A Vintage Finish

Quilting the actual quilt is my favorite part. If you’ve followed my work for awhile, this is no surprise. Somewhere before the pandemic, I purchased a few vintage quilt tops from Stitched and Found. And somewhere in late 2021 I actually finished it!

This quilt top was clearly made from old work shirts, mostly of the striped variety. Cleverly, the stripes alternate direction every square, creating a bit of a woven effect.

Since I started quilting this quilt while 7 months pregnant, I kept it very very simple. Navy sheet back, free hand straight lines following the directions on the blocks. I did start with trying to use a ruler, but I found my free hand lines were straight enough over the short distances. I did have to pause on the quilting when the baby bump got too big for me to reach the longarm handles…. but I finished it up during baby naps a few months later.

Binding caused a bit of a dilemma. I knew it needed to be a solid, to let the stripes really shine. But do I keep it more masculine with a blue or green? Or add a pop with this fuschia/pink? Clearly, the pop won… I think it was a good decision, and adds a bit of whimsy to what could be a stoic quilt (Quilts should not be stoic).

Its very lovely to me how many memories can be tied to a single object. I have no idea who the original maker was, but I’m pretty sure they would be happy to see a toddler drag it around, or roll up in it like a burrito, and just be used and loved. Because that’s what quilts are for.