Hi all!
A friend of mine asked me for my help. She said - Katrina I have a quilt, that my Grandmother made, that is badly damaged. I know I should throw it out (she doesn't sew) but I love it so much! Can you take a look at it? Of course I said yes!
Well, the quilt was old, frail, and, badly damaged. This quilt has been well loved, and, well used!
There are several smaller holes like this one.
And one massive one!!!! Ohhh man!
I said - my dear this is an heirloom quilt! I shouldn't touch it! She said - I want to use it. I love it - I don't care what you have to do I want to use this quilt again. Every bone in my body was screaming - no, no, no!!
She trumped me - she said - well, I guess I should just throw it out then. At that point I said - let me see what I can do - sigh.
She said - I have extra pieces that her Grandmother didn't use in the quilt - oh this is getting better I thought!
Turns out she had extra pinwheels! The quilter had matching stitched the hand turned pinwheels onto the quilt - joy! I can do that!
We talked about it and she said - just put these over the holes and do the best you can - I want to use the quilt again. She kept stressing how much she loved the quilt and wanted to use it again. Long story short - this quilt is going to be worn out from loving it. That's what made me take these steps to repair it as best I could.
I should have taken more photos but I appliquéd the wheels down after whip sticking the holes closed. Not ideal; but, the quilt can be loved again!
Personally I love the scattered pinwheels and I love that they are original (albeit left-overs) to the quilt!
Before anyone jumps down my throat about working on an heirloom quilt like this; please, take a look at the damage and also note that this quilt was destined to be possibly thrown out b/c she thought that it wasn't good anymore. This way the quilt can be loved and used - like a hug from her Grandmother :-)
5 comments:
Personally I wouldn't worry about it being an heirloom, I think the sentimental value to your friend far outweighs any monetary or historical value! Life is too short not to use the things we love. Well done on a difficult repair, you did good and your quilt karma is thankful :)
Great job with the repair Katrina. I wouldn't care what others say you have made your friend so happy and given her back a treasure to love more and more.
Nice job on the fix. I love that you took the time to repair it so it can continue to be used and loved.
I think the greatest tribute to a quilt and the maker is that it was used and loved to pieces.
That said, I think you did a great job of fixing it. hooray for the "leftovers"
I think it is great that she loves it and wants to use it, I would never jump down your throat or anyone else's for repairing it. My Mom had a quilt top that was hand pieced by my Great Grama in the 30's, but she never got around to quilting it, my Mom had it in a bag in her closet for years and when I started quilting she asked me if I would quilt it, so I brought it home and thought about how to quilt it. I had it in my closet for about 6 years before I worked up the nerve to actually quilt it.
After my Dad passed away I got to thinking about it, and decided I needed to get it finished as we never know what will happen tomorrow and I knew I had to get this quilt done so my Mom could enjoy it. I ended up machine quilting it because I had no idea how to hand quilt. My Mom was so happy to be able to finally use it and she proudly has it on her bed now. And when she is gone I will proudly display it in my home too. Heirloom or not, sentimental value wins out in my heart always.
You did a great job repairing the quilt for your friend, and I hope she is able to enjoy it for many more years to come.
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