Sunday, September 15, 2013

A Quilt Re-naming

The beast has been tamed!  





And ain't she sweet?  I wish I knew her whole story.  Like many other items that get donated, when I found her at the thrift store she'd been rode hard and put away wet.  But after a little a considerable amount of TLC in the form of unpicking and re-stitching, she is as good as new.  The first time I thought she was done, I gave her a good pressing and found this:



Closer inspection revealed many more problems just like that.  I thought of removing her borders entirely, but the size and proportions seemed wrong.



Several sections of the border were sewn so close they had frayed edges, so I decided to take the whole border in about half an inch.

The second time I thought I was done,  I gave her a good pressing on the back side and found another half dozen popped seems.  More unpicking, more re-stitching, more pressing, more popped seems, rinse, repeat.


After I checked EVERY SEAM THREE TIMES, and repaired probably 30 small holes or popped seams I determined that she was, at last, in good repair.

Then I tried to baste her.

She would not lay flat!  Oy! The sashing must have been too short or something.  She had a huge ripple, and I did not know what to do about it.  After I consulted my friend, Dana, I decided to leave it as is, but tying it was the only option.  That way I could let the top have a little give.  I anchored it by machine quilting in the ditch along the borders and then tied up the rest.  I was lucky enough to find this Benartex print for the binding that they used in the quilt top.


At first I felt a little bad about donating a special needs quilt to a charity, but the more I think about it, the more fitting it seems.  She sure is pretty, even if she's got some inside scarring.  And she can serve a good purpose no matter what she looks like.

I may not know how she started, but I know how she'll end.  Some little girl in need will pick her out of a pile of donated quilts, wrap her around herself, and love her pretty pinkness for a long time.


And so she needs a new name.  On the beer goggles post, a commenter suggested I rename her Rose Colored Glasses.

Isn't that fitting?

XOXOXO- Pinspot

Linking up with 100 Quilts for Kids at SwimBikeQuilt

4 comments:

  1. What a lovely name, story, and labor of love. Thanks so much for linking up, too. Happy Sewing.

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  2. She looks great! You went through a lot of work to rehabilitate her, good job, I don't think I would've. I probably would've taken her apart for her scraps.... Some little girl is going to ADORE her!!

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  3. I think this is such a great story! And that really is a lovely quilt!

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  4. It's pretty but I'm not sure if I had patience to finish it. Well done!

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