It’s three weeks since I last showed you my vintage quilt, this is the one from around 1880 found in my children’s grandmother’s house. It has a large piece stitched together and several strips waiting to be added. I’ve had very little time to work on it but I have done a lot of thinking and planning…
This is the main body of the quilt. It’s been fascinating studying it and working on it. Quite a few of the pieces are pieced themselves, the stitches are minute! It’s even interesting looking at the thread used, particularly for tacking, some of it is so thick it’s almost what we would now use for upholstery. I’ve started keeping bits of threads to go in the book I’m making about the quilt – the museum curator I spoke to last year about the quilt suggested I made a record of what I had done to it.
My main quandary has been a stripe of white (ish) diamonds which I am short of for the right hand side. You can see on the photo above there are diamonds already on the left side so it’s easy to attach the spare strips of tumbling blocks. On the right side however, they still need adding before I stitch another length of blocks. Whatever shade or type of fabric I tried seemed to stand out a mile. I did have a very kind offer for some vintage fabric, I’m holding that thought for the moment as I’ve had an idea…
Rather than trying to find a match, my thought is to make a feature of it. I want to use the writing on the pattern templates by having it copied onto a neutral fabric. I contacted my friend who prints onto fabric using her printer (I think) so I’m going to scan some for her to look at to see if it will work. I also need to check how colour fast the printing is as once finished, the quilt is going to need a wash, albeit a gentle one.
If my idea works, then I will have a line of written blocks down one side of the quilt, which I think could look pretty cool – if it works!!
Hopefully next time I share the quilt with you I will have done a bit more!
Hand Quilt Along Links
This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another. If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.
Kathy, Margaret, Tracy, Deb, Susan, Nanette, Edith, Sharon, Karrin, Gretchen, Kathi, Daisy, Connie, Monica and Sherrie
thecraftycreek 
This sounds really interesting! I’d actually suggest going with a colour you think is too dark and giving it a good hot wash to see if you can ‘fade it back’. An ecru or putty colour, maybe. With the printer fabrics, you may need to give them a hot iron to set the print, if I remember rightly.
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This is a most fascinating quilt to be working on but it must also be a little scary. I have seen people on the television taking photos and having fabric made, and I believe that fabric that has been printed on is washable. The problem I would imagine is, that whilst not wanting to claim its part of the original you still want it to look as though it is. Good luck, and hope it continues to go well for you.
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I love this idea Margaret, I hope it works! My thought on “aging” some new fabric would be to tea dye it. I think that might help it, and it wouldn’t all be exactly the same color, so a little more random.
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No ideas to add although those posted already all make sense. This is such a historical quilt. I know what ever you pick to do with it is going to be wonderful. I do like the ‘writing’ idea a lot 🙂
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I love the idea of including the writing and also the suggestion from Kathy. Good luck with whatever you choose.
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I love what you are doing here Margaret! I think the notebook will add to the historical value of the quilt. It almost makes me think that you should finish the quilt pieces in a colonial gray of all one color to let all who see the quilt know that those pieces are not the originals. It would be like the art curated in a museum where they leave the original alone and highlight its unfinished beauty.
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Love seeing this quilt, and studying the fabrics!
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I really enjoy seeing the work you do on this project.
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Hello Margaret, this is such a wonderful project for you to work on. I love the idea of including the writing, it would be so interesting, especially if you find a dated piece. Good luck with this and trying to match fabrics, coffee is also a good dye and I prefer the colour to tea but you’d have to experiment to see if you could get close enough. Love Mandy xx
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The writing is lovely and great to make a feature of it. The fabric that is printable is pre treated to fix ink after an iron usually. There is also something I use called Bubble Jet Set which you can treat your own fabric with before ironing to freezer paper to put through your printer. That way you could use different fabrics too.
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Brilliant idea and such beautiful hand writing. I think any new material might always stand out – so much better to purposely make your additions different.
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Love the idea of printing some of the newsprint! Such a lovely old top.
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That is a great idea! I hope it works out well for you!
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