September Goals: Stonefields, FrankenWhiggish, Inherited UFO + BIG News for Rebecca

Happy Labor Day in the United States and Happy September, everyone!  I have a lot going on right now and my Big News (which I shall reveal towards the END of today's post) is going to dictate which projects and tasks take priority this month.

Stonefields Quilt

First, let's talk about my Stonefields quilt, because I am delighted with this project so far.  These blocks have been such a treat to work on!  All 13 of the blocks from Month One are now completed and on the design wall.  All blocks will finish at 6", but the applique backgrounds were cut oversized and will need to be trimmed down.  Because I use starch and glue in my applique preparation methods, I am thinking I might wash my applique blocks before trimming them down to size.  The serged edges will prevent them from fraying whether I hand wash them in a little dish pan or -- gasp! -- put them in a lingerie bag and run them through the washing machine on the Hand Wash Delicates cycle.  Honestly, that is probably exactly what I will do, because I know the washing machine will get all the glue and starch out very efficiently and I am more curious about what will happen in the washing machine than I am worried about what will happen in the washing machine.  

Stonefields Blocks 1-13 Completed, Appliqué Blocks Need Trimming to Size

My Sawtooth Star blocks were foundation paper pieced on the sewing machine, most of my applique blocks were stitched by hand, but the final Posy Pot block is a mixture of some shapes stitched by hand and other shapes stitched with my Bernina B990 sewing machine:

Stonefields Block 13 "Posy Pot"

I am absolutely delighted with my customized invisible machine appliqué stitch and how closely I got it to resemble the look of my own personal hand stitching.  

Keeping Up With the Gretchens: Hand Stitching vs Bernina B990 Invisible Machine Appliqué Experiment for Stonefields Blocks

Good morning and Happy Sunday, everyone!  After my reckless but ultimately successful experiment on my Deco quilt last week (read about it in this post, which I edited and updated after coming back to the quilt and realizing that all was well after all), I decided to conduct another Mad Scientist Experiment on my Stonefields quilt project.  You may have heard of Keeping Up With the Joneses or Keeping Up With the Kardashians, but I'm all about trying to keep up with my blogging friend Gretchen who is cruising through her Stonefields quilt and leaving me behind in the dust!  Just kidding; I am delighted that Gretchen, Chris, and Hanne were all successfully cajoled into starting or resuming their Stonefields quilts (pattern by Susan Smith available here) as a very informal quilt along with me.  I know it's not a race, but I must be the slowest stitcher ever to have threaded a needle and it can be discouraging to put in so many hours and see so little progress -- especially since there are so many challenging and intense quilts that I want to make (I am thinking of YOU, Star Upon Stars, Down the Rabbit Hole, Simple Folk, and Happy Days!).  Behold my design wall with Blocks 1-12 completed.  Block 13 is another appliqué block that is prepped and ready for hand stitching in the coming days.  (This post contains affiliate links).

Completed Month One Blocks for Stonefields Quilt, One More to Go

Earlier in the week, out of mild curiosity, I timed how long it took me to stitch the 3 1/2" diameter cheddar print circle in one of my Pomegranate blocks.  Wanna take a guess?  

Hand Stitching a Pomegranate Block for Stonefields

It took one hour and seven minutes for me to stitch down that circle.  That was uninterrupted continuous stitching, not including threading the needle, trimming away the backing fabric, and not including stitching the light blue orange peel shape that I've started on in the photo.  No wonder I'm not able to keep up!  I am the snail of stitching!  

Two Very Special Clients' Quilts, and a Movie Star Moves Into My Studio

Happy Thursday, Friends!  I just finished writing a different blog post for TGIFF (Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday) that I've scheduled to publish automatically at 6 PM EST this evening, since that's when Friday begins for those linking up from Australia, so be sure to check back for that one and link up your own finishes, even if it's a small finish like a single block completed.  Meanwhile, I have a couple of extra-special client quilts that I've been wanting to share with you.  

