I just read Debbie's post with the lovely DWR quilt, and it reminded me of a question I've been meaning to ask for some while.
I have 2 DWR tops and another with a star pattern that I think is Christmas Star. These were among the things that I found in going through my mother's stuff after her death. My mom wasn't a quilter. She was an amazing seamstress, but not a quilter. My maternal grandmother was a quilter, as was my great grandmother. These 3 tops are all made with 30's fabrics, all hand pieced. They have been well stored. I'm sure they were made by my grandmother, and it is possible that one was made by my great grandmother.
I was told by someone that quilting old tops with todays threads and methods was not a good idea, as it destroyed any value of the original work.
I had been thinking that the only way to respect the work was to have them hand quilted (but NOT by me, thank you very much). I haven't done anything about it because I don't know anyone who hand quilts for money, and I'm not sure I could afford it anyway. But when I see the beautiful work you guys do on this type of quilt it makes me think it might be okay to machine quilt them. Way beyond my skill level at this time, but perhaps a future project.
I see posts here from time to time where someone has quilted a hand pieced top that got passed down some way. Seems to me that it would be better to complete them and have them available to view and love, rather than stored safely in a trunk. None of these tops are old enough or unique enough in any way to be of great value, except as a family treasure.
What do you think about machine quilting them vs. hand quilting vs. not quilting at all?