly cottons and such being used in quilting, but the great thing is, as a folk art there are no rules. I am old enough to remember bedspreads being made of absolutely everything, including beautiful satins and silks. I wanted to tell you of the first quilt I ever owned. It was made for me by my future mother and sisters-in-law. It was made of sky blue satin and was very formal and not a crazy quilt at all. It was not patchy, but had intricate needle work designs worked into the hand quilting. You can make a quilt of plain silk if you want to, there are no rules saying you cannot.

Hi Sherry Welcome to our group. We have a lot of fun here and I hope you stay. I think making something
out of the wedding fabric will be something that your daughter will cherish. Happy quilting
Suellen

I haven't done a quilt from a wedding gown, but I did take leftover fabrics from all of the formal gowns I made for my daughters and their friends, added some from wedding gowns I've made and made a 'Crazy Quilt' Christmas Stocking for my first granddaughter. I didn't actually quilt it, but it looked like it. I had lots of dark and light satins, velvets, and taffetas; so I made it 'reversable'...One side was light colored, the other, dark. I used laces, trims, and ribbons from the gowns, some that I had used when my girls were little, as well a piece I purchased for around the top of the stocking. My daughter treasures it more than I can say. She knows where each piece came from and enjoys showing her daughter photos of the dresses they wore...so many memories! My other daughter has demanded equal treatment....although she wasn't blessed with a daughter...3 sons, instead...LOL. I guess I'll have to make another.....

I traced a stocking pattern, then auditioned pieces by placing them in different spots, til I liked the way it looked. I fuse tacked, then sewed the fabric in place. The trim was added next, by hand, finally, the lining, hanger, and lace around the top
Good Luck, I'm sure she'll treasure whatever you decide to make.
Deb