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Caring for Quilts
By: Joyce Moseley Pierce
For many years my mother worked in sales and lived out
of a suitcase as she traveled the country, but that
didn't stop her from doing some of the most beautiful
needlepoint and cross-stitch work I've ever seen.
When she retired, she quickly filled up the walls of
her home and kept the local frame shop in business.
After she had given favorites to her children and
filled every white space in her home, she decided to
start making quilts, but instead of just sewing the
pieces of fabric together, she cross-stitched or
needlepointed squares that would be sewn together by
the town's quilting expert.
I was the recipient of one of these beautiful quilts
but because my children were small, I didn't want to
leave it out on a bed where it might get smeared with
peanut butter and jelly, or even worse, colored with
crayons or a permanent marker. Instead, I folded it
up and put it in my closet inside a plastic zippered
bag that my bedspread had come in.
Well, when Mom came to visit the next time, she went
looking for that quilt. I assured her that it was
packed away and that nothing could harm it. After all,
it was sealed in plastic. Nothing could get to it.
Boy, was I wrong!
I learned a lesson from Mom about how to store quilts:
1. Don't ever store them in plastic of any kind! It
doesn't matter that your bedspread came in it. It's
not the same.
2. Don't store them in humid or hot climates. If the
temperature feels good to you, then it's okay for your
quilt. If you live in Houston you shouldn't even own
a quilt!
3. Don't store quilts in attics or garages. It makes
a comfy bed for rodents and insects.
Instead, you should:
1. Store your quilt in a pillowcase or sheet, or
roll it onto a muslin-covered tube.
2. Place a piece of fabric between the pillowcase or
sheet and your quilt to protect it from the acids
in the wood.
3. Twice a year, when the humidity is low and the
air is blowing, air your quilt outside, out of direct
sunlight.
4. Mark your calendar to refold your quilt every 3-4
months so you won't make a permanent crease in
it. Crumple up some acid-free tissue paper to help
eliminate fold lines.
If you feel comfortable in displaying or actually
using your quilts (and isn't that why we make them?),
you'll want to follow these guidelines to make your
quilt last longer and help retain its beauty.
1. Keep your quilts away from direct light. The sun
will make them fade and will age the fabric.
2. If you notice any tears, repair them as soon as
possible. Remember that "a stitch in time saves nine,"
and will help lengthen the life of your quilt.
3. Clean up any accidents immediately. Washable quilts
can be cleaned with cold water. My quilt, with the
delicate cross-stitching fabric and thread, would need
to be dry cleaned by an expert.
4. Before you wash, test the fabric to see if the
colors are going to run. Use a white towel and cold
water to test each color.
5. Do not put quilts in the dryer or hang them over
a clothesline. They should lay flat between two sheets
placed on the grass in the shade.
When I was a young, married woman I discovered a box
of fabric in my grandmother's closet along with the
pattern for a quilt that had been published by the
Kansas City Star in the 1920s. Grandma told me she
had bought the fabric when my dad was born and had
just never made the quilt. She told me if I wanted
to make it, she would pay to have it quilted for me.
I accepted the challenge, and without knowing anything
about quilts (or anything else!), I cut and assembled
all of the pieces. It was beautiful, and I remember the
pride I felt in knowing that I had sewn every stitch,
but even as I laid it across my daughter's
twin-sized bed, I could see how thin and worn the
fabric had become. I wish now I would have used the
pattern and bought newer, more sturdy fabric, that
would have lengthened the life of the quilt, but that
was just one of life's lessons I had to learn.
Going through the process of piecing that quilt helped
me to have a deep appreciation for all of the time
and love that goes into each stitch. As I worked on
it, I tried to imagine my grandmother as a young mother
and wondered what life was like for her. Was motherhood
as challenging for her as it was for me? Did she ever
imagine that she would have a granddaughter who would
treasure this old fabric and the bond it gave to
both of them?
Buying a bedspread is fast and fairly inexpensive
because they are mass produced, but you can't expect
it to give you you the same warm feeling as when you
run your hands over the stitches of a quilt ...
