I have a great affinity for all things old and this is especially so when it comes to quilts and fabrics. I hoard them like a crazy lady collecting cats. There is one shop, which shall remain nameless, where I find these wonderful little treasures. I can almost always guarantee that when I enter though its doors that I will find at least one gem but more often a whole basket full. I was there a month ago and picked up a few that they had. Then, I visited a couple of weeks ago and they had more. The woman that works there knows me quite well and knows of my love for all quilts that need some fixin'. When I saw the two or three they had out I started drooling and this is how my conversation with my friend went.
Me: There are a couple of quilts over there that I think need my help.
Her: Yea, we just got those in. Aren't they beautiful?
Me: They are (heavy sigh)
Her: Key, you can't save them all. You have enough projects on your plate so back away from the quilts.
Me: I do have enough to keep me busy for a while. Thank you for grounding me. Is there a 12 step program for quilting?
Her: No but there should be and you would be the leader.
The quilts I end up with I always have grand ideas of replacing the disintegrated fabrics, repairing the broken threads and replacing the bindings. Sadly, with all of the other 43 projects I have going at any one time I rarely get to them. They all sit in a lonely stack just calling to me to make them beautiful again. The vintage fabrics are a different story. They too sit in a stack calling my name but in their case I cannot bring myself to cut them. They are just so pretty as a whole and cutting them in my opinion would just be a tragedy.
Today I have been looking at those stacks of quilts and fabrics and wondering just what I am going to do with them. I have the idea that I am going to make a quilts that keeps the vintage fabrics in large enough pieces that they retain their integrity. The quilts to fix, well, those will have to be a project for another day and time. The hours I will spend seam ripping and removing thread bare fabrics then replacing them seems a project for a rainy day. I did however want to share a few of them with you here. I will start with a vintage Grandmothers Garden in need of love.
What a beauty! This sweet little quilt in pastels with splashes of primary colors is from the 1930's. There are some issues with it which I will show you later but all in all it has held up very well.
These fabrics are just wonderful don't you think?
As you can see there is some staining and some of the fabrics have rips and holes in them. This is where I will have to spend the time seam ripping and replacing hexagons. I have some quilts that are considered cutters just for projects like this. I remove pieces and use them in other quilts to keep the integrity of the quilt and keep it authentic to the time period. I simply cannot bring myself to use new fabrics on vintage treasures like this.
Due to improper storage there are some areas of sun fading.
This is one of my rainy day projects. Do any of you have quilts that need love? Quilts that you have fixed? Updated? Please share them with me. I would love to see them and possibly post your quilt and it's progress (with your permission of course).
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