Close enough--comparison of old quilt to new
10-02-2011, 04:38 PM
#1
Super Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Lake Wales, FL, USA
Posts: 1,554
The back story: My niece lost the baby quilt I made for her now 7 1/2 year old daughter. It was one of the early ones I made and it wouldn't surprise me at all if it just fell apart and someone thought it was a rag and it got thrown away.
She found the first one pictured below while we were cleaning out some of my mother's stuff. It was made by my great-grandmother for my youngest sister about 35 years ago. It has had a rough life and wasn't very well made to begin with. My great-grandmother was a "just do it & get it over with" type of person. The scraps of shirts, aprons and/or house dresses (day frocks) it is made with are hand sewn to muslin or flour sack foundation blocks and 4 blocks were machine stitched together to make each of the 12 blocks. The sashing is a light creamy orange color and the backing fabric is an ugly red & white floral tablecloth. It did not have any batting and was tied with gold embroidery floss. The backing was brought to the front, tucked under and machine stitched down. It barely reached in some places and is no where near even. There are a couple stains on it and the center of the backing has completely worn through and is in ribbons.
The second top pictured below is one that I made instead of fixing the first one as requested. I plan to put batting and a flannel backing on it and machine quilt it with hearts in each block. I was trying to use up scraps, make my great-niece a decent size snuggle quilt, and pay some tribute to my great grandmother but fixing her work 35 years after the fact was more than I was willing to tackle.
I don't think my niece even knows that the old quilt is my sister's. I didn't find the name on it until I got it home and started looking very closely at it to determine if/how it could be repaired.
I think the new one will serve the purpose my niece intends for it much better, will be warmer and will probably last even longer.
She found the first one pictured below while we were cleaning out some of my mother's stuff. It was made by my great-grandmother for my youngest sister about 35 years ago. It has had a rough life and wasn't very well made to begin with. My great-grandmother was a "just do it & get it over with" type of person. The scraps of shirts, aprons and/or house dresses (day frocks) it is made with are hand sewn to muslin or flour sack foundation blocks and 4 blocks were machine stitched together to make each of the 12 blocks. The sashing is a light creamy orange color and the backing fabric is an ugly red & white floral tablecloth. It did not have any batting and was tied with gold embroidery floss. The backing was brought to the front, tucked under and machine stitched down. It barely reached in some places and is no where near even. There are a couple stains on it and the center of the backing has completely worn through and is in ribbons.
The second top pictured below is one that I made instead of fixing the first one as requested. I plan to put batting and a flannel backing on it and machine quilt it with hearts in each block. I was trying to use up scraps, make my great-niece a decent size snuggle quilt, and pay some tribute to my great grandmother but fixing her work 35 years after the fact was more than I was willing to tackle.
I don't think my niece even knows that the old quilt is my sister's. I didn't find the name on it until I got it home and started looking very closely at it to determine if/how it could be repaired.
I think the new one will serve the purpose my niece intends for it much better, will be warmer and will probably last even longer.
Old baby quilt
[ATTACH=CONFIG]265482[/ATTACH]
New not-a-baby-anymore quilt top
[ATTACH=CONFIG]265483[/ATTACH]
10-02-2011, 04:54 PM
#3
Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: arizona
Posts: 27
Beautiful memory quilt, family history is something to cherish. When I make family a quilt, it's nice to have a story to go along with it. Just telling them you thought of them while making it, makes it feel warm and cuddly. Thanks for sharing your story.
10-02-2011, 07:05 PM
#10
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 292
I've considered remaking a quilt too, to conjure up memories of growing up. We had a butterfly quilt... appliqued, some with a single butterfly with open wings and some blocks had two butterflies. It is on my bucket list of things to do.
You did a wonderful job remaking this one!!
You did a wonderful job remaking this one!!
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