and there was a woman (a long arm quilter by business, although that is not why she was there) who was selling vintage quilt tops and materials because she had so much she was never going to quilt them all. I bought two tops at a very reasonable price. I will take pictures of them and I hope to post them tomorrow once my niece shows me how to do it. But I will post and put them in the picture section. I am on cloud nine because I love vintage quilts, 20's, 30's and 40's, and these two tops fit right in. They are very nice looking, no rips, tears or spots. I haven't decided if I am going to keep them as they are or use reproduction fabrics for borders and backing and have them quilted. The women did have some that she finished and quilted and they did look very nice. I may be opening a Pandora's box, but how do you feel about finishing vintage quilts? I bought them because they are beautiful, not to sell, so I guess you could say they are not an investment. I plan to leave them to my niece when the time comes.

I have a quilt top that my great grandmother hand pieced right before she passed away (she died when my Grandmother was only 16). I decided to hand quilt it using cotton batting and muslin for the backing. I decided to quilt it because I was sure she made them to be used and enjoyed, not hidden away in a drawer somewhere.

Now you have two niece's:) I let you adopt me :lol:

A friend brought me a quilt top of her grandmothers(1950's)to finish, I used reproduction fabric for backing,100% cotton batting, and quilted 1/4" from seam lines. Her mother loved it, wish I coulda kept it, very simple, very small pieces, loved it. It was an odd feeling completing something so old, it kinda gives you a feeling of honor that a family trust you to maintain the integrity of their quilt. I say go for it.

Of course you finish it! The quilt maker didn't piece the top just to piece it. Personally I would use a cotton batting and muslin backing in keeping with the time frame of the tops. Whether you MQ or HQ is up to you; as I do very little HQ because of arthritis I would MQ just so they would get done. What a find--good luck

Below is link to one of Eddie's vintage quilt tops MQ. As it's VQT # 5 there must be other quilts that he has posted.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-45978-1.htm

I would finish it too, because then you really could enjoy it! I love old quilts too. Cant wait to see a picture!

I'm sure it was intended to be used. You should finish it.

I would at least try and finish one and see how you like it . that way when the time comes your niece will be able to use it. Can't wait to see the pics

I have several vintage tops that I have finishd and they are beautiful. Most are hand pieced. I do hand quilt them as I feel that was the way most were finished and I love the look of hand quilting. I do use a poly batting because I feel it is easier to hand quilt. I use a muslin for the backing and I have a large collection of vintage fabrics that can be used as a border. It is time consuming but well worth the extra effort.

Thank you all for your suggestions! I really appreciate the feedback. I am going to look for vintage fabrics to put borders on the quilts, use cotton batting, and back them with muslin. I will try to post pictures today. Again, Thanks for all your help! :)