Monday, April 13, 2015

Quilt Repairs

Triangles/Thousand Pyramids Quilt

This is the quilt that I am currently repairing.  It is a quilt pattern I call Triangles, but it is also known as Thousand Pyramids (mine is just not a good example of a Thousand Pyramids quilt, though).  Like the majority of my quilts, it is a scrap quilt.  I sewed it in 1980, with fabric leftover from my mother's sewing, some donated fabric leftovers from an older friend of the family who also sewed, some recycled fabric (old clothes!), and an old bed sheet for the backing.  Only the batting and the border fabric was bought new, for the quilt.

This was one of two quilts my mother used, year in and year out.  It is soft and worn with use and much laundering.  Both quilts were claimed by my daughter, and of the two, this is her favorite, because it is so soft and worn.

 
Close Up
 Do you see the problem?

 
Closer Up
Some of the patches are in shreds!

So, I am making new patches from leftover fabric and sewing them over the torn patches.  The blue floral fabric on the left, below, are remnants from a dress my mother sewed for herself.  The pink gingham on the right, are remnants from a little sundress my mother sewed for my daughter.


New Patches in the Making


Some already sewn: the small floral patch in the center of the photo and the solid grey patch below it are new patches I sewed.  I am just sewing them in place on top and not trying to hide the fact that these are "repairs".
Patches in Place
When I look at my quilts, I take a trip down memory lane!  The red gingham patches in the picture above were from a dress my mother made for me.  The multi-colored plaid was leftover from a shirt she sewed me.  The floral print new patch sewn between those two patches is leftover from a nightdress my mother sewed for herself.  The green with black design was leftover from a dress she sewed for herself.  The pink "dotted Swiss" was a remnant from a nightdress.  LOL.

It would be easier to sew a new quilt, but daughter says it won't have the same feel as this one.  So, I guess, I'll continue to repair it.

Do you have an old quilt that is falling apart like this one?  Would you take the trouble to repair it?

Updated to add new photo:

Dancer Claims the Quilt!
 Dancer Kitty says he likes the quilt and would like it for himself!

8 comments:

  1. Oh, I am so jealous (in a good way!) How wonderful to be able to look at a quilt and see all those beautiful memories! I love the work you do and the fact that you take the time to share your creativity and memories with your readers. I do not have a quilt, but I do have an afghan that my grandmother crocheted. I always think of her when I am wrapped in it. I would definitely take the time to repair a beautiful quilt like you have and I'm sure your daughter will appreciate that you took the time to do it too. Thank you for sharing these memories! :)

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    1. Dawn, I'm glad you have an afghan crocheted by your grandmother. That makes it special, doesn't it? Thank you for your lovely comments.

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  2. Bonnie finished up a couple of runners for myself and daughters that was
    made by my mom. She used dresses, that were ours and also some drapes that were my MIL's. Very lovely to look at and remember the times the fabric was something else. It was suppose to be a quilt, but after consulting with Bonnie
    (yes our GONer Bonnie) we decided on the panels for us.

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    1. Yay, Diana, you got through! Happy dance! LOL. I'm sure those runners are very special to you and your daughters. And what a lovely reminder of Bonnie, too. Thank you so much for leaving a comment.

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  3. You gotta love the attitudes of cats :-) I could never repair a quilt so I would probably just use it til it was all wore out. I have my baby quilt my grandma made when I was born folded up in the closet and it has some parts coming off, but I'm not about to mess with it.

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    Replies
    1. Jess, what a treasure! Take it out, occasionally, and refold it a different way, to prevent fabric stress on the fold lines.

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  4. So proud you got the quilt finished.. It is beautiful and what beautiful memories. I do repair my quilts.. I have a couple that I need to work on now.. ha

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    Replies
    1. Judy, thank you. I like quilts that are made from scraps leftover from other projects, especially clothes, because of the memories associated with the fabric. You don't get that with fabric purchased especially for a quilt.

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