Julie's Vintage Equestrian Applique Quilt Repair

This first one belongs to Julie, whose puppy chewed a hole through all layers of the quilt at the top edge.  These dogs sure do keep me busy, don't they?!  I neglected to get a good "before" phot of the entire quilt before I started working on it, but here's what it looked like when it was nearly ready to go home again:

74 x 84 Vintage Equestrian Applique Quilt, After Repair

Julie cherishes this quilt because her husband had it custom made for her as a surprise gift many years ago.  Their family is involved with equestrian sporting and I believe he may have even drawn the horse silhouette for the applique shapes himself.  He found a quilter to make it and was given a shopping list of how much fabric was needed, then went to the fabric store and picked everything out himself -- hence the assortment of calicos, corduroys, and poly blend fabrics in this quilt.

Detail of the Worst Damage Area

This quilt was made with a wide sashing between the blocks and a narrow, 1/2" finished width outer border in the same fabric that simply wrapped to the back of the quilt and was machine stitched in lieu of traditional binding.

Same Spot On the Quilt, Backing Side

Here's what that section of the quilt looked like after I'd repaired it:

Repairs Completed, All Machine Stitched

My client's budget dictated that all of the machine repairs would be machine stitched for this project.  The binding was damaged and falling off on all four sides of the quilt and would need to be replaced, and finding a suitable fabric was the biggest challenge.  I'd initially told Julie that I'd use a solid red for the binding, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.  My goal in restoring a family quilt like this is to have it look as much like it did originally as I possibly can, and although a red binding would look good on the quilt, it would definitely draw your eye and look different to its owners.  I could not find anything like the original ivory/red/blue print calico fabric in any of the local quilt shops I visited, but I did find a red and white polka dot fabric.  I was able to tone down the bright white background of the new fabric to better match the original fabric by coffee staining it before using it to repair the quilt.

How I Achieved Machine Binding Without Shame: Victory at Last!

I am SO excited about the most boring quilt that I finished last night -- because I completed the binding entirely by machine and, for the first time ever, it doesn't look hideous.  OH RAPTURE AND JOY!!

I'm Not Ashamed of My Machine Sewn Binding Anymore!

I pieced this top myself during the Charlotte Quilters Guild's Christmas In July Sit-and-Sew.  The idea was for us to get a head start on some holiday themed outreach quilts for patients who are hospitalized over Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.  I didn't choose the fabrics or the the simple alternating squares layout, and wasn't able to be as adventurous with the quilting as I'd hoped since my longarm machine was misbehaving (I think she's fixed now, though!).  So I went with a simple 1" grid with rulers in the red blocks and a large amoeba stipple in the white squares.  I have to say, I was a lot happier with the quilting after washing it than I was when I first took it off the frame.  It's simple but so soft and snuggly, with the bumpy quilt texture that I love!  I used a variegated red and green King Tut cotton thread in the needle (Industrial size 4.5) with a Forest Freen So Fine thread in the bobbin, and the batting that was provided to me by our guild's Outreach Committee.

40 x 40 Charity Baby Quilt in Christmas Fabrics

There are tons of binding tutorials on the Internet, and I've tried (and failed) with a few of them before.  What finally worked for me this time was a method shared with me by Vivian, who blogs over at Bronx Quilter.  I'm writing this up while it's fresh in my mind and storing it on the Internet so I can find my notes when I need it again.

How Closely Must You Look To Tell The Binding Was Not Hand Stitched?

My criteria for an acceptable machine binding may be different from yours.  I prefer the look and the process of hand stitched bindings for most of my quilts, but after timing how long it takes me to hand stitch all the way around the perimeter of a large quilt (?!!) I realized that not every quilt needs or warrants that level of handwork.  The quilts I'll be binding by machine will be charity outreach quilts for my guild and baby quilts that need to get done and out the door before the baby in question heads off to college.  

It's Easier to See Threads in the Fabric Weave Than It Is to See the Machine Stitches From the Back

What I wanted from a machine stitched binding was a fast(er) process that would look as much like my usual hand stitched binding as possible, and that's what I got with Vivian's method.  THANK YOU, VIVIAN!

So I remember for next time, here are the steps I took to bind this quilt:

• I trimmed my binding strips to 2 1/4" wide.  The Outreach Committee precuts binding strips in kits at 2 1/2" wide. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with binding that wide, as I normally cut my binding anywhere from 1 7/8" to 2" wide for hand stitched binding, but never wider than that!  2 1/4" was plenty wide enough for me, for this method.
• I joined the binding strips together as usual with diagonal seams, pressed open, and pressed the entire length of the binding in half.
• With my walking foot, using black 50/3 cotton thread and a 2.5 stitch length, I sewed the binding to the BACK side of the quilt instead of to the front of the quilt as I normally would, mitering the corners as I went along.  
• THIS IS CRUCIAL -- sew a few inches with a quarter inch seam allowance, and then take the quilt out from under the machine, wrap the binding around to the front of the quilt, and see whether it's covering the stitching line adequately without too much excess.  Now is the time to adjust that seam allowance a smidge wider or narrower, to get it just right!

