the quilt changed it’s mind

If you follow me on Instagram, you may remember this quilt that I’ve posted about several times;

I purchased her online specifically with the purpose of upcycling her into a quilt coat. She was in good shape. But not in great shape. And even though she didn’t look super-dirty, she WAS super-dirty!

This is her first bath. Does it gross you out when I share the quilt bath pictures? I just think it’s amazing the yuck that these quilts can uncover. This is probably the dirtiest vintage quilt I’ve cleaned so far.

Her backing was stained badly. And the hand quilting was in bad shape. This is just one of the stains.

The quilting was done with what appeared to be crochet thread. And in large portions of the quilt, there were knots on the top, knots on the back, and missing stitches too.

I decided right away that I would unpick the hand quilting and give her some new batting, backing and quilting.

So I spent a few evenings unpicking the stitches, and then Betty Jean and I went to work.

I chose to use a Baptist fan design for the quilting. The original quilting of the quilt was a loosely done Baptist fan, so I thought the original quilter would be pleased with that choice.

She turned out so good! Check out some of those fabrics, too! I especially love the yellow, peach, and green floral print!

I chose a vintage-looking black and white stripe fabric for her binding, cut on the bias. And it looks like it was meant for this quilt. And….. you might already know where this is going because I put a binding on her…

I just couldn’t cut her up to make a coat out of her. I let her sit right there where I could see her and looked at her every day, and in the end, I listed her in my Etsy shop.

I kind of miss her. But also, she was snagged right up, and so I’d like to think that she’s wrapping someone up with love, as she should be. And… it wasn’t long after that I found another quilt to rescue!