Rescued Grandmother’s Flower Garden Quilt

Breathing new life into a vintage handmade treasure

My latest rescue quilt

I want to recreate every inch of her. I love almost every piece of fabric she’s made from. I got my iPad out right away and started sketching. She is just so inspiring.

It really doesn’t show in the photos, but she had some issues. I was bummed to see that the white hexies weren’t all cotton fabric. But I still had high hopes for her. (The photo on my porch railing was taken before her bath.)

She didn’t smell so great, so I gave her a good bath. And even though she didn’t really look it, she was filthy. The water was so gross that I had to give her 2 baths.

Unfortunately, after her bath, it was very evident that the fabric prints in the flowers had been pre-shrunk before they were made, but the white cotton hexies hadn’t. And the white hexies, which weren’t cotton, didn’t shrink. So her bath caused even more issues, unfortunately.

I also discovered that some of the flowers in the quilt were smaller than most of the others in the quilt, but the white hexies used throughout the quilt were all the same size. So this added to the issues too.

No matter how much ironing, pressing, and starching I tried, I was not able to get the white hexies smooth enough that I was comfortable putting her on the longarm.

I contemplated trying to hand-quilt her. But there was just too much wonkiness to even attempt that. (This pic on the rocking chair is also before her bath.)

I wonder if I would have quilted her before giving her a bath, if she would have been OK? I just don’t know if I could do that. A dirty, stinky quilt with new batting and backing on Betty Jean? (my longarm).

I needed to decide what to do. She wasn’t a garage sale find, so I’d invested a little bit in her. And I didn’t want to just stick her in a closet or drawer.

Giving the quilts a bath can be a little nerve-wracking at times. Most of the quilts I’ve bathed have been totally fine. But I did have one where, as soon as the fabric hit the water, much of it just disintegrated.

Anyway, I made the decision to take all the white hexies out of this quilt and then do something with the flowers. I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet, but I’m definitely preserving the flowers!

I’m kind of bummed about it. She was such a beautiful quilt top. But the polyester white hexies, the smaller flowers, and the shrinking just weren’t working.

She’s going to be a work in progress for a while, but I’m absolutely in love with the prints and how well they have stood the test of time. They are still so bright and vibrant that I don’t really mind the work I have ahead of me.

I’ll share more as I go along, so be sure to sign up for the Pleasant Home Newsletter so you don’t miss her story. And of course, for early access to all things Pleasant Home! (plus a free pattern each month for newsletter subscribers).