89 Year Old Block Finished
 

I started quilting as a teenager and my Dad told me his mom quilted; she would make tops but never quilt them. I was 3 when my grandmother died, so I didn't remember her. I stopped quilting when my son was born, and started up again 3 years ago. I had made my Dad's sister, Aunt Joy, a quilt two years ago, and she loved it. She said she had some blocks of her mother's that she worked on when she was pregnant with her. My aunt is almost 89 years old. Joy had always intended to finish them, but never did. She said it was her Mom's plan to blanket stitch them. I was excited to get them, they were Sunbonnet Sue blocks, she called them "Dutch Girl". They were in poor condition, just hand basted, and all of them have brown age stains on them. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of SS, but I blanket stitched the one out of the 20 blocks that were facing right, the remainder are facing left. It was hard to take out basting stitches that old, I almost wanted to leave them in. I made the blocks around it with actual 20's and 30's fabric, plus some reproductions I had. I scrubbed it with a paste made out of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and Borax, and the stains came out!

I'm planning to give this block to Joy, I'll going to either make it a wall hanging or get it framed, depending on what she prefers. I'm going to fly to El Paso next week to show it to her. I'll make the other blocks into a quilt, but make wall hangings out of 4 of them to give to my brothers and sisters. I'm going to finish these so they don't go another 89 years without being completed.

Will you be putting the grandma's name on it somewhere? I think that it would be sweet for anyone seeing it to know who made it and when.

Wow, what a lot of work to get the stains off. You did a good job and I am sure your Aunt Joy will be overwhelmed by having one of these finished up.

Wow...what a great quilt to have the privilege to work on.

Yes, I am going to put the history on the label, and on the full quilt will likely make an embroidered block. The full quilt will have a 12.5" square of 1.5" blocks alternating with the Sue's.

How nice of you to finish something so special for your Aunt!! Turned out great!!!

great idea framing it. or a pillow. wow, 89 yrs old!

what a treasure... nicely done

Have you tried a product called retro clean? It works well on mature fabrics...

What a treasure this is for you to work on. No one in my family has anything that a prior grandma or aunt has made.

Velvet Crazy Quit
 

What an honor to do something like that! Looks great! I know your Aunt will be so happy!

Sew happy for you. This turned out great and I am sure that your Aunt will love it. Be sure to show us the finished quilt. Thanks for sharing. BrendaK

This is a great story, a wonderful way to connect with your personal history, and a superb gift for your aunt. I bet she'll cry from happiness when you give her the finished block!

What a good thing you are doing! Love the fabrics. Good luck with your project!

You have done a beautiful job....well done for taking on this epic 'work in progress'. I love to see things finished. Thanks for sharing with us.

How nice of you to pick up what will turn out to be family treasures. Grandma would be very proud of you.

Goes to show that any UFO can eventually get done :thumbup:
Aunt Joy will be so thrilled with her wall hanging!

Cool!! I've not seen the feet that shape before & really like it! Beautiful block! You done good girl!

What a special tribute to someone special! It would be so easy to 'pitch' such items-but they are so worth saving. I know that they will be appreciated by those who receive them.

great treasure!!!

Wow!! Beautiful Sues!! I see feedsack fabric in these!

How adorable and such a wonderful treasure for you and your family.

You are blessed to receive these blocks. Beautiful

What a wonderful save and tribute.

Awesome!!!!!

You did a beautiful job with this old block. How lovely and touching, your aunt will love this.

what a wonderful family heirloom.

A wonderful family heirloom. It's beautiful and a beautiful thing to do.

What a great gift of love !

Very nicely done. Your piecing is lovely. So precise and relaxed. Great idea for such a worthy piece.

Your aunt will be thrilled to receive such a treasure. My Mom made quilts, however, with 7 kids, none of them survived after keeping us warm in SD winters. Now I quilt so that there will be something for my family to remember me by, as well as friends.

Please show your finished products and put in the subject line something like "follow up antique SS blocks" or "follow up grandma's blocks" for people like me that don't read EVERY topic on the QB! I don't want to miss seeing them. Also let us know your aunt's reaction. Thanks, so far you've done a beautiful job.

Wow that is a ton of work you are doing, but what a treasure you have.. Great Job.

I love it and love the story...I think this would be awesome to put in a frame and hang on the wall.

What a wonderful story and lovely block. Your stitching and piecing are great! I actually really like this "Dutch Girl" design.

such a treasure to cherish forever.

What a great gift to receive and to give. The cleaning solution seems to have really worked.

You have reminded me of some things I should finish before all the history has been forgotten...Thanks for posting this!! History of our families are very precious and sometimes we forget to take care of the old while loveing the new!

What a wonderful rescue. Thank you for the cleaning solution as well, could be important to any or all of us on the site.
This is indeed heritage work.