For about the last month, I have been feeling like I haven't made much progress on any of my projects. Today I get to share what has been eating up all of my time.
For pretty much all of May, I spent at least two hours a day hand quilting this vintage hand pieced top.
I am happy to report I finally finished it.
My mom gave me this family quilt top about 15 years ago. (I guess she thought I was finally old enough to take care of it.) It is all hand pieced so I decided I would hand quilt it.
I loaded it onto my Ulmer floor frame and worked on it occasionally for a couple years. I finally put it all away even though I was only about halfway done with the quilt.
For over ten years, it all sat in the closet.
Well, the first of May, this project was picked for the month's UFO challenge. So I got it back out and put it in my big oval frame. I worked on it almost every night.
I really enjoyed looking at all the prints. I am guessing most came from the 40's. I think there were a lot of clothing scraps used in this. There are a number of hexagons that have seams in them (the orange piece in the center). Some are hand pieced but many are machine pieced.
On the back, I put a really nice muslin. I think it shows the stitching so nicely. (although my imperfect stitches are not much to write home about!) I also used the muslin as the binding. I just couldn't settle on a single color or print. And I have to say I really like the light binding on this - it takes nothing away from the quilt.
The quilt is fairly large (it is about 65 x 75) and not squared up real nicely. But it has so much charm! It will hold a place of honor in my 1940's livingroom.
Now that this project is done, I should finally have some time to work on some other things.
So far on my UFO challenge I am 5 for 5. June's project is a box of leftover fabric that needs to be turned into a quilt. This finish might be tough but I will give it a go!
I do have one other vintage quilt top to "rework". It is fabrics from the 60's and 70's but my Grandmother used an old wool army blanket for the batting. It has disintegrated so I need to take it apart and re-tie it using a better batting (but will still keep the pink yarn ties). I am a little afraid of the mess it is going to make.
But the quilt is a HOOT!
I want it for a picnic quilt so maybe this summer is the year I will finally tackle it..
Hope you enjoy your weekend!
Linking Up:
Oh my, Connecting Threads just came out with these new Faux Tweed Tonals. I have quite a few of the colors already sitting in my cart. :)
The colors are amazing!
19 comments:
What a special finish! I too am a fan of your binding choice! Did you recognize any of the scraps as clothing? I think seeing a fabric scrap you recognize is a hoot!
I'm sure it's mind games, but I think I recognize a couple of fabrics. It's far more likely they are similar to fabrics in a couple of vintage quilts I have purchased at flea markets.
Awesome finish and well worth the wait.
Bless your heart for taking such good care of this quilt and getting it through the finish line! Lots of memories in it I am sure.
That's an amazing finish, Cyndy! I bet it is really fun to look at this quilt up close and in person - so many interesting prints. It's definitely worth a place of honor in your house!
it looks great and so nice that you hand quilted it.
I don't think you will ever regret taking the time to hand quilt this one. The muslin backing worked perfectly as a binding. It sounds like it is perfectly at home in your living room!
The hexi quilt is beautiful! There is so much that goes into making the top and then to hand quilt it is amazing. I finished a hexi quilt top but trying to lay it flat and baste it is a huge challenge. Great job.
Good things are worth waiting for and your finished family heirloom is beautifully finished.
I'm looking forward to see your gramdmothers quilt.
You must be so pleased with this family treasure, great job doing all that hand quilting, and getting to the finish line! You will need a little break, then you can jump right in again with the next family quilt which you will be working on. How wonderful to come from a line of quilters. I'm the only one in the family, so dont know where the quilting gene came from.
Congratulations on this wonderful finish. Seeing it makes me yearn to finish my hexy quilt. Thanks for all the close-up photos. It's fun to see all those lovely fabrics from up close. ;^)
Oh, gosh! It's wonderful! I'm impressed with your hand quilting too!
There's probably lots of stories in some of those fabrics. My grandmother used to tell me some of those stories about the fabrics in her quilts that were made of old clothes.
Your perseverance is impressive. I do love the look of hand quilting. Best of all, the quilt is done now and not languishing sadly in a closet.
Definitely a treasure, Cynthia.
Wow, fantastic quilt! Love it!
It’s a beautiful quilt, Cynthia! Good for you, sticking to it and finishing it!
Gorgeous finish! What a special scrap quilt.
Just the fabrics alone make it a keeper. Hand quilting it really made it special and your choice of backing/binding.
Great finish! Congratulations! Disturbed that you have a quilt with an army blanket as batting and it deteriorated! I have used an army blanket that seemed in great condition as batting for a bed top I made using flannel sheets top and bottom…I do hope it won’t deterirorate! I. Chose it because the blanket was washable. I do think it was new in the 70s (1970’s, LOL)…I hope that counts?
This is lovely! What a great finish!
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