Originally Posted by Barb44
Some of those fabrics are from the 50's and maybe the 40's. I have some 50's scraps from when I was a kid that are very similar to some of those.
Your plan for fixing sounds good to me. Try to replace the bad pieces with repro or vintage fabrics if possible. Good luck and post a picture of it when you are done.
barb44 has a good handle on the fabric...but i believe what you have here is a combo... it looks to me like someone had a stack of 4-patch blocks from the 40/50s and set them together late in the 60/70s...the turquoise fabrics that have not faded speak of a little poly in them and have not rotted as have some of the older fabrics in the body of the quilt. the red/turquoise combo might well have been done in the 60s, as well...but the clincher is the poly batting... while it was invented in the 50s, it was not commonly used for some time...this really looks like a stack of blocks were found under grannie's bed and someone put them together and tied it.
is it worth saving? that is for you to say...but i will say that i repair many older quilt as has already been suggested...take off (and i mean 'pick off'....do not cut) the last row on the most damaged side or end...use those undamaged fabrics in those pieces to repair any other pcs in the remaining body...save all remaining pcs for future problems. you will probably find that most of the rotted blocks contained brown as they are the most caustic of the natural dyes used then and often disappear first...which means that a few more blocks may well go later.
then the decision is to replace the back or not...i tell people to decide what they are trying to accomplish and then do what's best and not feel guilty. any quilt's value is judged by the
newest fabric in it, not the oldest or even the majority...so this quilt may or may not have a huge monetary value, but it's value in terms of the collection of the typical 40s fabrics may be great to you.... you have to be the one to decide...
so to replace back or not? is it more valuable to you with that original (60s) back...or would you rather have a new back to help strengthen the whole piece for generations to come? it's up to you, and you will get lots of advice about both points of view.... i tell people that just have an emotional attachment to a family piece, to put on the new back so that their antecedents will get to enjoy the quilt for another hundred years (just write down what they have done and why).... (remember, your quilt, if judged to be assembled in the 60s [you can test a tiny scrap of the turquoise to check for poly, which clinches the deal, datewise] is still more than 40 yrs old now...time goes fast....) the key is to document, document, document.....give all info you can find... fabric info from the blocks, test results on the sashings and back, purchase info from the friends, your advice from other quilters and why, your eventual choices regarding repairs, replacements, anything you learn and lots of pix..... and then find a way to keep a copy (back pocket, attached to frame, copy on disk, .... whatever works for you) WITH the quilt... then repair, put hanging rod pocket on the back of the quilt, and enjoy...do not repair a quilt this old and then toss it on a bed...it will not last as long and it's a lot of work so hang it up and enjoy, just get that documentation going....it's important for the next person who falls in love with it.
my standard thing is, 'what do you wish someone had written down about the quilt when they were making it...what would YOU love to know about the quilt if they had written it down?' that's what you need to write down...