For the Love of an Old Quilt

A dear old friend reluctantly handed me a bag of deteriorated quilts, knowing that I enjoy the challenge of  transforming something old into something new and fantastic.  I've made lots of skirts and bags from old quilt tops.  I've even repaired some old torn quilts and restored them back to their former glory.  I could tell these deteriorated quilts were near and dear to her heart as she told me that her sweet Aunt had made these back in the 1930s.  She cherished them and was so disappointed that other generations of her family had not treated them well.  One of the quilts even had cigarette burns all over it.

I salvaged some star blocks from one quilt and decided to try making a few pillows.  As you can see,  these old quilts were stuffed full with carded cotton batting from the good old days.  I'm glad we have better batting choices these days!

These were very thick to sew through but my Bernina 750QE handled it like a champ!  After sewing the initial seam, I used the extra wide zigzag stitch to secure the seam allowance neatly.  Love that option to adjust the width of any stitch up to 7 mm wide!

I thought a square pillow would be a bit boring so I trimmed them like a hexagon and sewed them up.  It surprised me when they came out looking like a flower after I stuffed them!  If  I can come up with a few clever ways to cover up the burn spots, I might just whip up a few of these for my dear old friend.  I think she might like to give them to her great grandchildren just to keep them in the family.  

I'll be linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts Friday Finish blog this week.  

Progress

Lots of progress in my sewing room this past week:

Made a baby quilt from scraps for DH's coworker.  I started out with one vision and had to keep adjusting it based on the limited amount of fabric scraps. It was surprisingly fun to improvise and I really like the end result!

I tried a pieced back but realized too late that I didn't lay it out straight!  Must remember to check for this next time.  And will try to remember to keep my toes out of the photo ...

My new Persimmon jelly roll went from this

...to this

...and this

...and this...

...and lots more pondering...   I've come to realize that having a design wall in my sewing room can be a blessing and a curse!

Lastly, I've made it to my first goal for my handstitched Steampunk Quilt project. One dozen blocks completed and many more dozens to go!  These blocks were a bit challenging to piece but they are getting easier as I gain a rhythm with this type of work.  Still, I'm glad that I'm not under a timeline deadline for these little jewels. Kudos to Jen Kingwell for designing the pattern!

I will be sharing at Freshly Pieced blog and Crazy Mom Quilts blog this week.