Friday, March 26, 2021

Finishing Betty's quilt

 Hello everyone, and welcome to a spring weekend! It is, right now, at 7 am on Friday, 63 degrees. Also, quite humid, but we can overlook that for now in favor of happy dancing over the warm temperatures, right? An hour ago it was raining, but now all of that has burned off and it looks super-nice out there. Quite windy, but warm.
 
A couple of weeks ago, Preeti came over and visited for a little bit, and she saw today's quilt pinned up on the design wall. "That was here last time," she said. (Then she made off with a bag of my scraps, but that's a different story.) She was right, and it was time to get this baby quilted up. This one was hard to photograph, but here she is:
 
 
See what I mean about hard to photograph? The colors weren't cooperating. This quilt belongs to my sister-in-law, Susie. Susie's mom passed away from Alzheimer's disease, which she had suffered from for years. Carol was a quilter, and when cleaning out the house, Susie found this quilt in a bag, all basted and ready to quilt. The daughter and granddaughter of quilters, she knew just what it was and sent it on to me to finish. 
 
 
When I looked at it, the quilt was very nicely and securely basted (with red thread!), but it had polyester batting. I hated taking out the basting, but I knew the quilt would last longer and look better if I took out that basting and replaced the polyester with cotton. I'm all for honoring the original intent of the quilter, but I'm not for using inferior materials. It turned out to be a good decision, because this really turned out to be quite cuddly!
 


I also discovered this on the back:
 
 
The quilt was not made by Susie's mom, but by her grandma, who also died from Alzheimer's. I imagine this was one of the last quilts she basted, since she passed away shortly after this. Perhaps that's why it didn't get finished-- it was just too emotional to complete.
 
I kind of bonded with Betty while finishing her quilt. I must have met her at my brother's wedding, though I can't remember. Weddings are like that, you know? The embroidery here is very neat, with no stray threads, and the seams are just about perfect. Everything was pressed and trimmed very nicely, much better than I usually do it. Also, she made some design choices that I understood. Take a look at these pictures:
 
 
On the left is the inside of the quilt back, and on the right is the outside. It's subtle, but if you look closely you can see that Betty used the back of the pink fabric in the quilt. This is also true in the pieced top. The fabric must have been the "wrong" pink for her, so she used the back to get the right color.
 
 
Also, she chose to use the border fabric on the back and front as the binding, which was also packaged with the quilt. (True fact: I calculated that I needed 260 inches of binding, and there were 265 inches in the bag.)  The binding nearly disappears into the borders. I might not have done this, but it's interesting on her quilt.

 
To quilt this one, I used a fairly wide (3-5/8 inches) crosshatch in a parchment-colored thread which blended right into the quilt. Really, you can barely see it. I thought that Betty had probably intended to hand quilt this, and I could have done the stitch-in-the-ditch thing, but this secured the embroidered blocks and kept the quilt nice and cuddly. It was tough to stitch over that embroidery, believe me, but I closed my eyes and did it. I marked the lines with a Hera marker, and there are a few wobbles where the line was not easy to see, but overall, I like how it turned out. 

 
The backing was pieced and likely meant as borders on the back, and to use up the fabric, so I matched the centers to get it lined up properly. I think it turned out well, and fairly even on each side, and I love the picture above because of the shadows. The sun was in and out while I was taking these, and this time it made an interesting photo.

So, after all this time, Betty's quilt is finally finished. I've sent it back to Susie with the suggestion that she save it for a grandchild. Wouldn't that be amazing, to have a grandbaby using great-great-grandma's quilt? Just the idea makes me happy that this is done. 
 
 
Next time Preeti comes to visit, there will be something else up on the design wall and she can kick me in the pants to get that one finished, too. (Such a motivator!) I have a couple of things I'm still working on quietly, and I'm starting to feel more like myself. The sunshine really helps! And look what I found while photographing this quilt:
 
 
Flowers! My heart sings!

