An Old Quilt Revisited

Fourteen years ago, right after our cross-country move to Oregon, I made my daughter her college quilt.  From start to finish the quilt took eight weeks, including the (fairly sparse) hand quilting.  This is rephotographed from an old print of that quilt when it was newly completed, just before packing it in that small wooden trunk and mailing it off to her for Christmas that year.

Last week, while helping her clear out an apartment, I noticed the quilt's binding had become quite frayed along the edges, and offered to bring it home and rebind it for her.  She was a bit reluctant at first, saying this was her very favorite quilt and she wrapped up in it every night, but she finally relented and it came home with me for a few days.  So, this is what it looked like when I laid it out on the spare bed:

Faded - definitely, a lot!  Fourteen years of everyday use, countless washings in laundromats with Tide pods (yikes!) really takes a toll.

Fabric nearly threadbare and about worn out, but soft as a kitten!  Found about a dozen of those small tears on the front, no doubt from a few kitten and puppy claws through the years.   Now, this is one well-loved quilt!  I was happy to discover that the quilting threads had all held up to the wear and tear, and the poly batting, though a lot thinner than when it was new, had not bearded or lumped despite the sparse quilting.

A little patchwork ensued.

The original binding was that same dark blue solid used in the sashing, and had long disappeared from the stash.  I finally located a soft faded dusty rose fabric in a tiny print that looked like it would blend well with both the front and back of the quilt.

So, sporting some quilty band-aids and new binding, this one is ready to make the trip back to my daughter's place next week and will hopefully last a few more years.

Our spell of heat and humidity has finally broken, 44 degrees this morning when I turned on the coffee pot.  The garden is beginning to look like it is ready for fall to arrive.  I think we are too.

Taking shape - maybe?

After a couple weeks of internet connectivity issues, we have hopefully fixed the problem with my desktop computer where all the photo files are stowed, and I can get back to some blogging.  Amidst another small flurry of out-of-town company, a couple trips halfway across the state to help my daughter clear out an apartment, and the garden perking along, I've managed to finish sewing the basket blocks, 30 of them in fact!  So, we're now in that auditioning stage for setting fabrics.

If that design wall looks a little odd, it's because it isn't yet complete or attached to the wall, in fact these photos were taken about 10 minutes after I'd used all my T-pins to attach the heavy flannel to the foam board (the flannel having arrived via UPS not more than half an hour earlier!).  But, at last, I'm finally going to have a design wall!  Always have had to use the floor previously, which doesn't work at all well in the small rooms we have here.   Anyhow, another option;

My husband likes this second option much better than any of the fabrics in the first photo.  And, of course I'm leaning toward some combination of the first batch.  Did I mention there are 30 basket blocks made?  And only 18 are needed for the quilt pattern I'm using?  Yes, he will get his large quilt with the darker setting triangles, and there will be plenty left for a nice size lap quilt, and I'll have my chance to play with some other design settings and colors.  Win-win.  One more photo with a side-by-side ..

Gorgeous day yesterday, I happened to look up while picking a huge batch of green beans.  Brightest, deepest blue sky we've seen in a while.

These are the tallest sunflowers we've ever grown, some are at least 12 feet high.  Love their happy faces.