Author: Joyce Moseley Pierce
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Timely help for free quilt patterns on line
About Quilting Floating Nine Patch is a baby quilt sewn from a combination of Snowball and Nine Patch quilt blocks. Blocks are placed on point, with patchwork setting and corner triangles filling in the gaps at the ends of diagonal rows. I wanted the nine patches to pop out just a bit, but you could either make them pop even more, or put focus on other elements -- it's all about your color and color value choices. Floating Nine Patch Baby Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Monday, May 21st, 2012 at 12:55:50. Permalink | Comment | Email this Antique Tile Quilt Block Pattern The Antique Tile quilt block pattern is an easy block to cut and sew, with patch edges that are all cut on the fabric's straight grain. The instructions show you how to strip piece two of the units, but include cutting specs for those of you who prefer to make the block one piece at a time. Antique Tile Quilt Block Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Saturday, May 19th, 2012 at 21:20:26. Permalink | Comment | Email this Album Star Quilt Block Pattern Album Star was one of the patchwork quilt blocks used in the Scrap Happy Sampler quilt. I love the many possibilities this design offers for color placement, and more importantly, color value variations. I've included a 'blank' schematic of the block on page 3 of the pattern, so if you aren't sure which colors and values you'll like best, print it out and play around with the layout. You might even end up making an entire batch of these blocks. Album Star Quilt Block Pattern Album Star Quilt Block Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 06:00:00. Permalink | Comment | Email this Picnic Time Quilt Block Pattern Picnic Time is based on a traditional quilt block that's very pretty, but has lots of set-in seams that make it more suitable for hand piecing than for assembly with rotary cutting techniques. I divided a couple of the original block's patchwork areas to make this new version a cinch to sew. You can dramatically change the looks of this quilt block by altering color value within its patches. It's a good choice for a scrap quilt, but works as well when all blocks are identical. If you don't want to make a large quilt, try using Picnic Time to sew a table runner and sew them in pairs to create placemats. The block finishes at 14" x 14". Picnic Time Quilt Block Pattern Janet Wickell Picnic Time Quilt Block Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Monday, May 14th, 2012 at 07:30:38. Permalink | Comment | Email this Patchwork Table Runner Pattern This colorful table runner is made from four 10" square blocks placed on point and surrounded by setting and corner triangles. Two borders finish the layout, one cut from narrow green strips and the other from wider pieces of a floral -- both areas repeat fabrics used in the quilt blocks. The runner finishes at about 22-1/2" x 65", but you can easily change its length or width. The table runner shown was designed with a Christmas theme -- just choose different fabrics to change its appearance. © Janet Wickell Patchwork Table Runner Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Wednesday, May 9th, 2012 at 06:00:36. Permalink | Comment | Email this Flying Dutchman Quilt Block with No-Waste Flying Geese Make the Flying Dutchman quilt block with any combination of fabrics you desire. Try holiday prints, and sew a group of four or six blocks to make a wallhanging. Or sew a string of them together to create a quick table runner. We'll use a simple no-waste Flying Geese method to construct the block. Flying Dutchman Quilt Block with No-Waste Flying Geese originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Tuesday, May 8th, 2012 at 08:48:46. Permalink | Comment | Email this Which Way Do We Go? a Strippy Set Quilt Pattern I designed this quilt to work with a brightly colored Alexander Henry border print that was passed along to me after the death of my sister, Carol. It took me awhile to decide how to use the print, but this strippy-set quilt seemed to do the trick -- and it's a quilt that most everyone has enjoyed. Read through the pattern a few times before you begin making the quilt, just to make sure you understand the steps, and assemble a few of the Winged Square blocks before you make the units for all of them -- in case you need to make sewing adjustments... Which Way Do We Go? pattern PS - If you like the Winged Square blocks used in the quilt, be sure to take a look at one of my Table Runner patterns. It's made with a larger version of the same block. Photo © Janet Wickell Which Way Do We Go? a Strippy Set Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Sunday, May 6th, 2012 at 05:00:00. Permalink | Comment | Email this Missouri Puzzle Quilt Pattern I'm from Missouri, so I wanted to write a pattern that shows off one of the blocks named to commemorate the state. The Missouri Puzzle quilt is square, with sashing and cornerstones between blocks. The blocks finish at 11-1/4" square and the quilt itself is about 66" x 66". Change the layout to suit your needs by making more quilt blocks or turning the layout into a rectangle. Or how about putting four blocks together for a matching throw pillow cover? Missouri Puzzle Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Saturday, May 5th, 2012 at 07:46:25. Permalink | Comment | Email this Twinkling Star Quilt Block Pattern The Twinkling Star quilt block finishes at 12-inches square. There are lots and lots of little half square triangle units in the design -- just take it slowly and follow my advice on assembling them oversize and then cutting back to the exact dimensions. The little units provide the perfect opportunity to use your smaller leftover pieces of fabric (and for going super scrappy with this quilt block). The block was one of twelve used in the Scrap Happy Sampler quilt. Twinkling Star Quilt Block Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Thursday, May 3rd, 2012 at 05:00:58. Permalink | Comment | Email this Watercolor Quilt Pattern The three kitty cats in this quilt are peering through watercolor-style floral windows, and you can bet they're keeping an eye on the butterflies flying around the garden. This quilt pattern has been a popular pattern with readers, and although it does have set-in seams at the mitered frames, it is not difficult to assemble. If you're not a feline fan, place something else on the windowsills. Photo © Janet Wickell Watercolor Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012 at 05:00:04. Permalink | Comment | Email this Newsfeed display by CaRP |
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