Hello folks,
I am not a quilter, but my mom was. She passed away in August, and I have been going through her things to decide what to do with them. During the 80's and early 90's mom quilted daily. She did all of her work by hand, she thought machine stitching was a sacrilege. Currently I have found 6 full size quilts and one wall hanging. They are all in need of cleaning. Should I dry clean these items, or is washing the appropriate thing to do?

If anyone is interested, I have posted some pics or her work on my website, http://www.genealogy.jowestcorp.com . The first two pictures are from the Jasper County Fair in Texas from 1991 I think. Mom took home every ribbon in the quilting department, including the "Viewer's Choice" , the first picture. The third picture is a wallhanging that mom did after my dad passed away. Mom took all of dad's neckties and kindof freelanced the design.


Thank you for any help on the cleaning question.

wash in cold water and tumble dry they should be fine. I am sorry for the loss of your mom. The quilts are just BEAUTIFUL what a family treasure.

Those are BEAUTIFUL :mrgreen: Do you still have them ? Any that Mom left will be family treasures .

So sorry for the loss of your mom
Welcome to the board
Sharon

Let me add my "Beautiful!" too. I like them all but I especially like the wall hanging.

Judy

Oh, my. Those are just beautiful!

I'm not sure if the tie quilt should be washed or dry-cleaned. Do you know if your mother pre-washed the ties? If she didn't, or if you don't know, I would do more investigating before deciding how to clean it. It's because the ties are probably make of both silks and blends.

For the other quilts, machine washing and drying are the way to go. A front-loading washer is best because it is easy on a quilt. Laundromats have front-loaders, but to be safe it's a good idea to run a cycle on the front-loader with plain water first to make sure everybody else's soaps, etc., have rinsed away. Then I would use cold water and Synthrapol to wash one quilt at a time.

If you have a top-loading washing machine, be aware that the machine agitation is hard on a quilt. You can still use a top-loader, but stop at the agitation cycle and just agitate by hand, pushing the quilt down into the washing water for a few minutes to work the soap and water through. Drain the machine, add rinse water, and do the same for the rinse cycle -- skipping the agitation and just pushing the quilt under by hand. Drain and do a second rinse cycle, then spin dry. Spinning is not hard on a quilt; it's just agitation from a top-loading machine that is hard on it.

Whatever machine you use, you need to watch the quilt and remove it as soon as the wash cycle is done so wet fabric is not laying against wet fabric (which can result in color bleeding). I recommend Synthrapol because, if there is any unset dye in one of the fabrics, Synthrapol will keep the unset dye suspended in water so color does not settle in another fabric. Synthrapol is widely available in quilt shops or online and is not expensive.

What kind of dryer do you have? Mine is a very small front-loader and I would not want to stuff a large quilt into it. You may be better off with a laundromat dryer. You do not want to dry completely. It's best to take the quilt out while still somewhat damp and then "block" it to finish drying. To block, you lay the quilt on top of a sheet on top of carpet, square the sides and corners and pin them in place, then place a fan nearby to finish drying. If the quilt is completely dry, you can spray it with water to dampen it enough to be blocked. Blocking makes sure that the quilt ends up perfectly square, the way it started. You can also skip the dryer and just block the quilt and let it dry under the fan; however, this can take a long time and the quilt needs to be turned over.

Never expose a quilt to sunlight if you can help it. Sunlight can fade a quilt very quickly. Also never hang a wet quilt over clotheslines; the weight of the wet fabric can break stitching lines. If you ever do want to dry a quilt outside, lay it out on top of a large sheet and then cover it with a couple of sheets to keep sunlight off it (not to mention bird mistakes).

Good luck!

I saw a tie quilt just like this one - has it ever been in Dunnedin, FL? She did great work!!

Beautiful work
I always wash mine on gentle cycle, and dry on low

What wonderful treasures your mom left you! Washing on a gentle cycle usually works fine. Be careful with the tie quilt though. A lot of men's ties are silk and don't wash well. I'd dry clean that one.

I hope you will consider taking up the craft. Your mom would be so proud. This is a lovely group of quilters that will guide you along the way.

Wow those are beautiful so sorry for your loss she was a beautiful lady and done such awesome work

The regular quilts could be gently washed, but those ties could be made of anything. I'd take that one in to the dry cleaner for an opinion.

You are lucky to have them.

Hello, and welcome to the board. Your mom's quilts are beautiful. Cherish them. I concur with the suggestions above. Handle them with care, but do use them.

Your mother's quilts are beautiful; she was very talented. I'm sorry for your loss.

I agree with washing in cold on gentle and tumbling dry.. That's how I've always cleaned my cotton quilts. I use Dreft soap for this. The only caution I would give on having the tie quilt cleaned is be sure to take it to a cleaners you know. I have heard of such items disappearing. Is it really soiled or does it just need freshening? There are products to use in the dryer to "dryclean" items yourself.

beautiful quilts. So very sorry to hear about your mother. what a legacy she left in her quilts.

Your mothers quilts are not only beautiful But priceless!! I love them all and the mens tie one was very interesting.I doubt I will ever be that good at my quilting.I loved them all.
Pickle

You are so lucky to have these mementos and memories of your late mother. My own mother and I quilted together, usually disagreeing about color choices, but I would not trade those quilts in or sell them for any price. My aunt, my mother, my daughter, my best friends and I all hand quilted some of these tops. Today I treasure each of them. Thank you for sharing such beautiful photos of your mother and her art! :)

what a treasure you have!! Have you ever thought about quilting...I bet you have a hidden talent!!!

