Is There Any Hope....
 

...for my mom's quilt.

Hello everyone, I am new here and new to quilting although I have experience with other sewing, cross-stitch, etc.. My mother, who passed away in 1982, left me a quilt top asking me to promise to finish it for my son to take to college. I've had it for all these years and am just now getting around to working on it. Son went to school locally and didn't need it but I know Mom would still like him to have it as a gift from her.

Problems have come up now that I have finally spread it out and begun looking at it closely. Mainly, it doesn't lay flat. Its the Tumbling Blocks pattern so the whole thing is made up of hundreds of small diamond-shaped pieces pieced into red, white, and blue hexagons. The three colors are each a different weight as well: the white is a lightweight muslin (some are quilting fabric from England), the red is a heavier weight like Kona cotton, and the blue is a heavier twill fabric and may be a cotton blend. Mom never took a quilting lesson but learned from her own mom and neither had any of the nice rulers and templates available now. Templates were handmade of shirt cardboard.

Any suggestions on what to do? I don't really like the idea of taking it all apart but I know my mom would want her grandson to have something nice. I saw the demonstration about spraying with spray starch and ironing but wonder if that would work on the different fabrics... I've thought about taking the hexagons apart and appliquéing them onto blocks... presently I have blue fabric basted onto the batting and have been trying to baste the top onto that so it will be the Tumbling blocks with irregular edges on a blue border. I would finish it probably as a tied quilt with quilting around the sides.

Ideas? Maybe I just need someone to tell me my mom won't mind if I take apart something she worked so hard on..

are you able to post some close up pictures - front and back - of the top? that might help us make suggestions for what might be done.

i can relate to the "guilt" that a promise like that can generate -

Hi and welcome from North Carolina. And, welcome to quilting. As a real old lady and a mother, let me say that your mother would be delighted to hear that you are now starting to quilt. She certainly would not mind that you take whatever steps that would help with her quilt.

As for your problems concerning the quilt, you've come to the right place. There are many experienced quilters here that can answer any questions you have. I'll leave it to them to help you. I just wanted to reassure you that your mother loves you.

You've had this top for at least 36 years? What are the chances that your son would actually use the quilt if you finish it? Perhaps it would be better to take the best blocks and frame them, under glass, to be given to your son and other family members. Include a picture of your mother and the story behind them, and my guess he would be touched by the gift.

I think tying it is a good way to go. that will help hide any puckers or puffy fabric. you may use poly batting too that would give it volume. sound like you are going the right way.

What an amazing gift for your son from his grandmother. Love it! I agree with Bearisgray. It would help to see a photo of her quilt.

There are so many Board members that are much more experienced than I that I am sure you will get some great help.

My 2 cents!!! As I have been thinking about your dilemma, I was thinking that perhaps you could pin it to a large rug or your carpet and try to square it up as much as possible. If you pin it with the wrong side up, you may be able to press it (not iron it) while it is attached to the carpet/rug. You will be able to add starch on the back of your fabrics without residue. It may be a slow process but if you get it fairly flat, then the ties will hold it together and even if there is some wavy parts they will be fine. It sounds like a lovely quilt. I never knew my grandparents so I believe this is wonderful. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]593411[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]593412[/ATTACH] here are two photos.. I'm sorry they're sideways..

I hadn't envisioned such a large quilt with the blocks already sewn together when I made my last comment. Now that I see the quilt, I think it can be finished with taking it apart, as long as the seams have a good seam allowance and are not coming apart. If you decide to tie the quilt you won't have to worry so much about it being perfectly flat, especially if you use a thick batt. Or you could send it to a good longarmer for more dense quilting, which would hold it together for a longer time. Those pieces of the Union Jack showing up here and there are unusual and definitely add to the charm of the quilt.

I finished some of my granny's that looked similar to this. I had a few pleats and puckers after longarming them but once they were washed and dried they really didn't look too bad. I wanted them finished to gift to my then 85 year old mama, very much worth the aggravation of doing them to see her smile that they got finished and all us children now own one of them as gifts from her!

It lies mostly flat! I think I'd just use a puffy batting like 5 ounce polyester and go ahead and quilt it. Let the needle just run over the few wrinkles to flatten them. I'd leave it original and just quilt it. It's a cool quilt. Love the Union Jacks!