Another aha moment
 

Have you ever went to a yard sale, thrift store, dollar store, etc. and looked at the crochet items that are for sale? I was just thinking, why couldn't you take these doiles and sew them to a plain colored block and put them together with a sashing and make a quilt? Maybe this has been discussed before, but I never saw it. Has anyone else ever done this? With the weight of the doilies, you probably wouldn't need a batting at all, or if you use batting, a very light one out of flannel or some such. Sound like a good idea?

I have made pillows like that, they sold very well at the flea market. A quilt would look very pretty!

I have a friend who just appliques them to centers of quilts, like a medallion, then makes pieced borders around it. She tacks them down, and long arms the whole thing, quilting right thru the doily. You have to watch out that you don't get your quilting foot caught in really loose designs.

Sounds like it would be very pretty and doable.

I have made pillows out of doilies too. I have 2 suitcases full of old linens including crocheted items. I have thought of doing a quilt, clothing, but never quite seem to get around to it and sometimes think of selling off the times...but then think I would regret it, so keep it. Maybe it is time to open the suitcases and see what is in them....a lot was from my mother-in-law and her sister did a lot of needlework so it may be family heirlooms.

i have even put a quilt together and when i put in la then i put the doilies on and quilt them down ---i think it is a twofer

Here is the quilt I made from many "Grandmothers' Pillowcases". I hand quilted around each pillowcase (2nd picture) - it will now be a family treasure. Took me 2 years from start to finish - but I only worked on the hand quilting in the evening watching TV with the DH. Yes, it can be done.

I think it is a great idea.

What a wonderful idea. Like you, I've often wondered where I could use those lovely crochet doilies. I hadn't thought of a quilt. Quilthaven's pillowcase quilt is quite beautiful!

Going one step further. At the NEC a few years ago somebody had knitted squares and made a full size quilt using them at the front and backing behind and then quilted. Not sure if they were quilted over or just the seam. Not sure with wool about how it would wash because wool has a tendacy to stretch or shrink more. There must have been some middle layer to make it a quilt I wonder if it was some kind of stabiliser. Crocheting thread does not stretch as much.