Sunday, November 4, 2012

New Beginnings and Finishes

 Yesterday and today have been spent in sewing more blocks for Joseph's Coat as well as sewing on more buttons and it's nearing completion until I make the half square triangles for the border.
  I've also been deconstructing more bits and pieces that I've bought over the years. The first pink quilt was in poor repair and it looks better in the photos than up close. This is the one which I've been taking apart  and then re-making the Sawtooth Stars for a new/old quilt. The backing has some tears and the batting has disintegrated but I'm going to use some of the backing to make new star blocks to match the others. Some will be too worn to re-use and I'll use up the better parts to construct new blocks.
  I also found some suffolk puffs joined together in a small piece and as it was poorly made I'm taking them apart so I can use the fabric to repair quilts from that era.

 The last blocks are from 1880 and they were originally from a tied quilt as some of the ties were still intact. I'm washing the blocks prior to using them to make a new/old quilt. The hand stitching on these blocks is very well done and I'll have to be careful when I'm joining them and quilting the top as the fabric is not as robust as modern fabric. One block need repair but the rest are in good condition apart from some age marks. I've also washed a 1930s quilt top and plan to quilt that one next but as it's still drying that photo will have to wait until tomorrow.
 I love to make old quilts come to life again and I still have some tops and blocks from the Civil War era to finish off as quilts which I'll share with photos soon. I bought them all from the US over the years and as they are not historically significant, quilting them will help to prolong their life.
 More to come tomorrow.
Hugs, Jan Mac

2 comments:

Gina E. said...

You sound like you are thoroughly enjoying yourself! Your work with quilt UFOs reminds me of what I have been doing for years with vintage embroidered UFOs. I had boxes and boxes full of tablecloths, doilies, runners, etc. that had been started by women many years ago but never finished, and I always wondered why. I guess you wonder the same thing about your quilts...

kaiteM said...

How interesting Jan, you are reconstructing history.