before we moved to the UP, i was asked if i would be interested in trying to salvage a quilt. the original quilt was made by the mother of my father-in-law's buddy (man in the orange shirt) needless to say it was in need of some love and repair.
to be honest i was a little intimidated by this project. i knew there were not expecting me to perform a miracle, but i still wanted to showcase the original work and preserve it a the same time. so it ended up sitting in my sewing room for a few months after our move while we got settle. meanwhile i had a timeline that i was thinking of when to have this project done. when have an annual family camp out in June and figured it would be the perfect time to deliver the finished quilt.
so when i finally started working on this project i was amazed at how easy the whole process was. i mean i was mostly making it up as i went along, but it seemed to work for this quilt. to start i decided to seam rip apart the blocks and save the ones that were worth saving. of the original 16 blocks, i saved 9 of them! i hand washed those blocks and boy did they need a washing. the background fabric was a very thin, muslin like material and after trimming each block down. i decided they needed to be interfaced to add some stability.
after piecing the top back together i knew i needed a little something else. so i stopped at one of the local shops that has more vintage inspired fabric and found the perfect border. it really helped bring the whole top together, plus it made it just a little bit bigger!
now for the quilting, i decided to keep it minimal. i stitched in the ditch to stabilize the top, then i did some basic straight line quilting in the borders. finally i hand tied the top as an ode to the original hand stitching (that i knew i could not replicate). all in all i am pretty proud of the quilt that i returned and they were happy as well. now he will have quilt that will last for awhile again and can use it when he needs a hug from his mom.
Quilt Stats
Pattern: Dresden Plate of varying sizes
Dimensions: 59 inches x 59 inches
Quilting: Straight line and hand tied
Fabric: vintage blocks paired with Moda 30's Toy Chest fabric
Wow, it looks great! I'm sure the family appreciates the time and stitching you put in to make this something they can continue to hold on to. Very nice!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job rescuing the quilt! It is such a satisfying thing to do, and it is interesting how easy it is, once we get over our inital fears of what to do.
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