Repairing a quilt, part 2

Some months ago, I made a post about repairing a quilt that my grandmother had made when I was really little (I think when I was born).

I took a look at it, and it requires a bit more work than I originally thought, but I decided to repair it any way.

In fact, at one point I considered buying the appropriate fabrics and just entirely making a new quilt in the same pattern, it is a very simple pattern, which I will describe in the following paragraphs, that is within even my skills, but I decided to repair the quilt.

The quilt consists is a 7x8 arrangement of ~8" blocks (I will measure to be absolutely certain of the size) with a simple white backing.

The blocks aren't anything fancy like a courthouse steps, a whatever-state-star, or something other pieced block, they are merely gingham prints in the colors yellow, purple, brown or pink, with a few solid white interspersed amongst the gingham prints.

As far as I can tell the batting is just a piece of slightly heavier material, it is not regular quilt batting, or even white fleece, which I suppose could be used as "ultra-thin" batting.

The quilting isn't freehand or even "in the ditch", but rather is 3 squares, with the sides of the largest being about 1" in from the outside of the block, another being another inch in, and the smallest square being another inch in.

I guess my grandmother had more of the purple, yellow, and white than the pink and brown because most of the quilt is those 3 colors and there are only 3 each of the pink and brown.

I need to replace the purple and yellow squares in the quilt.

On further examination of the quilt, I decided that I also needed to replace the backing and binding as well, and that is why I pondered making an entirely new quilt or just forgetting it.

I also pondered putting "real" batting in it, but decided not to do that.

I am also pondering putting a label on it that says something like: "Originally made by Ruth Sherwood, 1961, repaired by Brian Christiansen,

2016."

I will try to take pictures of the various stages in repairing the quilt and perhaps put up a "pictoral history" of the repair process on my flickr account.

--
Brian Christiansen
Reply to
Brian Christiansen
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Some months ago, I made a post about repairing a quilt that my grandmother had made when I was really little (I think when I was born).

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Brian sometimes my thoughts are a little unusual, BUT, depending on what shape the quilt is in, maybe you could consider copying the old quilt in the same colors and using the old quilt as a batting. On one of the blocks write "Made with love by ****** my grandmother 19---. Remade in 2016 by Brian. Christiansen.-----Something that lets people know it was made by a family member. Years ago I made my sister and her 2 children a quilt and wrote, "Made for Jane Heaton by sister Barbara, and the year." Did the same for her 2 children, made by Aunt Barbara. Barbara in FL

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Reply to
Bobbie Sews More

Like I said, I did consider totally remaking the quilt, and what I actually decided to do is almost what you suggested, since I have to replace the backing, and I counted the number of blocks I have to replace is over half of them.

It turns out I have to replace the brown blocks as well, and the grand total is: yellow, 23, purple,6, brown, 3 for a total of 32 out of 56 blocks.

I am also considering replacing the brown blocks with a plaid that is not a gingham, but still a kind of plaid, and in the end, I will have the following: ~1/2 the blocks being the originals, ~1/2 the blocks being new but the same pattern as the original, and a very small number that have a new block that is sort of similar, but also very different from the original (if I do the "pictoral history I am thinking of, I will include a picture of the non-gingham plaid I am planning on using).

I have some quilt labels (I think) and was considering just using one of those, but actually making my label one of the blocks as the label is something I never considered, and now will.

--
Brian Christiansen
Reply to
Brian Christiansen

Sounds like a great idea! Barbara

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Reply to
Bobbie Sews More

Hello Brian, My grandmother use to make and repair quilts even though she never had a sewing machine but did everything by hand. I did a lot of watching, when quilts started wearing, especially on the binding she would take the old of f and replace it with new, getting as close as possible to the colors used in her quilt. For summer quilts batting, she would cut sections of old wor n out sheets stitching them together. I know I loved her quilts because I w ould find material used from old shirts, dresses not only mine but my aunts and uncles. It made me feel close to those quilts like a part of each of u s was within them. Sandy$

Reply to
morningdove2011

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