Thanks for sharing the pictures of you Mothers quilts they are beyong the word beautiful they are exquisite.

bigsky

Thank you all so much for the words of encouragement and advice. I think I will try the wall hanging with Dryel in my dryer. As I get the bigger pieces washed, I will post some more pics.

Again, thank you all very much.

What a special gift your mom left behind. I would treasure them forever.
As far as washing the quilts you need to be careful colors don't bleed if you don't know if the material was washed prior to being used. You can purchase special washing solutions at Joanne's fabric or any good quilt store. I wouldn't use commercial detergent. Always wash in delicate. Then place in the tub to rinse out the suds. Air dry for a while then dry in the dryer. Good luck!
Patty allayne

How do you find your website. I went to the address given and did not u nderstand what to do to find your pictures. I am a novice at the computer. Thanks. Grammy

Hi, I hope you don't mind my sending this to you. When you read the lady's message, you will note a link appear that should be in a different color. That is your link and you double click on it--in this case it's http://www.genealogy.jowestcorp.com. That should bring you to the web site. Whenever you see a hyperlink, it will appear as blue. I hope this helps. :-)

Welcome to the board CalGal!

I am so sorry for the lost of your mom. Mine passed to the great quilt shop in the sky in 1996. I didn't take up quilting until 2003. I miss her advice. She completed her first quilt in 1932 at the age of sixteen. She quilted all her life except for when my sister and I were growing up. She sewed us our clothes during those years. After we left home she made quilts for herself, and mostly charity.

Please cherish those quilts. Yes, use them. Make sure her grandchildren will have them after you are gone. But only for the ones who will appreciate the value of these treasures.

WOW! I absolutely LOVE the tie quilt! How imaginative. I just might have to copy that idea someday...and when I do, I will think of a talented and loving woman I never even met! Thank you so much for sharing!

This is what I was thinking, too. IS the tie quilt really dirty or do you just want to freshen it up? If it isn't soiled, I would just air it out (not in the sunlight) and let is blow in the breeze for a while.

You have not mentioned whether they are dirty, or just smell musty..... If possible try airing them out first... I would hate for you to put them into a washer and have holes in the seams appear...
It has been suggested to put them in a top loader and let it fill up with water, agitate by hand, drain and spin and agitate by hand in the rinse water. Wet quilts weigh a lot and manipulating them too much strains the seams.... I would also use a soap made for quilts and remove it from the washer immediately and lay it on a sheet to dry or partially dry in a dryer first.
Storing them folded is not a great idea, roll them and use a lot of acid free tissue paper in the folds/creases. It is recommended to open them up and refold in a different manner every few months.

Hi and thank you for your help. I clicked on the link and there they were. What beautiful work a true pleasure to see. I am also a fairly new quilter and I truly enjoy looking at all the beautiful work done by all. Happy Thanksgiving to you. Grammy

The ties were hanging on a wall. The remaining quilts were folded and draped over wooden display stands. Well, Mom's dog always managed to brush against the quilts. The bottom 12 to 18 inches of each one is slightly soiled. If I spread them out I can see the difference in coloration. Since my last post, I have run the tie piece through my dyer using "DryEl". It improved the appearance somewhat, but not as clean as I would like. I think I'm stuck with taking it to a commercial dry clean place. I hope there is a way that they can "gently" clean it. As far as the other pieces go, I think I might try a good soak in Woolite with some hand agitation and then a partial dry in the dryer and then hanging them up to dry completely. Anyone see any problems with any of this? As usual, all suggestions are very welcome.

I am so sorry for the loss of you beloved mother. I am happy she left you some lovely quilts. I looked at her picture and her work...BOTH BEAUTIFUL!! I am sure you treasure your memories of her making them and every one was stitched with love.

Wash them carefully and USE them....I am sure she would want you to :).


Margie

It is safer to use Synthrapol than Woolite. Woolite will not keep unset dye particles from settling into other fabrics; Synthrapol will. Chemical formulations of brand name products change over the years, as do finishes on fabrics; I would not trust that Woolite is as gentle on fabrics as it has been advertised.

Since this is the first time you are washing these quilts, you do not want to soak them. If there are any unset dye particles, soaking gives them a chance to migrate into other fabrics. You want to continuously hand agitate and then immediately spin out the water. Once a quilt has been washed several times with no "tinting" of the water or obvious bleeds, you can allow it to soak.

You never want to hang up a quilt to dry. Hanging a quilt -- especially one with water in it, even if the quilt is only damp -- greatly increases the stress put on the quilting stitches and on the fabrics. After partially drying in the dryer, it is best to "block" the quilt by laying flat on a large sheet, pinning, and placing a fan nearby to blow air across the surface.

When soaking heirloom baby pieces, etc. I use Ivory Snow and Biz.

Wow your Mom's quilts are beautiful :!: Wash in warm water by hand and rinse well. If you are able lay the quilt outside on a sheet away from the sun and let air dry

I hope when I pass to have some beautiful quilts to pass on too.