Restoration - Salvaging - Fixing - Repairing
 

When - if ever - does a quilt - or any other item, for that matter - if might be your favorite dishrag that your favorite Great Grandma gave to you as a wedding gift 50 years ago that is now in shreds and gray instead of white - is it time to not try to salvage an item that seems to have sentimental value?

No matter if the item was never finished and never passed on by the person that started it -

or that the item had never been "promised" to someone -

Sometimes I think we try to rescue/save/restore items that - if they were ours to begin with - would end up in the UFO pile or be trashed.

I don't know the "correct" answer to the question - I was asking for your answers to the question -

If the item was a blue chambray work shirt -that Grandma had made - for example - that Grandpa wore many days of his life - and is now very worn - elbows are gone - collar is frayed - pocket is torn (maybe it should be sold as a "fashion statement"?) - how much effort would one put into "making it like new"?

Your post brings special memories of DDaughter's "covies" and huggie. The covies were thermal b*aby b*lankets that I used when her Dad and I brought her home from the hospital. They ended up in threads and tiny pieces over the years. She kept them in a zip lock bag so she could still touch them.

Huggie was a blue cookie monster. He had many adventures with our daughter over the years. He went everywhere with her. His leg came off and re-attached with a safety pin. His plastic eyes cracked and wore off. We used a marker to paint them back on. Huggie was finally retired on a visit home from college. Yes, Huggie went to college with her too.

The stories he could tell. The comfort he brought to our little girl named "Sam". This "little" girl's 30th Birthday is Wednesday. I think Huggie deserves to be brought out again to attend the celebration.

Precious memories! Thanks for the post, Bear!

Timely post. Just last night I was lamenting about my favorite flannel shirt. I bought it at Goodwill about 20 years ago so it's past its prime to say the least. One side of the front is pretty much in tatters and I was trying to decide if I should try to repair it, rip it up for rags or throw it in the trash. I'm going to try to repair it as soon as I find some fabric that's close in color. After all, it is my favorite shirt.

Cari

There are times when one realizes that if you have a photo of Grandpa in that shirt, or your once little boy in his Cub Scout uniform, you don't need the actual 50 year old shirt or the 25 year old Cub Scout uniform anymore. It takes up space, gets damaged, etc. It is not a crime or a sin to throw things away. Most of us here, (or our parents) were raised in a different era, where things had to be repaired. I'm freeing myself from some of those old chains!

It takes me a long time before I give up on something sentimental. But, last year I donated many things from my linen closet to flood victims. They were old quilts, new comforter sets, embroidered sheets and pillowcases from my mom, and twin sets from when I had twin spare room beds. The stored linens didn't fit my beds , but, I had saved them anyway. I offered them to other family members and they declined. Now these weren't used, they were new. I finally just told myself it was time I didn't need to save them any more. And, most importantly, these people would love and use them.
I had a wonderful feeling from sharing those items and cleared out other clothing, coats and household items. How liberating!

Bear, this is such a great question. There are no one size fits all answers. I'm the keeper of my family, and by default my DH's family. Siblings, cousins, in-laws etc. Some items are gradually being tossed, but many, and I mean many, are still being kept. I have two shirts from my dad who passed in 2000. I swear they still have his scent. Both need minor repairs. My 38 yo son's baby quilt, made by his great-grandmother is in tatters, but I still have it! Oh the stories that quilt could tell! Not to decide is to decide...sticking with that for awhile!

It’s all in the eye of the beholder. A quilt or piece of needlework, which is part of a family history or a piece of folk or textile art – conservation not restoration in my view is the way to go. Restoration actually takes away from the history of the textile.

If the maker had no intention other than utility nor particular attachment to it, well perhaps dispose of it if it is of no artistic or historic merit, or restore it and get some use out of the item, or finish it and pass it on unused for posterity. Just because something is old doesn’t mean it is worth preserving.

From a personal perspective: the mass produced, now ratty t-shirts that my late husband wore are important and significant only to me and I have kept these. He was cremated wrapped in his favourite quilt and the quilt made for us by a dear friend for our 25[SUP]th[/SUP] wedding anniversary (he never saw the finished quilt) is on my bed today and will remain so until it wears out or I do, whichever is first. From a critical point of view is the quilt a great example of outstanding quilting ability – no it is not, but that means nowt to me. It is a precious thing which I shall always treasure.

As long as these things don’t become a talisman, shrine or prevent me from carrying on… well… who cares. They give me comfort. And yes, I can still smell his scent. However, I am in the position of not having any dependants or family to pass anything on to, so my solicitors get to sort it out. By then, I will be beyond caring.

Right now, I am doing some conservation work for a historical society on thee of their samplers. Accompanying this I am doing research on the lives of these three girls. Tracing their history which gives me – a stranger, a feeling of connection. These samplers are possibly the only tangible evidence that these people existed but just by the info on these items I have a glimpse into very different lives. These are worth conserving in my opinion and from a social history perspective but on the open market, they have very little monetary value.

It is a tough call to preserve, conserve, restore or dispose. Do what feels right to you.

HettyB

That's a good question. When my DD was 8 years old, I tossed a very used pair of cut-off jeans shorts that were nothing but threads loosely hanging together. Of course they were her favorite. She is now 56 years old and still has not forgiven me. She brings those blasted shorts up still. I wished many times that I kept them and had them framed and hung them on the wall!!

In this case I wouldn't make it like new because this shirt would tell a story about grandpa. Maybe this was his favorite shirt or he wore it out doing something he loved. Or maybe that's just how you remember grandpa, wearing this shirt.

I think your question about restoration might have a different answer for each item and each person.

Luckily I don't keep that sort of things. If I did they would go into the trash and forgotten.