Stitching the Binding to the Back of the Quilt First, Mitering Corners As I Reached Them

Note that, even with the binding trimmed to 2 1/4" wide, I still felt that it looked lopsided when I stitched it down with a quarter inch seam allowance and wrapped it around to the front of the quilt.  The folded edge of the binding went WAY past the stitching line it was meant to cover, which would have made the binding noticeably wider on the front of the quilt than on the back.  It also would have moved the final machine stitching line farther away from the binding on the back of the quilt, making it more noticeable.  So I moved my needle one position to the LEFT of center, enabling me to continue using the quarter inch mark engraved on my walking foot as a guide, but evening out the amount of binding on both sides of the quilt.  This was a fairly thin batting this time, however.  If I was doing this on a puffier quilt, say with wool batting or a double batting, I'd probably be safer with the 2 1/4" width.  But I would want to test this first on a scrap quilt sandwich using my actual battings in the event that my quilt had piecing lines that met a quarter inch away from the raw edge of the quilt top.  I'd hate to have my generous-quarter-inch binding chop off any of my precious triangle points!

• I left a 12" gap between where I started sewing my binding to my quilt and where I stopped stitching, with 10" tails of loose binding at both ends.  Then I used my trusty Binding Tool to mark, trim, and stitch those loose ends together with a perfect diagonal seam.  When I use that little acrylic guide tool, the joined bit of binding always  fits the 12" gap perfectly so I can sew the opening shut without any stretching or easing required and no one can tell where I stopped or started the binding.
• Next, I pressed the binding away from the seam line with a hot iron so the folded edge stuck out beyond the edges of the quilt.  I folded the miters of all four corners by hand and pressed them firmly with steam, and then pressed the binding around the edge of the quilt, ensuring that it just barely covered the black line of stitches on the front of my quilt.  I used those nifty Wonder Clips to hold the binding in place after pressing.  (I'm aware that some quilters glue baste their binding before machine stitching it down, but I went with the clips because I'm interested in a fast-and-dirty method for utility quilts, not a guaranteed-perfection-at-a-price method for show quilts).
• Time to change the needle and rethread the machine!  I put Smoke invisible monofilament thread in the bobbin due to my black backing fabric (YES you can wind on your bobbin -- just only fill the bobbin halfway and slow your bobbin winding speed down if possible) and Clear monofilament thread in my size 60/8 needle.  In retrospect, I probably should have used Smoke in the needle as well, since my stitches were landing on the binding fabric rather than on the fabrics of my quilt top.  I used YLI monofilament thread on this project, but I also like Superior's MonoPoly and Aurifil's invisible monofilament as well.

And now, for a BAD decision: I thought it would be helpful to switch the sole of my Bernina walking foot for the next step to the sole with the center guide, but that was a bad decision.  Next time I'll stick with the open view sole that I was using initially, since that would give me a better view of where my stitches are landing.  Also, the guide blade in the center of the other sole wanted to pull my mitered corners apart as I was trying to stitch them down.  Aaargh!!  No more center guide sole for this technique!  That sole is designed for stitch-in-the-ditch quilting, and that's what I'll reserve it for from now on.

Machine Stitching Binding to Quilt Front With Monofilament (Do NOT Use This Guide Sole Next Time!)

As you can see in the photo above, my binding wrapped around to just comfortably cover my black stitching line without too much struggling or too much excess, just as I'd hoped.  Again, this wasn't some magical happy accident -- it's because I tested the seam allowance and adjusted it to get it just right for this particular quilt before I continued sewing the binding all the way around the quilt!

