Old Quilts

In August, I bought a box that included 2 quilts at an auction.    I’ve washed the quilts now twice and they still smell a bit musty but are workable at this point.  My, the colors are so much brighter!   🙂

August picture

One night I was too tired to quilt but still up so started taking apart the bow-tie quilt.   First I clipped all the orange (yucky) ties.  I wondered if they tied it to cover up the mismatched blocks.   😉    The border from the top was wrapped around as binding.  I really hoped I’d find a treasure inside but not yet.   Just an old worn blanket for batting.

As I spent the evening with my seam ripper and a good movie (Letters to Juliet), I started to think that maybe the fabrics are from feed sacks.  Those pretty feedsacks they used before I came on the farm scene.  (bummer for me!)   The border fabric does not belong and I think was added later.

 

I don't think this quilter believed in 1/4" seams.

 

So I went hunting online for some 1940 & 1950 fabrics.   I ended up winning 2 ebay auctions Sunday for some matching feedsack pieces.  Mostly a gray background with some cream & pink boxes.   I think that will make a new border for the quilt.

I’m considering keeping the backing fabric but will decide that later.  I have also thought of looking for a 1940’s reproduction piece for the backing.  And binding fabric… still up in the air!  🙂

I have it all ripped out but have left the layers together.  In fact, still spread on the living room floor.  The seams of the blocks seem so tiny & some have big stitches, I wonder if being together will protect the seams.   ???   I’m anxious to give it a good pressing too!

Sometime, this quilt will have a continued story.   🙂

While I was at it and so comfy on the couch under a more recent quilt, I grabbed the quilt top from the same auction (dresden plate sorta…) and started taking the “plates” off the muslin see-through backing.   Here, the quilter liked such teeny-tiny stitches!!  Of course, stitched on by machine and I think the stitch length was set at 12 per inch!   I’m sure it would be 14 if the machine had such a setting.  Argh!!   I worked on one block Friday night and one and a half  Saturday night after church.  This will be a long winter project!   🙂

Phil thinks the maker made it so they wouldn’t come off.  ha.ha.