Restoring A Favorite Quilt: Basic Steps

It is so important to me that our family quilts be maintained.  The “Forever” in our name, ForeverQuilt, represents to us the heritage of your quilt.

     The talent and skill level of its maker, the materials used, but most of all the love and time that went into the quilt all tell a story.  Quilts are an American thing to me.  Made mostly, although less and less exclusively by women, I have a deep respect for each and every quilt.

     When I restore a quilt, I strive to retain the essence of the quilt.  If a quilt looks as though it was a beginner’s project, I don’t try to “fix it” so it looks as though an experienced quilter did the work.  That is not fair to the maker.  We all get better at the skills we take on, and each step is, well, sacred.

1.   The first step is assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the quilt.  Look for rips, weak fabric, material rot and such.  Remedies can include eliminating sections, combining sections or using interfacing products to shore up weak areas.

     Here is a short video to explain the assessment step:

                         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubwGdx0YRCY&feature=youtu.be

    2.  Repair damaged areas.  I began by using double sided fusible (you use an iron to make it adhere) interfacing.

     3.  After I had repaired the damage at the hem, I put the quilt on my longarm frame and basted it heavily.  You can do this step by hand or on your home sewing machine.  Be gentle and get good coverage because the next step is washing the quilt.

     I recommend a hypo-allergenic detergent.  So, of course, that is one without coloring or scent.  I think these sorts of detergents brighten up fabrics better, but that could just be all in my head.  Go ahead and add an oxygenating agent-they usually have “oxi” or “oxy” in the name.

     With all the basting I put in this quilt, I had no problem throwing it in the dryer.  If you don’t want to do that, make sure you lay it flat (cotton “grows” as we all know) and get some air circulating around it.

     4.  Now comes the step when I had seconds thoughts what to do next.  The repairs I had made with the fusible interfacing held, but the fluffing up of the quilt showed off the weakness of those areas.  The batting puffed up nicely but that was not so kind to the repairs.

     What to do next?

     My customer had told me that I could just cut off the border and “stick some new material on”.  Well, that is not an option, as most of us already know.  New fabric sewn to old makes the old even more vulnerable to tearing.  However, his permission let me know that he wanted a fresh look for the finished product. He’s sentimental about the memories, not every last stitch.  And that is the right way to look at a restoration project if it is not a museum piece.

     5.  Something’s gotta go.  Time to rob from Peter to pay Paul.  I call this step “cannibalizing.”

     However, before taking something away, I put something in.  Taking the quilt sandwich apart, I then had the three elements:  top, batting, and backing.  I gave the quilt a brand new 80/20 batting.  The 20% polyester will add stability and “poofiness” which I believe will cheer it up even more.

     Interestingly, it seems to me that often there is a sort of equity in a patchwork quilt.  Perhaps it is because the quilt sits on a bed in the sunlight.  One side takes the damage while the other is protected.  I like to think that God really, really likes quilts and helps to rescue them.

     A couple of good things here.  1)  The fabric is brighter.  Great news.

     2)  On the two worst patches, the strips on the opposite sides of the quilts were okay in places where the opposite patch was strong.  So the quilt was shortened by one row.  One row rescued the other.  And since the back of the quilt, being white, was very dingy at the edges (the washing highlighted this compared to the colored side).  So instead of bringing the back to the front to bind, I will bring the front to the back.  I think this will freshen up the quilt.  Instead of adding new fabric, the existing quilt top will give the facelift the quilt needs for an eye-popping fresh start.

     6.  Put the quilt top, batting, and back on the frame.   Quilt using a pattern that keeps the “mood” of the quilt.  I chose a pinwheel pattern because the piecing is a pinwheel  motif.

     7.  Remove the restored quilt from the frame.  Hem it.

     8.  Enjoy!

Christmas Secret Weapon

If you want to blow someone way with an unforgettable gift, one that will bring tears of joy and peals of laughter, I have just the thing. (Kicker: very little effort on your part.)

It’s a picture quilt.

Here you are enjoying your life and taking pictures. Perfect!

What is the best way to enjoy them? Right now they are in your phone or scattered at various places on the internet. Why not bring them down to earth and really, truly cuddle up with them.

Some picture quilts reach way back to childhood and some commemorate a specific event or year. Each one is unique to both the giver and receiver.

All are unforgettable.

I have looked high and low for the perfect firm to put pictures on fabric. I found them in my own “back yard”, small town folks who put people first. So, here is all you have to do: get your photos, digital or paper, to us. 

Prices start at $75. for a 24×24 inch wall hanging.  Add as many pictures as you like that will fit on your masterpiece, any size or combination of sizes from 2×3 inches to 12×12 inches.  By the way, Tom is great at retouching photos–like minimizing scratches.  We do not charge a scanning or repair fee.  It’s all included in the price.

Choose the fabric or let us take care of that for you.  The number of orders we can take and still guarantee Christmas delivery is determined by demand.  If you are even a tiny bit interested, give us a call.  Click the link in red above or fill in the form below.  We will get back to you with a quote.  With a deposit you can save your spot in line.  First come, first served.

I hate to say it, but Christmas will be here before you know it.  Will you have the knockout gift under the tree?