Stitch Settings for Sewing Binding with Monofilament on My Bernina 750QE

• Per Vivian's suggestions, I sewed the binding to the front of my quilt with a narrow zigzag stitch.  I started out with Vivian's preferred stitch length of 3.0 but, since this quilt is destined for a hospitalized baby, I decided I wanted to have the binding more securely attached with the zigzag "bites" closer together.  I ended up with a stitch length of 2.25 and a stitch width of 1.5, but I could make the stitch width smaller next time if I use the open toe sole on my walking foot so I can see what I'm doing!  As you see in the photo above, I've got my needle position moved two clicks to the right of center, but again, that's because of the center guide on my presser foot sole.  I had to do that to ensure that my zigzag was actually on my binding.  The only other setting change I made was to reduce my tension to 2.25, which I honestly don't remember doing (this was late at night) but it was a good "autopilot" decision for the monofilament thread.  Too-tight tension is what makes invisible thread look objectionably shiny and not-so-invisible.

Not Bad, Right?!

And that's it, folks!  The Smoke monofilament thread would have disappeared even more against my dark binding fabric than the Clear, and if I reduced the zigzag width to 1.0 or went with a blind hem or invisible appliqué stitch instead, I bet I could make the binding look even more like it had been hand stitched, with the same speed and ease of application.  I can experiment with other stitches next time.  For now, I'm celebrating that I have a finished Christmas outreach quilt ready to turn in at our guild meeting on Wednesday.  I'm really pleased.  YAY!

Back View of Machine Stitched Binding, PRIOR to Laundering

Interesting side note: in the photo above, my quilting tension looks pretty wretched, but it really is not.  Those white dots you're seeing are the off-white quilt batting showing through the giant needle holes of the larger needle I used for quilting in order to accommodate the King Tut cotton thread, which is a slightly heavier weight.  After laundering the finished quilt, those holes closed almost completely and I can only see specks of batting here and there, where it was actually pushed out on the backing side where the thread passed through.  When I use dark fabric for my personal quilts, I like to use Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 BLACK batting to prevent that problem.  With this quilt's combination of black backing fabric and white squares on the quilt top, though, if I was hell-bent on making my life difficult that way, I would probably have put the black 80/20 on the bottom with a thin layer of white batting on the top to ensure that the black batting didn't shadow through the white fabric and make it look dingy gray.

After Laundering

See what I mean? I wash all my quilts as soon as I finish binding them as a personal preference, but this one DEFINITELY needed to be washed, since it's headed to a hospital NICU.  

Updated October 4th, 9 AM: WOW -- when I shared this binding technique, I didn't expect to stir up a huge controversy about the "safety" of invisible monofilament threads.  In addition to the comments here on my blog post, I've received numerous direct emails, direct messages through my Facebook page and from the Yahoo groups that I belong to or manage, etc.  Keep them coming, but please be specific.  If you're telling me that you have personal experience with quilt guilds, hospitals, or other charitable organizations that do not accept donation quilts that have any monofilament thread in them, I would like to know WHICH guild, WHICH hospital, or the NAME of the charity to which you're referring.  I would also like to know of any other restrictions that organization may have (do they require all cotton batting, for instance?  Or do they require fire-retardant batting?), and the reasons behind those restrictions.  Please know that I am never offended by someone who disagrees with me and I know that people are voicing concerns about this with the best of intentions, and I thank you for that.  However, I strongly suspect that 1) these restrictions are coming from quilt guild members and officers rather than from the charities and hospitals themselves and 2) the restrictions reflect concerns about the much thicker, much stronger nylon threads that have been used by commercial workrooms serving the hospitality industry (think quilted bedspreads and drapery panels in hotel rooms) or for mass-produced bedding that you might find at a big box store.  

I've started researching the tensile strength and melting points for a variety of threads so I can compare them to the monofilament threads that I use and recommend.  I'll be looking at 100% cotton 50 weight thread, the "all-purpose" polyester sewing threads, the lighter weight polyester quilting threads that are used almost universally by longarm quilters, as well as the heavier 40 weight cotton threads that designed for quilting by machine and the glazed cotton threads used for hand quilting.  From my personal experience, I can tell you that I can snap off a piece of .004 monofilament invisible thread MUCH more easily than I can snap off a piece of glazed 100% cotton hand quilting thread.  When I've compiled my research, I will share my findings here.  

40 x 40 Baby Quilt, Off My To-Do List and Ready to Donate!

