Every once in a while, a client will bring me a quilt top made by a grandmother or great-grandmother that has been sitting in an old chest or box for decades. Maybe they picked it up at an antique shop. The fabrics may be stained or faded, torn or nibbled on by some creature. The seams may be hand pieced together, appliqued, or even machine stitched, but the quilt does not lie flat for some reason. These quilts are treasures, and deserve the extra care it takes to rescue them and preserve the love and effort that went into making it in the first place.

I just finished quilting one of these quilts. Yes, on my longarm machine. In this case, it was made by the woman's grandmother 50 or 60 years ago, and she wanted to give it to her mother. It had been pretty stained and she washed it to get out the stains, which ended up shrinking the centers of the pieced blocks, which puckered all the alternating applique' blocks. It was a true rescue effort with a lot of tugging and pulling, a lot of stitching in the ditch, and a lot of "quilting it out."

I am pretty sure this will touch off a discussion regarding machine quilting vs hand-quilting antique quilts... what's your opinion?

WOW! That is just gorgeous! You did a fabulous job of quilting it. I know there are those who will think it's sacrilege to machine quilt something like that but I disagree. You turned it into something she and her mother will cherish, as opposed to it just languishing in a box somewhere never to be used and loved. Great job!

What a fabulous quilt! The pattern is incredible as is the color choices and I am amazed at all the handwork the quilt top must have taken and the machine quilting you have done simply puts it way over the top in terms of its beauty. The owner now has a wonderful piece of history thank in great part to your quilting skills.

wow that is beautiful,

Double wow!!! :thumbup:

You did a fabulous job on this qilt. The "quilting" really does make it. I love machine quilting for the amount of quilting you can get onto a top. There was a good deal of blank space on your quilt and you filled it beautifully. 'Makes the blocks "pop".
I hand quilt but also machine quilt. Different quilts call for different methods.
I recently hand quilted an almost 100 year old top for a client. It was so poorly hand pieced that it just wouldn't have worked on a longarm. With hand stitching, I could pull and tug to get it right. My client (in her 70's) cried when she saw it because her grandmother had made it. The finished quilt (once ugly) had become beautiful.

I'm thinking that NO amount of hand stitching could have saved the quilt you described. Your talents and long arm were its salvation. It is BEAUTIFUL!!!

Unbelievable! Obviously this quilt was SAVED by long arm quilting! I think the quilt-maker would be very happy! I think machine quilting is a great choice for saving old quilts. Times change but those who prefer handwork are blessed for continuing tradition.

Absolutely beautiful!! You did a wonderful job quilting it. They will be speechless! :thumbup: :thumbup:

Triple WOW! The quilt is gorgeous - fabulous colors, but your quilting is out of this world! I'm drooling.