Ok ya'll, got another little "dilemma" for ya that needs advice. Today my mom gave me a crib-size quilt she started for my grandson a year ago and told me it just needs the binding finished. Well, she does have half the binding done. Problem is she makes beautiful tops but when it comes to the sandwiching, quilting and binding it's ... well.... it just doesn't hold up well for actual use. I am so perplexed as to what I should do with it. It has chenille and flannel on the top, muslin for backing and a very thick batting. I am sure it's the high-loft poly-cotton stuff from wally world. It has only been SITD and edges serged. She rolled all 3 layers over an inch to the back and that was how she was doing the binding. The front has very large areas that are very floppy and loose as there is no quilting other than SITD of the piecing seams. I really want to make this as special as she intended for her first and only GGS but don't want to take away from her "style" either. How can I make this more sturdy and it still be her gift to him? I did already undo the binding she started as it was very thick and uneven. Trimmed up batting and backing to do a front-to-back binding on it which reduced the bulk a ton and makes it look a lot better.
Was thinking of maybe some tiny tacking here and there to secure the layers a bit more..? I don't know, what would you do in this situation? I am gonna make a label for the back that has her as the maker and quilter, as it is hers afterall.

Ugh! Just noticed that some dummy( :oops: ) still don't know how to get the right date on the camera. LoL

how about stipling or miandering(sp?)in the large areas

She did not baste it very well, just layered and pinned a few pins then stitched it. So there is way too much play in the top to do any type of close quilting. Would have a ton of puckers and loads of pleats. Unless I took it all apart and redid the whole thing. :(
But that was my first thought too.

As it's for a boy, and it really reminds me of hills and meadows, speak to mum about adding some animals or a tractor, and securing it with them.

could you follow the lines 2 inches away--would not be as obviously added

Now see, I didn't even think about adding applique to it. He is totally into turtles and cars. Oh and kitties! LoL May have to see what she thinks about that idea. Keep 'em coming, I really appreciate it.

If he's totally into cars, then farm machinery can be made biggish, and there's lots of choice. Or trucks, make some roads following the lines already there.
Lots of possibilities. Good luck and let us see how it turns out.

Maybe a kite, frog, snake applique?

I agree. You might even be able to add some quilting like 1.5 -2.0" apart following the curves to give it some definition.

It's the thought that counts.

It realy does not look bad...I sorta like it. It will also shrink in the wash and dyer. Machine bind it so that it will hold well. I have made one once will a small amount of sewing/quilting in the middle and once washed looked good. I did iron on a few butterflies.

I agree.

You could also tie in between the quilting.

I would either tie in the loose spots or machine tie. If you use colors that coordinate with the quilt it isn't really noticeable and will make the quilt more long lasting.

I personally would leave it as it is, to avoid any chance of hurting her feelings. It is her gift to her grandson, and he's likely to grow up faster than the quilt will fall apart. I'm sure you have other quilts for him, so make this one have a special use so it doesn't get handled constantly, like keeping it with the stroller, or only in the playpen, etc.

I'm with the above poster.
She made it and that's what matters :)

I see some kind of applique, maybe a house and car going to granny's house.

The more I look at it the more I like it,..I would just machine sew the binding, wash and use..when I look at my first quilts I can see all of the little things that I did wrong...I gave them as gifts...I have had to repair a few. Bindings...yuk....anyways noone complained even though they may not have thought they were that great...I thought they were until I made more...LOL...I think its awesome that she made your child a quilt. My boys have even asked me to make a few more for them...it has help encouraged me and do more. I have improved so much over the last few months...My first quilt I made or any sewing was in Sept. I have my first one hanging on my wall...I need to make a new one...that one was awesome when I first made it but now looks like a child made it...

She maybe wanted it to be thick and fluffy. Some people like this look.

If it is for a boy, I would add a tractor in the field and then make a couple of lines that follow the stitching on the quilt to be rows of crops.

But first - I'd ask mom if it would be okay to do this. Tell her how much you like it but you wanted to add something really special so he could use it longer. Not so babyish.

you could always stitch something in those larger areas like maybe a sailboat in the blues, a sea turtle and some sea shells in the tan and maybe a light house in the other. Applique would change the look of the quilt which would work, but you sounded like you didn't want to take away from what she was trying to do.

It is a pretty quilt, and made with love. I like the idea of ties in the open areas.

I like the idea of adding appliqued things to the "hills" since it really does look like a landscape to me.

I think the appliques sound really neat. However, if you want this to be your mom's quilt, I would just do the binding and maybe add a few hand stitches to keep the batting from bunching. And the label, of course.

GREAT Idea Linda!!!

Ditto ... This is her quilt as his GGM. Her style and her love is what it's all about.

If you start adding to it, I think you just may be multiplying the problems. And taking away from the simplicity of what she chose.

Less is More ... and this is where recognizing it, and binding it, is all that is needed!

I'm with the 'let it be' group. If you add appliqué or machine quilted designs, you are making it your quilt and not your mother's. The design is beautiful, just the way it is and it is clearly from her heart.

If you ask her if you can add some appliqué, of course she'll say yes, but I suspect she'll be sad that you don't like what she made for her great-grandson and think it unworthy. It's just not worth the risk.

She asked for help with the binding, so do that and if it really needs to be made more secure for washing and use, make some very unobtrusive cross-stitches in the open spaces...not knotted floss ties with tufted ends.

Just my 2¢

Thanks for all the feedback guys, I do appreciate it.
I did talk to her about it and she said that she had wanted to do tiny tacking here and there with a decorative stitch on her machine but just lacks the know-how and time to do it. She doesn't want anything added to it but did ask if I would tack it with a few tiny(like 1/4" size) hearts or bubbles(that match that fabric in the quilt) to give it a tufted look and was very relieved I fixed her binding. She "..just doesn't understand the whole '...trim batting and backing smaller than the top...' part" she read online for front-to-back self-binding. I really love this one she has made, and my grandson, Alex, can't wait to get his new blankie. He is 2 and is very hard on his blankies, that is why I was so worried about it holding up.
So, I will do what she has asked, as it is her quilt and I wanted it to stay that way. She really loved the idea of me adding a label to the back that says it's from her as well, and was very touched that I would do that for her she said. She never even thought to do such a thing. LoL!