That's all for today, folks!  I'm linking this post up with:

WEDNESDAY

·       Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

THURSDAY

·       Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation  

FRIDAY

·       Whoop Whoop Fridays at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

·       Beauty Pageant at From Bolt to Beauty

·       Finished Or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts

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·       TGIFF Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday, rotates, schedule found here: http://tgiffriday.blogspot.ca  

Vintage Quilt Repair + Mission Impossible: To-Do On Tuesday

Good morning!  I am astonished to report that, not only did I reach last Tuesday's weekly goal of completing half (24) of the blocks for Lars's Mission Impossible graduation quilt, but my mom and I got ALL 48 blocks done last week.  Woo-hoo!  They are all laid out on my design wall now, waiting to be sewn together.  

Mission Impossible: All Forty-Eight 12 inch Blocks Complete!

I just have a few decisions to mull first, such as:

1. Am I going to sew these blocks into rows next, or will I sew sets of four 12" blocks together into 24" blocks first, 12 "X" blocks and 4 "O" blocks?  If I make them into 24" blocks first I think I stand a better chance of sewing them together in the right direction, avoiding the dreaded seam ripper...
2. I need to work out a pressing plan for the seam allowances
3. I need to figure out how to remove that extra purple fabric from the corners of these blocks where it's all in the seam allowance

But while I'm pondering those things, I took a little detour and went back to that vintage quilt repair that I'm undertaking for a friend.  I had my 'Nina 750QE all set up for invisible machine appliqué piecing from the inside curves on those flying geese blocks, and that's the same technique I wanted to use to patch the vintage quilt.  All I needed to do was switch from the Smoke monofilament to Clear monofilament.

Vintage Quilt Top with Backing, Batting, and Yarn Ties Removed

Here's what I know about this quilt.  It was made by the grandmother of my friend (who is about to become a grandmother herself in a few months), and my friend's husband remembers seeing it in her parents' house before they were married.  Those are the only facts I know so far, but I've asked their daughter to try to find out more so I can make a label from the quilt when I've finished repairing/resurrecting it.

Exploratory Surgery: Removing the Shredded Orange Binding, Backing, and Polyester Batting

As I began taking the quilt apart, I realized that the fabrics of the quilt top were faded and weakened from UV exposure -- my friend had been using it as a picnic blanket under the Carolina sun for many years.  See how much more vibrant that paisley print is where it was covered by the binding fabric?

See How Vibrant That Pink Used to Be, Under the Binding?

I wish I'd taken pictures of this quilt front and back when I first got my hands on it at the beginning of February.  The bright orange backing fabric was shredding, hanging off the back of the quilt like ribbons, and exposing large sections of batting.  The front of the quilt had several large holes where fabric was shredding and disintegrating across multiple fabric patches.  

One of the Worst Holes, Located Near the Center of the Quilt Top

The original quilter had tied the quilt with yarn at 4" intervals rather than quilting the layers together, so I went into this with the idea that I would remove the binding and snip the yarn ties to separate the quilt layers, patch those large holes, and then layer the top with new batting and backing and machine quilt it on the longarm.  I did not even consider tying it with yarn again because the fabrics are so weak and the yarn ties were putting too much stress on the fabrics.  In several places, the knot of yarn had ripped right through the quilt top.  I think that quilting stitches will do a better job of marrying the top to the new batting and backing so they function as one, allowing the fragile quilt top to benefit from the strength and stability of the other quilt layers.

Original Yarn Ties in a Good Section of the Quilt, Spaced 4 inches Apart

One more surprise challenge was the construction of the quilt top itself.  There was a base or foundation layer comprised of several different white fabrics that appear to cut from cast-off garments and linens.  Like the quilt top, the base layer fabrics are different weights, different weaves, some cotton and some synthetic blends, and the quilter did not bother to remove seams and hems from these pieces before sewing them into the quilt.  Upon initial inspection of this quilt, I'd planned to leave the base layer intact, but once I got the quilt apart I discovered that the foundation was not salvageable.  It was badly shredding, those bulky seams and hems hidden beneath the quilt top could cause problems for machine quilting, but the kiss of death was the realization that the assorted fabrics in the base layer had shrunk at different rates from one another and at different rates from the fabrics in the quilt top.  It was all pleated and puckered where it wasn't shredding, making it impossible for the quilt top to lay as flat as it could without the backing.  Oh, and the WEIGHT of the base layer was making it difficult for me to handle the quilt top for repair without ripping it.  

