Remember this photo from Monday? This is how Flora bound this quilt. It's kind of weird but I am so grateful! This is what made it possible for me to fix this quilt on the longarm. I had just enough fabric in that binding to pin to the zippers. As I rolled the quilt I would unfold the edge, pin to a strip of fabric and then I could use my clamps. It was perfect. This utility quilt got utility stitching. I nailed down the edges of every block with straight stitching and then did a stipple in each block. I found that it was helpful to use my ruler table on the longarm because I had to hand manipulate the edges a bit and the flat surface really helped. It only took a couple of hours to do all of the stitching/quilting. I used an off-white in the needle and a tan in the bobbin. The tan virtually disappeared into the back. This is a thick quilt so a 1/4" binding wasn't going to work. It would feel like cording. Flora used wide binding so I would too. Scrappy binding in feedsack fabrics, of course. I machine stitched the binding because a utility quilt can get a utility binding. Done! I am beyond thrilled with this quilt. It looks like something Flora might have made with anything and everything thrown in to make it work. I'm so glad I covered every inch of the original quilt. It really works with the chunks of other vintage fabrics. I took this photo before I washed the quilt (first time 40 years) because I was afraid it would fall apart. But it came out of the was in great shape. Here are some close ups of each section of the quilt. Flora loved that Dutchman's Breeches block. I had 2 of those and neither was square. You can see how my thread color completely blended into the back of the quilt. You can still see Flora's Baptist Fan quilting and my stipple doesn't looks as awkward as I thought it would.
I'm calling this project a huge success.
Pam
5/23/2019 12:47:18 pm
Wonderful. Great use of blocks to revitalize the quilt. A nice reconnect with your grandmother. I am sure your brother will appreciate it.
Mrs. Plum
5/23/2019 07:58:58 pm
The repaired quilt looks great! It would never have occurred to me to repair the quilt in this way, so thank you for giving me a new way to look at things.
Laceflower
5/24/2019 10:18:25 am
Great job and it is so charming. Time for the label!!
Kay Welch
5/24/2019 01:07:46 pm
And well you should consider this a huge success because it restored beautifully. I love how the original quilt is safely tucked in the restoration, the wonderful patches on the back, and the vintage block assortment look wonderful. Renewed life for a well loved quilt is worth the effort.
Debra Dixon
5/27/2019 11:44:24 am
Excellent! Great composition with the orphaned blocks. Very nice!
patty
5/28/2019 07:55:58 am
The quilt turned out great! I love the mish mash of blocks and vintage fabrics.
Mary Anne
5/29/2019 10:29:24 pm
This is great Vicki! Your brother is going to be pretty happy with it I think, and I'm sure Flora would be too. Comments are closed.
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In Bloglovin you need to search "Colorways By Vicki Welsh" to find the blog. About Vicki
I'm Vicki Welsh and I've been making things as long as I can remember. I used to be a garment maker but transitioned to quilts about 20 years ago. Currently I'm into fabric dyeing, quilting, Zentangle, fabric postcards, fused glass and mosaic. I document my adventures here. Categories
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