Two old quilts...

     There once were two old quilts that someone (BIL) kept telling me about.  I was asked if ever these quilts were sent to me would I be willing to fix them up.  "Sure!  Send them to me." I said.  Quilts must be in a usable state, right.  They must be used and cuddled with, not sitting around taking up space just because.  After a couple of years I gave up asking about them being sent here for their repair.  Then one day after my father-in-law's passing, a box is delivered with all kinds of treasures that were given to my husband that were his Dad's and the quilts were packed in also.

     Old and tattered they were.  I was shocked to say the least.  But no matter how bad they looked I was determined to make them better again.  The pinwheel quilt was the worst.  The entire front had to be taken apart.  Some blocks were salvaged but others had to be totally remade.  Luckily the backing was in great shape except for one little spot.  It was sad to see all that great old fabric beyond repair.  The colors and prints were awesome.  I kept thinking wouldn't it be grand to have a yard of this, a yard of that.  I would be in heaven.

     The churn dash quilt was better off than the other.  Only one block to repair and a whole new backing was put on.  Piece of cake.  The floral fabrics on this one were my absolute favorite.  Dreamy.

     After hours of ripping seams out, pulling out all of the yarn tied quilting, cutting out new pieces of fabric, salvaging what I could, the quilts have new life in them.  Basically all new fronts, all new batting, new and repaired backings.  Good as new, ready for a new life of cuddling.

Love the little heart I added to repair the one little whole on the original backing of the pinwheel quilt.

     It was a frustrating project but a rewarding one over all.  I thought often of the person who originally made them.  So many emotions and thoughts ran through my head during this project.  I'm just glad to put them back together so that another generation will be able see bits and pieces of a loved one who is now long gone.  It's nice to know that there was someone else in the family who created things either for necessity or pure joy.  Someone who loved the process of making things just like we do.  Now all that is left to do is make a label for each to record the original creator and possibly the repair "date".  Then they will be packaged up and sent back to my BIL, already for many more years of loving use.

~*~

Kar