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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Help ~ A family quilt, what to do...

This quilt my Auntie gave me to repair. She was given it from her Great-Aunt, who presumably made it.



I do believe the pattern is called Drunkard's Path. The fabric is in fairly good shape and it has been hand stitched -- the piecing that is. Because, interestingly enough it was NEVER quilted~!



I am astounded, but it's true there is NO quilting on this quilt whatsoever. And because of that, the batting is shifting all over the place. There are places on the quilt that have no batting at all. Yet, it hasn't balled up as much as I would expect so the batting must be fairly good quality.



Now the real question is what to do about it. Should I dis-assemble it and give it a rework. Fix the seams, give it a new back and have it quilted properly? Should I just fix the seams and quilt it as is? Seems unlikely.



I'm just not sure what to do at all!

It would also be great to get the full story about the quilt. I always find that stuff interesting.

6 comments:

Quiltdivajulie said...

At my house this is called a rescue quilt. My method is to liberate the top from the old backing and batting, fix any loose seams, choose new backing fabric and turn it over to my trusted longarm quilter. I know some may disagree, but I have been thrilled with the results. I'm in the process of creating labels for these quilts to honor the original creator (my grandmothers). Have fun with your project!!!

Julie said...

I agree with quiltdivajulie. Some purists may disagree, but I'd bet if you could travel back in time and ask the original maker, they would want you to fix it up and make it better!

Quiltin Jenny said...

I totally agree with julie and julie. Although I'm sure that appraisers would tell you it is worth more (in $$$) as is, I would be willing to bet that it is worth more to you if it is quilted and used.

If the back is in good shape you could even try to reuse it, or at least part of it.

Maybe even use a photo transfer for the label if you can find a picture of the quilter. What a treasure! Good luck with your project.

Sunny said...

I agree too. The top is fabulous. That pattern is my mother's favorite that I have yet to tackle. I did however purchase the curve master foot to do just that.

Anonymous said...

What a lucky find!! Lx

Rose Marie said...

I agree with the others ..... I would prefer to have a quilt that I can enjoy and use rather than have it just folded up or put away. What a treasure you have. I wonder why no quilting was ever done on it? That would be interesting to find out.