Another Quilt Story

The phone rang Saturday morning just as I was dashing out the door.  My friend Mary answered my hello by continuing, "We are downsizing and I have a few things I thought you might like."  My interest piqued as she listed what she had set aside.  "I have a small stack of quilting books, sort of coffee table books, would you like them?"

Oh yes, of course I would.  Rarely do I refuse books from friends.

"And, I have an old quilt top, I bought at an auction, fifteen years ago, I think.  It needs quilted and finished. Would you like that as well?"

Most definitely a big yes on that one!  I love old quilts, fascinated by the fabrics, the designs, the workwomanship, and whatever stories the quilt may tell.

 I was not disappointed. The quilt top is glorious.  Mary was right--it was unfinished but only nearly so.  The quilter had finished piecing the top, some by hand and some by machine, as far as I can tell.  She had laid it out on batting and placed a goodly sized square of muslin underneath as backing.  It only needed to be secured by quilting or tying and then bound.

Since the fabrics seemed a bit fragile to me, I decided to tie it, rather than risk tearing it by machine quilting it.  And besides, I didn't want to detract in anyway from the majesty of the top...I figured the less I intrude, the more the quilter's artistry shines.

Using some high quality, fine wool yarn, I tied the squares at the corners. Delighting in the fact that not all corners matched, I celebrated the homespun honesty of this quilt.  As I tied the quilt, I examined each square, marveling at the fabrics and wondering when exactly these fabrics lived.  I am thinking maybe the 1950's.  There seem to be a lot of shirt fabrics, contrasted with small prints.  The red is exquisite, isn't it?  And the block pattern?  So simple but so effective.

The quilter left just enough backing so that I could simply trim the batting, trim ever-so-slightly the backing and turn it to the front, mitering the corners. Basically, the only things I added were the understated yarn at the corners and the thread used to stitch the binding.  While I now possess this quilt, it really still belongs to its maker.

I cherish this quilt and am honored by the gifting of it.  I loved working on this coverlet, thoroughly enchanted by to become part of the history of this art and part of the "herstory" of this one particularly beautiful quilt.