Quilt Repairs

Helen's Tulip Quilt
December 2014
Maria, my nephew's wife, made this tulip quilt several years ago, and gave it to her mother. The nursing home frequently washed the quilt, and either the strong chemical wash or the laundering itself was not kind to the quilt. Since Maria lost her mother to Alzheimer's this year, the quilt had a special meaning for her. She asked if Marilyn and I could salvage enough of the quilt to display on a quilt rack.

We looked at the quilt and discussed ideas with Maria. We wanted to know what her expectations were. She rolled up the quilt and took it back to the bedroom. The following day, Christmas Eve day, Maria and Dwight went to visit Maria's aunt and uncle, so Marilyn and I tackled the project as a surprise Christmas gift.

Damaged portion of the quilt
This photo clearly shows the damage and its severity to one area.


We determined an action plan and began picking stitches to remove part of the binding so it could be reused.


Then, we made the first cut to remove the damaged section and allowing for seams.


Applique butterflies were ironed on some small holes and some larger ones, too. 

Marilyn tacking down the binding
Dwight and Maria returned before we were finished, so we had to wait until they went to bed before the quilting elves could add the finishing touches. The final chore was hand tacking the binding and the fabric we added to the backing to camouflage the seam. 

repaired quilt without butterflies to hide the smaller holes.
Marilyn presented the repaired quilt to Maria on Christmas morning. She was surprised and emotional: she thought since we had only given ideas and suggestions that we were not going to do the repair. Her hugs and tears were straight from her heart.


Comments

  1. You ladies are so awesome to repair that beautiful memory quilt for her!! It is gorgeous!

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  2. What a awesome gift from the two of you!

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  3. How wonderful! I can only imagine the happiness you gals brought! :)

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  4. Perfect example of what the Christmas Spirit is all about!

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  5. This is beautiful and you did a wonderful job in making it "live" again.

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  6. What a sweet surprise! How talented you are to be able to get that done so quickly and well!

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  7. Well You wonderful little elves! How fantastic. I like that you transformed it for her . Looks brand new

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  8. Oh, what a great story! You two gals are awesome! Beautiful work.

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  9. I have tears in my eyes! What a wonderful gift. You and Marilyn did an amazing thing. You are both so sweet and kind!

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  10. NIce work, Nancy! You re-created a treasure and lots of memories. Bless you both.

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  11. You two did a fantastic job on it. What a wonderful story too and now she has even more memories connected to the quilt. Bless your hearts.

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  12. WOW what a wonderful job....and I can imagine how happy Maria must of been!!

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  13. I LOVE this story! Every quilt tells a story and this one is the best I've heard yet!!

    Blessings and hugs!

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  14. Oh Nancy, this was just such a sweet post. I loved how you photo documented for us non quilters and I'm so happy for Maria.

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  15. Great result! I can't resist a quilt restoration challenge - you obviously feel the same.. Well done.

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  16. You two are amazing! What a treasured gift for Maria! I can just see you two stitching at warped speed, fingers flying. Santa would be proud - you two earned the Top Elf award!

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  17. What a great thing you did. It' sun fortunate that so much had to be cut off. But what was left will be a wonderful memory. Nice job ladies. Especially the surprise of it.

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