WIP (Work in Progress)

It's been a relatively busy week, but today I was able to get back to the Quilt Repair Project. I started replacing the patches that were made of a black and white print fabric that have totally deteriorated over the years, leaving holes in the quilt. As I've said before, the fabric I'm using for repair is a scrap of feed-sack fabric that looks to be "vintage" like the quilt, in purple and white print.  Tiny bits of the original black and white fabric still can be found in the seams around the patches, but can be pulled out easily, thread by thread. If they are in the way of what I am trying to do with the replacement pieces I remove them.

So far I've done two of the seven replacement patches. I made a template from a note card and cut each patch as I go, including enough to turn under on all four sides. Then I press the fabric around the template with my iron and some spray starch. This has elements of the technique my Japanese Quilting Sensei teaches for machine applique. I am hand appliqueing however.

The patch on the left side is easily found as I removed the green binding before sewing it in. Can you see the other one?

While getting ready to sew in the patches I found another two inch segment of seam that needed resewing. I wonder how many more I will find? I'm also finding spots where the quilting stitches are no more. I will need to check the whole quilt with this in mind as a last step before doing the binding.

I've ordered a possible fabric for the new bias binding, it's due to arrive on Monday. It will be interesting to see how it looks and whether it will work.

Stay tuned for my further adventures!

Quilt Repairs Begin

On Friday I began the official Repair Of Bob's Grandmother's Quilt. First I made a diagram of the entire quilt on graph paper. I marked one corner of the quilt with a bright ribbon and designated that as the upper left. Then began examining the quilt top carefully for areas needing attention. Because the quilt is square it was easy to divide it into quarters. I marked the points on the diagram.  This process showed that there are seven patches that need replacing and several places where stitching has become undone.  

So, the first photo shows a very small area at the very edge of the quilt where one patch has begun to ravel.  I think that when I apply new binding this will be covered, but I un-stitched the binding and turned under the ravels and sewed the area down to the batting and the adjacent patch so that it is secured in any case. 

Next there were several areas where the seams had become un-sewn.

Which were fairly easily repaired.

Next time I'll start replacing the disintegrated patches. I'm using The Bottom Line's applique thread in a kind of pale gold color which is really disappearing into the various colors of the patches and the background as well.