Pieced Foundations Semi-Attached to Quilt Top

The construction method was kind of haphazard, with the quilt top fabrics pieced together in a random fashion similar to the improvisational piecing of today's modern quilters, and then those sections of pieced fabrics were sewn to the foundation fabrics only intermittently, with gaps of up to 14" between stitching lines that held the quilt top to the foundation.  However, some -- but not all -- of those seams were holding the quilt top patches together as well as attaching the to the foundation.  So, over a period of several days, I carefully snipped away the foundation fabric between stitching lines, using my duck billed appliqué scissors to avoid accidentally snipping into the quilt top.  There are also quite a lot of hand stitched repairs to the quilt top made by my friend that go through the foundation fabric as well, and I felt that those stitches were part of the quilt's history that needed to remain so I cut around those stitches as well.

Carefully Snipping Away the Foundation Fabric Along the Seam Lines

And of course, historian and vintage textile lover that I am, the whole time I'm working on this I'm trying to pin down an approximate date for when the quilt was made.  The number one rule of dating a quilt is that a quilt cannot be older than the youngest fabric in the quilt, and this one had polyester batting and polyester-blend fabrics.  I know that polyester fabrics were introduced to the market after World War II, but I have not been able to find out when polyester quilt batting was first sold.  If anyone knows, please let me know in the comments!

As for the colors and print patterns in the quilt top, those are telling me 1960s or 1970s, especially when I consider how much wilder and brighter all of the colors would have been before the fabrics faded.  I'm also factoring in what I know about the history of quiltmaking in the United States in the 20th century.  Quilting fell out of vogue post WWII with the growth of consumerism, readily available and affordable commercially made bedding, and people associating patchwork quilting with the hard times and "making do" of the Depression and war years.  Some of the older quilters continued making traditional quilts for pleasure, but this particular quilt doesn't mesh with styles that were popular with quilters in the 1950s and it's free-form construction and lack of uniform seam allowances suggest to me that this was made by someone who was new to quilting, someone who had not been taught by previous generations, someone who was figuring it out as she went along.  I feel like this quilt belongs somewhere in the Quilt Revival of the late 1960s-1970s...  EXCEPT...  My friend said her grandmother made this quilt, not her mother, and that detail makes me lean towards an earlier date (1960s) versus a later date (circa Bicentennial quilt revival in the mid 1970s).  Also, while the construction of the top suggests a beginner quiltmaker, the yarn ties were precisely spaced in a 4" grid with knots that held the test of time, and the double-fold binding was neatly and skillfully finished by hand.  I did ask the great-granddaughter to try to find out which grandma made this quilt, where/when she lived etc., and I'll be interested to learn how accurate my quilt sleuthing has been.

Y'all, if you are still out there making quilts without labeling them, you are going to drive people like me NUTS in the future!!  

Seriously, though -- this quilt is an example of the best destiny a quilter could ever wish for his or her quilts.  It has been handed down from generation to generation, literally loved to pieces, and the quilter's granddaughter still can't bear to throw it out because this quilt is a connection to a grandmother's love long after the grandmother is gone.  But, without a label, the next generation is not going to know who made this quilt or why it's special.  PUT A LABEL ON YOUR QUILTS, people!  It doesn't need to be fancy!  Just "Made by Sally Johnson Smith, Anytown, U.S.A., 2019."  Scrawl it in the corner with a Pigma Micron fine tipped permanent in pen and be done with it!  Your great-great-grandbabies will thank you for it.  :-)

So, back to my repair process.  Having a rough idea of when the quilt was made has guided me in selecting prints from my stash.  This is all about sentimental value, so I'm trying to make myself as invisible as possible in the repairs -- I want it to still look like grandma's quilt when I'm done with it, not Rebecca's version of grandma's quilt, you know what I mean?  I want my repairs to blend in.  I've bleached most of my patch fabrics because the ones in my stash that have the right 60's-'70s vibe have colors that are way too vibrant to blend with the faded original fabrics:

Scraps from my Pineapple Quilt Backing, Before and After Bleaching

Scraps of Tula Pink from my Disco Kitties Quilt, Before and After Bleaching

For those really big holes in the quilt top, I randomly pieced some odd-shaped scraps together first and then appliquéd them over the damaged section of the quilt top.  It was challenging for me to abandon straight lines and right angles in order to create a patch that didn't look like an obvious later addition.

