Boxes of stuff- what to do?
 

I bought something online that came with a few boxes of stuff. The stuff came from a house that was cleaned out. In these boxes were lots of stuff and I’m not quite sure what to do with it all.

- lots of doilies . I believe handmade.

​​​​​​- embroidered linens

- fabric that I can use. Mostly fat quarter size. Some dates are on the fabric. I saw 2005 on one by Alexander Henry fabrics. (That’s just one example). They need to be washed and some have frayed edges. What’s the best way to wash them?

- unfinished pieces. My daughter is taking some of them. This one stuck out to me. What should I do with these?

or is all this a bunch of junk?



[img]blob:https://www.quiltingboard.com/477a21a5-52b6-4465-91af-0a414d4ac2a5[/img]

k

lovely quilts can be made with the doilies and i've seen some beautiful whole-cloth type quilts from quilted vintage linens

Pic
 

How do I attach a pic using iPhone?

This is what looked interesting:

Only you can answer that question .... after all, what is one (wo)man's gold is another's junk!

From what you have shared, it looks like there are lots of possibilities.
What you and your daughter do not want, I am sure there are others who would be interested in your bounty!

The two biggest questions are: what can I do with the panels in the pic? We found a baby birth embroidered piece of fabric. Assuming this is a relative, I’d like to do something with those squares and send it to that child in about 10 years if I can find them.

Second - how do I wash the fabric, just throw it all in gentle and hope for the best?

If it were mine, I would either serge or zig-zag or even just straight stitch near the cut edges.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

I had embroidered linens from Mother’s house & my solution was to use them to decorate corners of new flour sack dish towels, which I needed. I used a product called Wonder Under. I use the towels, enjoy them and when they’re worn out, I’m ready to let them go.

The pic you shared would make a beautiful redwork quilt. The doilys & other emb. pcs. would also be nice the table toppers,or
runners. I keep looking for nice pcs. but am not finding much here.

Are you asking what you personally can make with these items? Or are you asking if one man's trash is another man's treasure, and are there people out there who would love to take the items you don't want off your hands?

There is a group on FB, probably every single member there would love to take those doilies and linens off your hands, it's called "Quilting Vintage!" There may even be a similar group right here on the board.

When I wash fat quarters or a single yard of fabric I fold it to the size of an old pillowcase, place in the pillowcase and secure the corners with safety pins. Wash as normal with a colour catcher. This method seems to prevent the fabric ending up in a tangled mess.

I have some old pillowcases I keep just for this job.