quiltmonkey Posted August 23, 2008 Report Share Posted August 23, 2008 Laurie, my customer, has an old quilt that has some holes in a few blocks. This quilt is over 20 years old and I think some of the fabrics were not the best quality? Some fabrics faded, and some patches in the blocks are developing holes. This quilt is a treasure to her and has a lot of sentimental value. She loves it dearly and she wants to get it repaired. When I dropped off the Venetian Tiles quilt today, she showed me this other quilt and asked me if I could fix it. I told her no, I am not experienced with restoring damaged quilts but that I could do some reasearch on the computer and see what I could find. She is willing to ship it to the L48 states to a reputable person who specializes in repairing torn quilt patches. Do you have any good recommendations I could pass on to her? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belbelle Posted August 24, 2008 Report Share Posted August 24, 2008 Cindy Brick (www.cindybrick.com) is an appraiser and restorer in the Denver area. If your customer contacts her she may even be able to refer her to someone closer to you folks up north. Good luck, Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnHenry Posted August 24, 2008 Report Share Posted August 24, 2008 I sent you a U2U Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 Shana, I'm going to try this on an old quilt which is quite damaged.. They say to take a good piece of the fabric that is destroyed and color copy it.. then print it onto cloth and make a piece of cloth to match.. Sew it into the quilt where it is needed, and go to the next piece. It would't be an authentic patch, but would in our case, make it usable.. it's not now. It was made by hubbys grandma back in the 50's or early 60s. RitaR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnHenry Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 Rita! What an absolutely exciting idea! I never would have thought of that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimmiequilts Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 I am in the same boat, a customer brought me her 30yo daughter's quilt, which must have been made in the 70's with cotton/poly shirting fabrics for the background and polyester in many prints for butterflies on each block! Mostly the butterflies are ok but the shirting is so thin in spots and some seams are open. This girl really loves this quilt and is having her first baby this week. Her Mom isn't sure who made the quilt, possibly a babysitter, they were in the military and moved a lot. Her Mom wanted to fix it for her but realized the job was beyond her experience. Now it's here and I am picking brains as to how to repair and restore it. my fear is that even after fixing everything possible on the DSM the long arm will destroy the thin fabrics. Any ideas? One thought is to stabilize the entire quilt with a cotton fabric, then try to layer and quilt it, but I'm still not sure how the original backing will hold up. I am going to remove a partial border that is really bad and see what happens when I quilt on it. HELP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nora1234 Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 Hi Shana, I have been repairing old quilts for over 7 years now. Some were pretty bad and they turned out very nice. It is expensive but I do have a really great stash of vintage fabric to draw from. Let me know if I can help. Sincerely,Nora Alquraisha Millennium Washougal WA Near Vancouver Washington Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skrat Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 Rita, Thank you for the wonderful idea. I have a customer quilt that I keep avoiding because of torn background squares and being unable to find the same (or close to the same) applique fabrics that her great grandmother used, so now I have a fix for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 Thanks ladies, it really wasn't my idea.. I read it somewhere on a quilt site.. and it made so much sense to me. Play with the colors on paper, once they are dry, to get them as close to the same shade of color as on the quilt, I'd not want them to pop out looking like a new piece of cloth. RitaR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 Rita, The key here is that you read it and remembered it! LOL I'd read it before and didn't remember until you reminded me! I guess I've hit that time in my life where I better make written notes as the mental notes aren't lasting like they used to :P:P. It really is a terrific idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April W Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 Kimmiequilts, Has she thought about making a duplicate quilt instead of repairing the old one? It sounds like it would need an extensive overhaul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattyJo Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 That's a good idea April. Sometimes, you just can't patch/fix it without causing more problems. There is an end to these well loved quilts. To make as close a copy as possible might be the best thing.:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April W Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 I had one customer that kept bringing me her Grandma's old quilts to repair and finsih. The last one she brought was beyond repair, the binding was just gone from the front, several patches (over 100) were either gone or so threadbare you could see the backing, and the cotton batting fell out every time you even looked at the poor thing. I finally told her it was too late to save it and she had me find similar fabrics to make a duplicate "carpenter's wheel" in red, yellow and blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnHenry Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 Nora, I would love it if you would post a new topic (as opposed to adding to this thread) about your experiences repairing old quilts. Specifically "don't do this," "you wouldn't believe . . . ," "most unusual", etc., etc., stuff like that. Please teach us what you know. You could probably write a book! I think that it is a subject that almost every quilter would find interesting. Please let us hear from you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimmiequilts Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 I am afraid that replacing may be the answer in the end but I promised to ask around and you ladies are just the beginning. I have some wonderful quilter friends who can look at this quilt up close and in person, this way I will have a really good idea of what can be done! Thank you all so much and I'll let you know what is decided in the end! Though I doubt those poly fabrics can be found anywhere! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted August 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 WOW, THIS HAS BEEN A VERY INFORMATIVE CONVERSATION!! THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR WEALTH OF INFORMATION AND OFFER TO HELP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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