I bought this 16 patch utility quilt a few years ago with the intention of restoring it and as I posted in mid January, I decided it was time for me to not only finish off my UFOs but also work on restoring my antique quilts and quilt tops.
This top from the late 1800s was in 3 pieces when I bought it and some of the blocks were in poor shape. I took apart the damaged blocks and then joined them together again.
The other factor that has been delaying my progress with restoring these quilts is whether or not I should hand quilt them. I have quite a few to restore and really I don't think it's practical to hand quilt all of them, especially if it is a utility quilt like this one, as it would most likely have been machine quilted if the quilter had that option. So I decided to machine quilt it in a simple design that was often used at that time. This was an unfinished top and hadn't been quilted and was made from leftover fabric from work shirts and dressmaking, most likely to create bedding for family members or people working for the family.
You can see that blocks have been constructed as fabric became available and all scraps were used, even to the extent of creating fabric by joining light and dark pieces to create squares. I find it interesting to see that some fabrics were used as "light" in some squares and as "dark" when paired with other fabrics.
Now that it's finished I'm so happy that I decided to restore this top and complete it so it can be displayed instead of in pieces in a cupboard. I have another restoration in progress too and hope to have that finished soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac
1 comment:
You have done a great work with this quilt. The original maker has used creative solutions when she run out of fabric!
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