Vintage Grandmother's Flower Garden top - finally quilted
09-18-2011, 03:01 PM
#1
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 3,061
A while back a coworker asked me if I could quilt a top that her mother (now deceased) had made many years ago. This is a pic of the finished quilt. It is the Grandmother's Flower Garden block pattern that was very popular in the 1930s. The fabrics are indicative of that period as well, so it's safe to assume that's when it was done. It measures 78" x 92".
This was quite a challenge to do for several reasons. First, all of the blocks were missing the center hex piece!!! :-o In looking at the top closely, I could see remnants of gold fabric that used to be in the center of each block. So apparently the she decided she didn't like the center fabric after she had it done and ripped them all out! Piecing in those center pieces in each block was going to be impossibly tedious and I felt it would be very difficult to get it to look right. So I choose to quilt the entire top first and then appliqued the center hexes in each block. I think it turned out very well, and better than if I had tried to hand piece the centers back in. I suspect that's why the top was never finished since these are normally worked from the center of the block outwards.
A lot of the blocks had a lot of fullness to them so that they were "belled" - more fullness in the center than the edges. So I really had to work to work some of that fullness out while quilting it. Luckily, I was able to work some of the fullness in towards the center of each block, since I knew that I would be appliqueing the center hexes in which helped to hide some of that.
I have to say this was the most challenging top that I've ever quilted, but I'm glad that I was able to finish it off as the person who made it put so much work into it. I'm delivering it to my coworker tomorrow, hope she likes it!
This was quite a challenge to do for several reasons. First, all of the blocks were missing the center hex piece!!! :-o In looking at the top closely, I could see remnants of gold fabric that used to be in the center of each block. So apparently the she decided she didn't like the center fabric after she had it done and ripped them all out! Piecing in those center pieces in each block was going to be impossibly tedious and I felt it would be very difficult to get it to look right. So I choose to quilt the entire top first and then appliqued the center hexes in each block. I think it turned out very well, and better than if I had tried to hand piece the centers back in. I suspect that's why the top was never finished since these are normally worked from the center of the block outwards.
A lot of the blocks had a lot of fullness to them so that they were "belled" - more fullness in the center than the edges. So I really had to work to work some of that fullness out while quilting it. Luckily, I was able to work some of the fullness in towards the center of each block, since I knew that I would be appliqueing the center hexes in which helped to hide some of that.
I have to say this was the most challenging top that I've ever quilted, but I'm glad that I was able to finish it off as the person who made it put so much work into it. I'm delivering it to my coworker tomorrow, hope she likes it!
09-18-2011, 03:26 PM
#8
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Southern Michigan
Posts: 732
Eddie, your explanation about handling the missing hex centers and careful handling of the excess fullness is really helpful. Thanks a bunch for taking the time for the quilt owner and also for us here on QB.
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Patti Mahoney
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10-20-2011 05:58 PM
