Spring 2014
The following quilts were made from tops found in my grandmother's house after she passed away and Grandpa was moving out of the home and into assisted living. All three were either smaller than a full size bed or partially completed, so I added borders and/or sashing as needed. All are machine quilted with free motion design; Each one will be passed on to her grandchildren.
This one was a completed bowtie pattern. It went to my sister, Barbara:
This one had many areas needing some TLC....frayed seams, hole, and stains. I repaired what I could, but the stains are set. I added a brown/blue border, and it goes to my son, Virg.
The next two were partial pieces. I added borders to enlarge them to fit on a full size bed.
December 2011
My friend, Helen Wright, mentioned on more than a couple of occasions that her mother made several quilts before her death in the 40s. In fact, she had a number of blocks that someday she hoped to piece and finish. Well, Helen is in her 80s and not in great health, so in a recent visit, I asked to see the blocks, of which there were 30. I suggested that I take them home and sash them together for her, and she readily agreed. The butterflies are hand-appliqued and hand-embroidered with the most intricate stitches! I studied and thought about how to put these blocks together, and after weeks....ok, months.....I finally got busy and sashed them together with 3/4" black strips. I had shopped and looked for a 30s print for a border and located one that I liked which also had a plethora of colors in it. However, when it came time to cut, I just thought it was too distracting. However, I found in my stash a one yard cut of Moda Wildflowers II which I thought was perfect: lots of different colors but a bit muted. So I went to my local quilt shop and I was surprised to actually find the same fabric on a bolt. I got enough to do a 6" border all around, directionally correct. I did a free-motion meandering all-over design, except I did outline each butterfly to preserve the original stitching. I finished the project at 6:30PM (with label) and delivered it to Helen at 7:30PM tonight. Her happy response was my Christmas Blessing! We were both crying (happy tears) within a few minutes. She said it was the most beautiful thing she ever owned. I was appreciative of the opportunity to bring her mother's work to fruition.
My first opportunity.....Nov.2010:
Notice the uneven selveges and the distortion between block sizes in these "before" photos......
After navy border, turqoise backing, cotton batting, turqoise binding & and an identifying label are added.....
The Completed Project:
A Second Opportunity:
This one had thick polyester knits, thin cottons, and a loose weave type of fabric that was fraying from age. It had hand and machine piecing which indicated to me that it was a joint effort by several participants.
Before:
After:
These two projects were created by the same Quilter...................I squared them up, added borders, backing, batting and quilting:
A work in progress......9/21/11
MaryLee Hamisch brought this project to me. Frank's mother and aunt made the quilt top many years ago. As you can see the pattern is a 6-pointed star, and the sides are uneven due to the design of the star. Photos below show the top in its entirety; examples of the piecing which included hand and machine sewing; a photo after the red border was added. Since then a white border has been attached, and it's ready for quilting. just waiting for Frenchy to return from Utah.
Quilting completed and returned in time for Christmas surprise for Frank.
Merry Christmas!
