Help with Grandmother's quilts
 

I have four of my GM's quilts- hand-pieced and quilted! She viewed quilts as "covers" not a work of art with the exception of one- which I will post later this summer. She gave two of them to me 40 years ago when I went away to college. They have been well loved and along the way I even zigzagged the binding on one of them. Now that I am a quilter, I cringe at their condition but can't throw them out. How have you dealt with this? I thought about making them into bears, framing a square, .... Ideas, please????

Copy each design and remake new quilts....or use reproductive prints in the new....save pieces of the old and frame them,,,,in a simple 12 x 12 one by four glued together frame...put a clear plastic front in them. Or update the colors into todays fabric. Care for quilts can be learned from Quilt Museum in Lincoln, NE. How to fold quilts on a routine basis, how to clean and care for them.

Yes, many make other things from the quilts that were well used, but I still keep the originals back of DGMs quilts...well used, tatters of the original quilt.

Attach hanging sleeves to the backs and display them with pride.

Fold them and lay at the foot of the bed, so you can still enjoy, but not use.

Whatever you do, it's wonderful that you appreciate them and are honoring your grandmother's labors.

I had a quilt my grandmother made mostly with drapery type material and tied it. We used it all the time and it wore out. I threw it out when I was young and foolish. I didn't known anything about quilting at the time and didn't appreciate it. I gave the afgan she crocheted for me to one of my sons years ago. He does still have it and does appreciate the rose patch pattern she did. She died in 1998 at the age of 97.

"I made you a cover."

I had forgotten that my great-grandmother used to say that! Thanks for that memory. :)

I like QuiltingNinaSue's suggestion.
You could also take several photos of GM's quilt, including good clear close-ups, and put them in a collage frame to be hung near where you might use a new reproduction of her quilt, made by you.

I think of textiles as living things; and therefore they generally have a life span. We can treat them as healthily as possible, but if we love them and spend time with them, eventually they grow very old and leave us with memories. In my opinion, creative ways of keep the memories fresh is sometimes more practical (and, yes, even loving) than hanging on forever to the tattered and very worn textile as a way to remember the person/place/event for which it was made.

My own family quilt, made ca. 1780 or earlier, was so badly damaged and loved when I received it (passed down to me as the 5th generation) that it couldn't even be shown or used at all. I had to make the hard decision to give it to the Textile Museum at Colonial Williamsburg for research and safe keeping for future studies. Even they do not show it; it lives in the 'stacks' in a humidity, light, and temperature-controlled environment. Someday I will remake this quilt. Someday.

QuiltingNinaSue has a great idea to reproduce the quilts and use the originals as show pieces. They could be done in similar colors as the originals or updated to a more modern look.

My first thought would be to copy the original as close as can be done. Not with exact fabric but colors and pattern can be close.

I will be watching to see what your quilts looks like.
peace