I Need Help With 50+ Year Old Quilt Blocks--lengthy--
 

I have 60 quilt blocks pieced by my Grandma over 55 years ago. She started making a quilt for each of her grandchildren and did not get all of the blocks set into a quilt top before she unexpectedly passed. I was one of the oldest and my quilt was completed. At my aunt's auction a few years ago I saw these blocks (two sets) and I knew immediately that they were made by my Grandma as they were all hand stitched and I recognized so many of the fabrics used, a good part of which were feed sacks. I will turn 70 this year and material from my first grade dress is in some of the blocks. Grandma had only one eye having lost sight in one from an accident and was hard of hearing but she always had a quilt going or in the frame (for other people).

Now...these blocks are terrible wonky. I am sure she would have worked this out, but I need advice on what exactly to do. I am sure that I will add sashing around each block in an off white muslin type fabric. Do I cut my sashing a certain size and try to ease in; do I take tucks somewhere; throwing them in the trash is not an option. I think they will trim down to 9" blocks. Would trimming them down to a smaller block help? I can't ruin any blocks.

The kicker is I am not a piecer/quilter! I am finishing my first ever quilt top and I see more in my future. I have been around quilters all of my life but I had always said NEVER me :).

I am posting some pictures.

Phyllis

Having 4 quilts from my great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, I can understand perfectly what you are doing. I love that they are hand pieced - both great-grandmother and grandmother worked in the cotton fields in North Carolina and made quilts using material just like this. I think the sashing around the blocks is the way to go. I would trim as little as possible to make them squares. It appears that you will have puckers but they were made with love. And....by the time you get them quilted, they will smooth out some. Now, my suggestion for batting would be the Warm and Natural cotton batting that you can quilt up to 10" with the batting not falling apart and that would give you a many ways to quilt them a little a part and not need to worry about quilting very closely. Just some thoughts. Hope this helps.

They are quite wonky, and that is going to be their claim to charm. i would consider making them into smaller finished pieces -- would you consider throw pillows or a wall hanging? My thinking is that the wonkiness will be exaggerated in a larger piece, and as you're not a deeply experienced piecer, it could get overwhelming. I think that a pillow or small wall hanging made with 4 or 9 blocks (2 x 2 or 3 x 3) would be an interesting and whimsical memento for grandchildren or great grandchildren of the original maker, specially if you also wrote up a little account of your grandmother and memories about her and her quilting.

Yes Tartan, I believe Grandma called it Boys' Breeches. RST I really want these to become quilts. I have three daughters and with the one Grandma made for me each would have a quilt that was pieced by her.

A lot of the wonkiness will "quilt out". Part of the charm of old quilts is the wonkiness. I wouldn't cut down the blocks. I would hand piece them to sashing. You can use the sashing as your guide and ease in any excess block to the sashing. If a block is too short, I would hand piece in some neutral washed muslin as necessary. Honestly, much of the charm of these old quilt blocks is the wonkiness, which is a characteristic of folk quilts.

Because of the wonkiness, I would hand quilt. If at all possible, I would use wool batting because it is easy to quilt and is also true to the period of the blocks. My second choice would probably be Hobbs 80/20, which is also easy to quilt and, like wool, has some puffiness. At 80% cotton, it is close to the 100% cotton that would be true to the period. I would not use Warm and Natural because of its stiff drape, which would not be typical of the period (no needlepunching through scrim in the old days!). Plus, it is harder to hand quilt through scrim.

Just my opinion, but as they are hand stitched i would not trim them first because the stitching could come loose.
If I were doing this, i would add a wide sashing around each one (several inches wide) - each sashing to be cut to the necessary length for that side of that block..... then trim that down so that all the blocks would be the same size. I think the slight variation would be lost in the overall quilt and when it was quilted.
BEST OF LUCK....this is such a treasure from your past.

I would agree with Prism. Quilting with one eye, or cutting out blocks would be so hard. Take them like they are and work with them as much as you can.

While I realize hand quilting is what your grandma was doing, women also machine pieced at that time (my grandma's quilts were usually a mix) so you can use your machine if hand quilting isn't a skill you have. I have a top from my grandma to finish for the grands and great grands. If I had to hand quilt them, they would never get done! You might want to consider a 9 block wall hanging with the center block being a picture of your Grandma and a short paragraph about her printed on muslin. Depending on how many you'd need to make either all the blocks but the center could be hers or the 4 corner blocks could be hers and the top, bottom and side center blocks could be solids picking coordinating colors from the prints she used or muslin. If muslin, I'd put sashing around the muslin blocks to add definition & interest.

Agree with Prism99. I bought this quilt top as is from my Grandmother's Aunt who pieced it. My Great Aunt had it quilted by her sewing bee. The block was quite poorly pieced and wonky. Most problems came out with the hand-quilting. Was disappointed with the choice of bright orange for the backing and the binding but then this all occurred in the mid 70s.