Jump to content

Quilt Rescue on ebay is it addicting?


Recommended Posts

Is there anyone else who has caught the quilt rescue bug. I recently went a little wild and bought 5 tops under 20 a piece and now can't wait to rescue them. There feels something noble about it. Does anyone else feel that way? if finished a few tops for my grandmother who had passed on and I felt such a neat connection that I had finished her quilts. Pictures to follow when quilts are quilted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I\'m not sure if I rescued this one, but I won a bid on a large handpieced mariners compass. I paid $10.83 plus $8 shipping.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the large box to find a polyester quilt top. I went back to look at the listing and of course there was no mention of the fabric content.

Anyone done a polyester quilt?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by Ruthieq

Imagine my surprise when I opened the large box to find a polyester quilt top.

Anyone done a polyester quilt?

How stretchy of poly is it....and how big? If not to big I would almost line the back of the top with iron-on pellon light interfacing so it doesn\'t stretch while you quilt it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To RuthieQ:

If the entire quilt is polyester, hopefully the seams were sewn with polyester thread because polyester is stronger than cotton, and over time and with extensive wear

--polyester fabric cuts cotton thread.

--polyester thread cuts cotton fabric

Suggest quilting it only with 100% polyester thread.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ruthie - would love to see a photo - might be interested. Just doing ebay in

itself is addicting!! Yes - I have a bunch of old Grandmothers Flower blocks,

I have won an auction for hand embordiered blocks - that really need a

good washing.... some other blocks - that were a LOT more faded than the

seller said in the auction.....

My best yet - is a quilt top with hand pieced star blocks set with Bubble

gum pink colored plain blocks. I am still thinking about taking that one apart

and getting rid of the pink.... not sure.

This bug hit me after an all day class with Darlene Zimmerman, the "Feed

Sack Lady" She is an inspiration for taking apart something old, adding a bit

of new, and making it wonderful. Such ideas - and such a sweet person!!!

Right now I have all of these treasure well hidden from my husband! Don\'t

tell on me - please!??! I know just what he would say.... "As if you need

another project!":cool:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, confession time.....I did 2 polyester quilt tops for a customer who\'s

mom had pieced them. The largest one, king size was four patch, It quilted great with a cotton lining and poly batting. I used poly/cotton 2 ply Maxi-lock (thats what we used back then on utility quilts) and a rose panto. The second one was a Queen size. Stars of all sizes, mixed with cottons and ?????? she had. I used a star panto for this one, I quilted both for $150.00.

This was in 1997, one of my 1st customers, I couldn\'t turn down money back then and had no idea that poly was not ideal for quilts. I used a #18 needle, at that time had no idea about ball point. My customer loved them and told other ladies about me, word of mouth. I\'ve had the occasional

quilt top pass through my hands in yard sales, auctions and second hand shops, which I of course I haunt in my never ending quest for the "Buy".

I had a poly top quilt given to me and am quite embarrassed that I gave it to the dogs for their igloo. The dogs buried it in the back yard, I found it a year later gardening. I hosed it off and washed it and it looked like new, except for the chewed spots the dogs ate. I apologize to the little old lady who gave it to me, my dogs did enjoy it. The quilt below was one I did in 1997, I stippled the whole thing, the blue and pink and navy blue, looks like black were poly, the rest was a mix of everything. I had no problems with this one except that it was D cup, and all bias and stretchy, but is squared up and layed flat.

Quilt-On;)

post--13461898672498_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found a finished quilt (don\'t know the pattern) and a double-wedding ring top at a yard sale for $1 each! They are in nearly perfect condition and appear to be quite old.

I couldn\'t believe it when I saw a corner peaking out from under a bunch of stuff. I pulled them out, paid my $2 without even looking at them and RAN to the car before the seller realized what she had done.

They are entirely pieced/quilted by hand. Someone\'s hard work and they were sold at a yard sale. Lucky for me!

post--13461898673299_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tracie - Lucky - LUCKY you!! Love them both!

Ruthie - that is a very nice looking quilt - I would just quilt it up anyhow as

a good practice piece if nothing else, for ideas of what to do on such a quilt.

I like the colors, and it has such very nice points too. Somebody worked

hard on that baby. I would every think about doing handwork with poly

fabrics, so thick....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought 8 or 9 ebay tops when I first got my millie and haven\'t done a single one yet. My husband took a liking to a scrappy blue Irish chain and has been lobbying for me to quilt it for him. He never took that much interest in any of the tops I made for him!!!! grr So it\'s on the machine now and when i finish I\'ll post pics. I\'m crosshatching the border and waiting for delivery of some pantos; he doesn\'t like any of the pantos I already have except for the clouds & stars I used on a charity quilt. And he doesn\'t want any feathers or girly looking designs. I should quilt it with pink thread! ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have "rescued" 7 quilts now...get the top of the blocks of an unfinished quilt. Often I add better muslin to the Dresden plates. The original old feedsacks are so fun. I have been burned a couple of times,as you can\'t see exactly what they look like and some people display to best advantage so the top sells. Sometimes the history is included in the item being auctioned. My friend keeps wanted to adopt these old quilts when they are done, esp with the warm and natural batt, they cuddle really well. My children claim they will give my quilts to the homeless of St.Paul when I die...someday, they\'ll figure out how great they are!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Michaelalan Paul you crack me up...

I had a poly top quilt given to me and am quite embarrassed that I gave it to the dogs for their igloo. The dogs buried it in the back yard, I found it a year later gardening. I hosed it off and washed it and it looked like new, except for the chewed spots the dogs ate.

I would think you could do a full float on a poly quilt and it would work fine.

When I married my fist stupid husband...:D...it was in the mid 70\'s and everything was polyester...We were given a poly Lone Star...he got it in the custody battle because the quilt maker was a friend from his side. Anyway, it was machine quilted with clam shells.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I\'ve never been on ebay but if there are quilts to be had, I am gonna start browsing. Thanks to an ealier poster for the cotton/polyester thread advice. Since I have used polyester thread to quilt my last 2 quilts, which are cotton, I am going to have to switch to cotton thread.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re the polyester vs cotton controversy - check out the Superior Threads website for their "education" column. Keep in mind they produce and sell both cotton and poly threads. Bob Purcell and his staff have done their research. Boils down to this: Poly thread may cut fabric when it is used in piecing where there are pressure points and can be a lot of friction as the quilt is used. But when it comes to the quilting you can use either poly or cotton because the quilting stitches are not actually holding the pieces of fabric together in the same way as the piecing stitches and are not subject to the same type of wear. Many quilters are purists and only want cotton thread on their cotton fabric, and I respect that wish. However, there are so many wonderful threads out there today I don\'t think we should dismiss one or the other without checking further. The education section of Superior\'s website is a flood of information about all kinds of quilting/sewing topics. I recommend reading it. I\'m not affiliated - just a user of Superior threads who has had great success with them in my APQS machines.

Joann

Independence, MO

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...