Hope everyone has a really good weekend. We might-- might-- go to a restaurant. The hubs and I have both been vaccinated and are now past the two weeks that you need after that to be safe, so maybe a little bit of normal life is in order. Whatever you're doing, I hope there's some spring sunshine in it for you!

Sharing at Finished or Not Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and Brag About Your Beauties.

17 comments:

Bernie Kringel said...

Hi Mari - what a lovely finish. Thanks to Preeti for the kick in the pants so you got it done!! I am glad you switched out the batting. Good thinking there. I have done several quilts where I used the same fabric for outer border and binding. I like the way that looks. This is super cute.
I hope you and your hubby go out to dinner - what a treat. We still don't have our vaccines but they lower the age to 50 on April 1st - shouldn't be too much longer!

Quiltdivajulie said...

HOORAY for those crocus blooms! And congratulations on the finish of that extra-special quilt. The best news in your post? That you're feeling better . . .

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

Flowers do make the heart sing! And so do finished quilts! That's a lovely one, Mari, and will be such a keepsake for your SIL and family.

Sara said...

That sweet quilt is a wonderful treasure. You did a great job on it, and replacing the poly batting with cotton was most likely a good decision. I've used the back of a fabric in blocks a couple of times to get just the right shade.

Wish someone would come visit me and leave with some bags of scraps. :-)

Ivani said...

It is a treasure, Mari.
Beautiful crocus blooms.

ButterZ said...

That’s such a lovely story and a beautiful quilt finally finished...

piecefulwendy said...

That Preeti, giving you a little quilt guilt so you got this beauty done. What a fun post to read and the quilt's history is bittersweet. How lovely that the family has this treasure. I hope it will be used, loved, and passed down for years. 63 degrees and humid - I'd take the temp, but will pass on the humidity, thanks! Happy Saturday!

Quilter Kathy said...

Oh how special that quilt is! And so lovely of you to finish it for this family... you gave them an heirloom treasure!

MissPat said...

Ah, warm temps, flowers and sunshine are the perfect spring tonic. You can be proud of finishing what is a family treasure for sure. We're hoping to finally have dinner out in two weeks. Baby steps to the new normal.
Pat

The Joyful Quilter said...

You did a lovely job of finishing up Betty's quilt, Mari! It was such a treat to see what a planner she was. Who even does that?! Putting the exact amount of binding with the quilt and having the label ready to attach? Incredible!

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

Such a special quilt, full of memories and love. You finished it beautifully and with lot of respect. It's going to be loved for a lot of years.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

What a sweet finish!! and how Sneaky of Preeti to goad you into the finish haha!! It is a great quilt, and will be much happier done !

Vivian said...

What a satisfying finish and a lovely quilt history! Can both you and Susie add your names (either by hand or with an additional sewn on label) to that back label too so that grandchild will know ALL of their family that collaborated to leave them that cherished keepsake? It will be cherished for sure!

Cathy said...

That generational quilt turned out beautifully. Your quilting was the perfect touch!

JanineMarie said...

What a wonderful time capsule of a quilt. I like how you made little discoveries along the way. It’s interesting how using the back of the fabric is maybe more common than we think—with the secret stored safely inside of the quilt. You did such a loving task of redoing the batting, making sure the the backing formed borders on the back, and then quilting it. I hope Betty and her daughter are smiling somewhere. I’m sure Susie is!

Preeti said...

Oh my!!! thank you for the "honorable" mention. I have used the back of the fabric when the right value was elusive. The crocuses are beautiful and we can soon get together again. And now the best part - this is such a sweet and darling finish, choc-a-block full of memories and blessings. It even looks like a cloud of grandma's kisses. You have created a heirloom quilt and you should be so proud of it. In fact, you deserve a treat. My treat. Big Hugs.

QuiltGranma said...

So nice that the quilt is finally finished. What a story it has to tell!