Damaged Section Before Repair

I am just smoothing the quilt top over my ironing board, getting it as flat and smooth as possible, and then laying my patchwork patch over the damaged section, trying to match the edge of my patch to a seam line wherever possible.  I am turning the seam allowance under by hand, without measuring, deliberately making it a little wonky, and then flattening it with the steam iron.  When I'm satisfied with the patch and its position on the quilt top, I secure it with a bead of Roxanne's Glue Baste-It just along the edges and hit it with the iron again to dry the glue.  

My New Patchwork Section Positioned and Glue Basted In Place On the Ironing Board

And then I machine stitch the patch in place the very same way I was doing the invisible machine applique stitch to secure the inner curve on my geese blocks.  

Appliquéing my Patch to the Quilt Top with Clear Monofilament Thread

Now, I know what y'all are thinking -- your eagle eyes have spotted Tula Pink and Kaffe Fassett prints and you are judging me for putting such hallmark 2018 fabrics into a circa 1965-1979 quilt top.  Well, I feel like Kaffe's and Tula's prints have a heavy 60s-70s influence that works with the other prints, and they bring back some of the life and zing that the original fabrics have lost to fading.  They would also help a future quilt historian to easily date when the repairs were done, in the even that my new label falls off (or if I'm not able to get enough information to make a label).  But I selected the musical notation fabric and the disco kitty specifically with the quilt's current owner in mind, because she is an amazing (like EARTH-SHATTERINGLY amazing) singer and cat-lover who was recently deprived of a kitten under dubious circumstances.  So the kitty stays!

This Was the Other Really Bad Hole in the Center of the Quilt Top

Appliquéing My New Patchwork Section Over the Damaged Area

For the repair shown above, I bleached the coral floral print fabric and the Kaffe Fassett print on the right, but did not bleach the little schoolhouse print or the jelly roll strip of lavender Kona Solid.  

Back Side After Stitching Repair, Prior to Trimming

 After stitching, I flip the top over and carefully snip away the damaged portion of the quilt top beneath my repair.

After Trimming Away Damaged Section Beneath Repair

My invisible machine appliqué stitch is similar to a blind hem, but it's actually a tweaked Vari-Overlock stitch with a very narrow swing bite and tiny, short straight stitches between the zigzag.  Although I'm using clear monofilament thread in the needle, I've wound a medium beige 60 weight Mettler cotton embroidery thread in my bobbin, so you can see what my stitch looks like on the back of the quilt top - it's that jaggedy brownish zigzag.

See How Nicely That Repaired Section Blends Into the Quilt Top?

I Think the Kitty Cat Looks Pretty Good, Too

Yes, the kitty cat draws attention because he's a cutie, but I don't think my REPAIR is obvious in that section of the quilt so I'm pleased with it.  I

So now that I've taken care of the sections of the quilt top with the most severe damage, I'm sewing open seams closed where I find them and patching smaller holes.  There are a number of places where the quilt top fabrics have torn right along the seam lines and smaller holes sprinkled throughout the quilt.  It has to be a balancing act -- there are so many fabrics in this top that are worn to the point that you can see through them, but if I replaced ALL of them it would change the quilt top to the point that it would no longer be recognizable as the same quilt.  Remember that I'm already changing the backing and binding fabric and I'll be quilting it instead of tying it with yarn again -- those are big enough changes.  So I'm just going to focus on the most severely damaged areas, fixing the worst hole and then the next-worse hole and so on until it gets the the point where the top can be successfully quilted.

And so, my To-Do On Tuesday Goals for this week are:

1. Complete repairs on Vintage Quilt Top
2. Assemble Mission Impossible Blocks into Finished Quilt Top
3. Load Vintage Quilt Top for Longarm Quilting
4. Watch Judi Madsen's iQuilt Classes in Preparation for Paducah Quilt Week Classes

I'm linking today's post up with:

TUESDAY

·      Colour and Inspiration Tuesday at http://www.cleverchameleon.com.au

·       To-Do Tuesday at Stitch ALL the Things: http://stitchallthethings.com

WEDNESDAY

·      Midweek Makers at www.quiltfabrication.com/

·      WOW WIP on Wednesday at www.estheraliu.blogspot.com

THURSDAY

Needle and Thread Thursday at http://www.myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.com/