A Little Appliqued Quilt
My mother gave me an antique quilt fragment--eighteen appliqued blocks sewn together six by three. They were in very good condition, and very old, but there weren't enough for anything. Right before we left for Savannah I had that desperate must-have-a-hand-sewing-project feeling, and I decided to carefully divide the thing in half.
After cutting the stitches, I had two pieces each three by three squares. They're about three feet on a side, just right for a baby's play blanket. I took one along in the car and indulged in some hand-quilting.
Yum, those soft very old cottons. I put a soft, thin cotton batting in too. Really feels good to quilt.
12 comments:
Oh, they are lovely. And, yes, nothing beats aged, soft cotton.
There's something special about really old quilts.
Maybe one day a long time from now someone will feel the same way about the quilt I'm making. I'm about to start the hand-quilting.
Anna,
Your quilting posts have inspired me to try to complete a quilt I began a number of years ago. I am quite an industrious dressmaker, but quilting, I've never really done it. I am having great trouble trying to do the actual quilting. I've gone all out and bought myself a walking foot, but after many attempts still cannot get the top cover not to bunch, pucker and wrinkle when I try to do straight machine quilting. I've bastest per your basting instructions, but still with no good result. Would it be easier to hand quilt?
If you could help me I would be grateful.
Kind regards,
Sonya, Australia
Well, Sonya, you could hand-quilt, and you'd probably be able to avoid the wrinkling. Or, you could just lower your standards with the machine-quilting. After all, if the quilt top doesn't pucker a little, it doesn't really look quilted! I throw my finished quilts in the washer and the DRYER just to make sure they wrinkle up enough!
How charming! I too love aged cotton. So soft and welcoming :)
Have a wonderful day Anna!
~Sharon
The simple joys of maidenhood. It's a "good thing". Lovely to think about,lovely that you shared it.
I've machined quilted a handful of quilts and am ready to try hand quilting--I remember your post about how you quilt without a hoop and am going to try your method.
Also, your profile picture is really pretty!
Anna, I don't know if you are an eBay shopper, but if you are check out a store called "Charmedware."
Right now the owner is listing a broken china necklace featuring a Beatrix Potter owl. It's really cute. When I saw it, I thought of your owl softies.
How fortunate you are to be able to sew in the car - I can't. :(
They are just lovely. I think you've inspired me to set aside the knitting for a while and get busy quilting again.
Thanks for your reply, Anna. I might try the hand quilting.
Regards,
Sonya, Australia
How beautiful.
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