Grammie Posted December 31, 2005 Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 Well I got to experience what a bad top is like and thought I would share. Being inexperienced and anxious to learn, my dad's (father in law) sweetie asked me to do an old quilt top for her. It is 50 plus years old. I thought sure so off to the closet she went. Out she came with this really ragged quilt top. It was a top where each family member had made a block and embroidered their family name and date. She said just buy whatever you need to get the job done and I did. Well I never could get it SQUARE as each block was kinda patchwork pieced and the edges were fragile. Overall the old fabric held up in my longarm. I added borders and I freehanded feathers around the circle fans as each block was different, some big and some small and poorly centered. Sometime the Blocks appeared just mooshed together with a big blank space. I managed to get it quilted and it came out ok and was a learning curve for me. Anyway, despite the years of poor storage and developed stains and stale smell I know the quilt means alot to the sweet old lady and now I'm glad I did it. She is now the only living person who has a block in this 72 x 92 quilt and I think she is 78 or 80. So after having this piece of History for years she will now be able to enjoy it. PS. I am adding the sleeve for her so she can hang it. Can't wait till she see it. I'll try to post a photo which will give a much better idea of what I mean by old quilt top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryLou5740 Posted December 31, 2005 Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 I just went thru a similar situation...a DIL asked if I thought I could repair a quilt that had belong to her Dad..."It has a hole on one end, where I stuck my feet thru it when I was a kid"...Good ole' me....I say "SURE! Bring it over, we'll do something to it". Why didn't the heavens strike me dead!. Inside was an old quilt that had been used as batting that was in disintegrated condition....the threads were rotten and didn't even need to be picked out. It had been stored for so long, and not put away clean, the odor was unreal...So I figured...after getting the old batting out of the middle that I would wash it.....I told her if it held together thru washing, we'd try to make something out of it. Her father had committed suicide just before she was born or just after..so this is all she has of him are a few old keepsakes I cut out all of the sections that were too fragile to do anything with and although it originally was double-sided fabric, I ended up with enough to make a front. I used a cotton batting, put flannel on the back and quilted it "MUCH" as I figured that would help stabelize it some. I don't know how long it will hold together, but she was tickled and guess that's all that counts...Like you, I feel good about doing it...it was no beauty when it was finished, but it was being loved. She said the next day that she'd laid down on the sofa and snuggled up under it and slept like a baby...isn't that nice! I'd do it again in a heart beat, even if it did use up a whole day making a project that no one could brag about. ML Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GERRY Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Maryloo you are kindness it self: What a sweet story, I have tears in my eyes. "slept like a baby", that was a kind and loving thing to do. I hope I get to do something as wonderful one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debberdo Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Repairing old tops and getting them quilted is my absolute FAVORITE thing to do! I collect old quilts from rummage sales so that I have period fabrics. My customers always have a loved one that means so much to them and to have the quilt finished is a life long dream...I just love making that dream come true! Of course, there are those quilts that I recommend that we just cut out a few of the best squares and frame them...when they are too fragile to do anything else. They like that solution, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltaholi_518 Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 LOL, I would rather have my teeth pulled without novicaine that fix a messy old top, BLESS YOU ALL!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TishMarshall Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 I too was given 2 old tops......wow. The first one was about 50 years old, not too smelly, and pieced very badly:(. It was bulky, bunched, seems all over the place and so not square! I did my best to square it with out taking too much of the borders off........ what I ended up doing was aligning the borders the best I could and patting the bulk down so it was incorperated into the rest of the quilt:), then did a loop/meander through the entire quilt. The looping did well for the parts that had weak seams and small holes. It actuall turned out so much better than I had expected. My customer was so thrilled;)... The second one was 100 years old, and I was hesitant to do anything with it but the gal insisted............so I did the same thing on it as the first one. It too came out well and the customer gave it to her mum:) for a Birthday present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 I was given 4 vintage tops to quilt. They are hand pieced and beautiful. I feel blessed to get to finish up these tops. The worst top I ever had was a new one when I first started quilting. The borders were so wavey and I had no clue of what to do, so I unloaded the quilt and took it to the customer's house - showed her the problem and she said, "oh just quilt it, I had a feeling I didn't do it right" This quilt has postage stamp and Ohio stars and applique flowers, all in pastels. It was beautiful. There were places that I had to make tucks over 1 1/2"!! In some places I lost half of the star. Quilting that quilt just about made me cry. So much work went into that quilt and then she just didn't care. So sad!! (Really sad that my name went on it as the quilter). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debberdo Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 One time I got a lovely black broadcloth polyester number that the woman had zig-zag appliqued stuffed diamonds in the center (a baby block design) in a triangle of sorts. If you layed it out on the floor it sort of sat there like a pyramid. I S-T-R-E-A-T-C-H-E-D it out on the LA and quilted the bajeebies out of it (except over the 'puffy' appliqued Wal-Mart polyester diamonds). When I pulled it off the quilter, it actually layed flat! The lady that owned the rental machine said, "Well, you've pulled another one out of the hat!" A great compliment indeed! 1 1/2 hours...I charged her $60... She still comes back to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltjunkie Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Hey Caron, I'm with you and I have actually had a molar pulled without Novacain so I know how it feels..and I have had 2 really old damage quilts in the last few months..and although they came out looking pretty marvelous..I'll stay with the tooth pulling. Hester:P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giftedhands Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 My husband's boss asked if I could fix the family "picnic" quilt that her grand-mother in-law made. I could not fix it (for less than many hundred dollars, replacing pieces, batting etc) and suggested a recreation. cw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debberdo Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Recreation...an excellent suggestion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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