We were able to take a botched attempt at a picture quilt last December and  save the day for this family.  Nothing was salvagable from the original effort, but what surprise it was for all.  In fact, the sisters were so stoked about the outcome, they had more trouble than a three year old waiting for Christmas.  The unveiling is a moment to treasure.  (The start of the next picture quilt?)

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Quilt. Give. Repeat.

“The term “quilt” comes from the Latin culcita, meaning a stuffed sack. The word has come to have 2 meanings. It is used as noun, meaning the 3-layer stitched bedcovering. It is also used as a verb, meaning the act of stitching through the 3 layers to hold them together.

A quilt is a cloth sandwich, with a top, which is usually the decorated part, a back, and a filler in the middle.”*

Supposedly, quilting started in Europe, but I don’t believe it.  Not like Americans do it.  Quilting is the purest, most genuine, most endearing American art form.  And mostly, but not exclusively, practiced by women and girls.

I started quilting in the late 1980’s.  It was a natural next step for me.  I have loved sewing from the very moment I walked into the homemaking class that was full of Singers with self-winding bobbins.

Luckily, I had survived the first semester where I was expected to give a rip about cooking.  If I had been my teacher,  I would have been tempted to stuff a certain Sarah Folsom in a janitor’s drum and deposit her and it behind the school.  Ok, so a bit of an exaggeration, but I was bored out of my mind.  I remember two things from cooking class:

1) White sauce is a major yawner.     2) French Breakfast Puffs.  (I have the recipe if you want it.  You will be hearing more about these little gems in an upcoming post.)

I almost drooled when walking past the wood shop.  And I had to do that every single morning as my home room was an art class in the same building.  (Don’t bother asking me why I didn’t take Wood Shop–this was back in the dark ages when boys took shop and girls took Home Ec, and there was not even an scintilla of wiggle room on that score)  So that I latched onto sewing is entirely predictable; I was making something usable that would last more than 20 minutes.

I still have fabric from the first dress I made.  That about sums it up, doesn’t it?

So, while living in central Nebraska sewing for two kids (more for the fun than the necessity of it, and yes, I still have fabric from the stuff I made for them, too) quilting was inevitable.  I made Log Cabin quilts.  I made a rose and cobalt blue one for my folks, a pink and black one for little sis, two red, white, and blue (the flag quilts) just because and bought the fabric for another for big brother.   And then we moved to the big city.

My kids think I am crazy, but I did not want to leave Grand Island.  And while life is a stream and you can never really wish to go back, I still look back at those days with great fondness.

With the kids in school,  I did what lots of American women do: I went to work.  Many years passed, and the sewing machine was just a way to mend tears and make curtains from time to time.  Just a handy machine, taken for granted and not loved as it once was.

But about two years ago, it occurred to me that my life was lacking…..something.  I went to work, a great job that I loved.  I came home to supper made for me (take that, cooking class requirement).  The kids were out of the house and doing well.  So, what was it?  I realized I had no creative outlet.  I still had a sewing machine.  Two, in fact.  And I still had my knitting machine.  But sewing won out.  I had no little kids to sew for, so heck, why not go back to the quilting thing?

And I had a ready made project.  Actually three.  You see, the flag quilts were really just tops.  I had never finished them.  Then there was the blank slate of the concept of a quilt for Hank.  Just the fabric, but it needed to be done to settle the score.  He never got  a quilt of his own.

I dove in.  It was like riding a bike.  After 20 years  there was not enough fabric to finish the two backs the same.  I loved that, as it turns out, because the two are the same–but different.  And everyone we have shown them to prefer the one that had to be different from the original plan.

Then I opened my mouth and told the kids I was quilting again.  Hank laughed and predicted he would get his quilt at age 50.  A challenge!  Oh yeah,  you just wait and see.  And that is when the hook sunk in.

When I had started the quilt, it was for a queen sized bed.  In 5 months, he would be married, and the bed size would be a king.  This presented a huge problem as color availability varies more than you would ever know UNLESS you are trying to duplicate or replace 20 year old fabric.

I had to augment, rearrange and supplement the existing “stash” of material.  At each turn, I was thwarted and had to adjust the design slightly.  All of this was kept secret.  A big surprise for the wedding, yes.  But a friendly “gotcha” moment for the newlyweds.  It had to be wonderful and beyond any expectations–especially mine.

As I was nearing completion of the project, a poem came to me while I was trying to fall asleep.

“What started as one, is now meant for two.  So though you have laughed, the joke is on you.  God bless you and keep you for now and forever.  This quilt celebrates your happily e’er after.  Love, Mom”  So that was sewn onto the back of the quilt, and depending on the moment, the thought of it brings either laughter or joyful tears.

So, that was it.  Hooked to a magnitude of a gazillion.  Quilts just do that.  They are beautiful, warm, loving memories.  I cannot explain why with precision, but it is true, nevertheless.

Now I find myself in the business of quilting for others.  The work I do will bring joy.  I don’t expect to hear the intimate details of each quilt and what it means to the recipients.  I don’t need to know.  It is enough to be in a supporting role of passing a treasure from one generation to another.  It is enough to know that a quilt can comfort in times of trouble.  And it is enough to know that secrets, friendships, and families are built to some degree on the colored threads of a quilted bit of fabric.  And that brings my craft very close to immortality.  Very close indeed.

*Quilting-in-America.com