Antique quilts quilted on long arm machine, sad story

Oh, what a shame. Why did they not consult with someone before having these treasures machine quilted? I'd be crying! They would have probably been worth more if left as is. Good luck with this project.

Ohhhhh, Susan, how awful. How just plain awful. I think I would just run and hide. Polly

If I could just defend machine quilters for a second, the problem appears to be the quality of the quilting (and the poor care), not the fact that it was a machine. Machine quilting has been around as long as there have been sewing machines, and I've seen a number of lovely old quilts that were machine quilted at the time they were made. My 1894 treadle originally came with attachments and instructions for machine quilting -- it was one of the selling features of the machine.

Susan,

Just to clarify.... as I read your email.... the longarmer in question owned the quilt tops. She was not hired to quilt them, but owned them. She quilted them, bound them, and labeled them. She then donated them to a charity and you are in the process of evaluating their potential $$ for the charity.......

Jan RCTQ Coffee Diva.... who absolutely does not own a bird nor have I ever......

In my own defence, my question to consult was just that. It appeared obvious that the individual who had possessions of the quilts knew very little. A knowledgable individual would have perhaps prevented the disaster, and that does not mean that machine quilting would have been avoided. As the msg states, there are numerous aspects not consistent with the quilt period, such as the backing, binding etc..... I'm referring to the overall problem and not specifically that the quilts were machine quilted, although the quality,as per Marcella, is an issue.

I couldn't agree with you more. Unfortunately, not many people inherit the backing along with the top. Today we are fortunate to have good quality repro fabrics, which makes the quilt look it's period all while being enjoyed.

Yep, that's how I understood it.

Rita L. - practic> Susan,

Howdy!

#(*&^%$#!!!

As the quilts are already quilted and therefore mostly stabilized perhaps a bath in BIZ would remove the bird doo after brushing off the larger debris.

SHEESH!!! Some people!!! Ah, well, do what you can, Susan. If you find a nice top (altho' it's quilted) that I'd like let me know. (yeah, you know what I like )

Good luck!

Ragmop/Sandy

Sad! I could just weep. I have some hand-pieced quilt tops that a friend gave me--not antiques, but they were made during the first half of the last century by her late husband's grandmother. I plan to work on them after I retire, I'll try to find appropriate backings/bindings and then hand quilt them all to retain that hand-made look. Then she can give them to members of her and her husband's family who would appreciate having a quilt that Great-Grandma made. Same thing with a log cabin that my own grandmother pieced by hand. Hand-pieced should be hand-quilted, to my way of thinking.

As to the bird droppings, I can't imagine how to safely remove them. If the fabric will handle the rough treatment, I should think that a good wash should get rid of the solids, but as for the probable residual stains.........I give up.

Why on earth didn't the longarm quilter clean the bird droppings off before quilting? Petrified guano would break a heck of a lot of needles, I would think!

I applaud your attempt to salvage something from the quilts, Susan. Good luck!

Wow, you gals have opened my eyes! Maybe that is the sensible way to go with the huge stack of quilt tops I got from my friend. If anyone else has opinions on this issue, I'd be glad to read and consider the answers. I honestly would prefer to longarm my own quilts, as I will get more done that way (and I have nearly a hundred nieces and nephews for whom to make quilts, and more coming along all the time!) and I will never win prizes for my quilts--they are nice, but hardly competition quality. Hence my need to buy a longarm setup and add a room onto my tin hut before I retire.

But I also have qualms about machine-quilting a top that has been hand-pieced.

Maybe I should have started a new thread.

Just curious as to what those qualms are... :)

I had an acquaintance that inherited a lot of tops and she was sending out a couple as she could afford to have them hand quilted. That was

10-15 years ago before she had much in the way of choices. It was kind of sad because these tops had become somewhat of a burden to her. You gotta find a reasonable solution at some point, imo. You know one solution might be to send me some of those tops Carolyn. (shameless beg just for fun ; ) Taria

Carolyn McCarty wrote:

Sad story Susan...... I can't imagine anyone allowing bird doo on ANYTHING they own, let alone a quilt!! It just makes me shudder. I hope you're able to save them.

Patti in Seattle

several hand pieced quilts brought snipped-for-privacy@news.supernews.com...

This is a horrible story all the way through. But the bird poop part just makes me cringe. All I can think is that someone was using the "old quilts" to protect their "precious" furniture from bird droppings. What a travesty.

Sunny

I firmly believe machine quilting is fine for most hand pieced quilt tops. Far better than just letting the top go to waste in a drawer. I've inherited tops that have both hand and machine piecing in them because great-grandma hand pieced and grandma joined the blocks by machine. If those two didn't have a problem mixing hand and machine sewing, then I don't see why I should.

Sure we don't often have the vintage backing to go with a vintage top, but that is an easily solved matter. Often times the backing was left to buy later because it was so simple to buy muslin, plain sheeting, or a coordinating solid that the top maker was never worried about being able to get a matching backing fabric. Around here a lot of quilts were backed with white, off white, blue or brown fabric, often in plain good muslin. I have inherited a couple of tops I plan on backing with quality muslin because I know the maker of the top would have used the same material for the back herself. I also have one that I don't plan to use a muslin backing on, it will be backed with a darker solid simply because anything else would be jarring to the eye. But Carolyn, there is another way you could go with quilting a heap of tops--pair them up. Sort the pile of tops by size and see if two tops could be one reversible quilt! Pick a doodley, swirly quilting motif and just start quilting. Next thing ya know, you will have gone from having two inherited UFOs to having one nifty reversible finished quilt. Debra in VA See my quilts at

This thread has distressed me because long-arming has seemed to be a poor choice for a fine quilt. Nay. Not so. I've seen some truly terrible long-arming - mostly at quilt shops where the staff is learning how and overly impressed with their results. They've made me wonder how they couldn't see how awful their work is with erratic stitch length and knots and snarls. Mercy! However. How I wish you could see the two quilts of Kathy Applebaum's that I've seen. Exquisite and impeccable and joyful. I did appreciate Joan's comment that some handpiecing would be too fragile and/or lumpy for longarming. Never thought about that - but a skilled long-arm quilter is glorious to behold. IMHO. of course. Polly

I am sorry someone has seen fit to donate something spoiled by droppings without washing it. Very gross and very impolite.

Too bad about the inappropriate backings and poor quality quilting. I have no doubt the owner was proud of her accomplishment in spite of it's shortcomings.

You are truly a lady of class, Susan, for dealing with this situation in a polite and generous manner. Debra in VA See my quilts at