Throwback Thursday ~ Mom's Embroidered UFO Quilt

How many of you remember the Cross Stitch Quilt Block kits from way back in the day?  Did you make one?  Or did you start one and never finish it like me?  Mine is stored away somewhere deep within the sewing room, I think.  I might have tossed it or given it away.  If its here I haven't seen it in years.  This one was made by my mom.  She finished the embroidery way back in the 80's but never got around to piecing the blocks or quilting.  In 2013 she asked me to finish piecing and quilting it for her.

Mom was not a quilter but she had made a couple quilt panel quilts. The quilting bug never bitten her like it has me.  She was more of a seamstress, crochet fanatic and she loved to embroidery.   Before she passed I finished a few of her UFO's because she lost interest long before her battle with cancer.  I had only been frame quilter for about 2 yrs when I took on this project.  To be honest I was scared.  What if I ruined her beautiful handwork?  So I took my time and it came out beautiful.  My thought was to keep the quilting fairly light and simple because non quilters typically don't care for my quilt it death style.  We were both very pleased with the finish, that is until it was washed. The instructions to finish the quilt called for a larger seam allowance that was preprinted on the blocks.  Mom had assured me the preprinted lines would wash out so if I wanted to use the standard quarter inch seam it would be fine.  They did not!  The lines didn't even fade in the slightest.  I washed it several times and used many different tricks to try to remove the lines but they are still there today.  Oh well.  Maybe time will work it's magic. 

 

 One must find the positive and for this quilt it is that the back looks pretty cute and could it could be used as whole cloth quilt.  Of course the other positive is that mom made the blocks and I finished it with quilting.  It sure to be loved by one of the grandkids long after I'm gone.

In my eyes it's beautiful even with the dark lines.  Mom started teaching me to sew at a young age.  By the time I got into high school and was taking Home Ec classes I knew almost everything taught in the classes.  Ms. Coyle would often ask for help teaching the new skills.  She would be on one side of the class room with a circle of girls and I would be on the other side with my circle of girls.  The only thing I didn't know how to do was make quilts.  I hand pieced one fan quilt block in a class and swore I'd never make another. I took that thing apart three times and it was still wonky. However I did make a chicken scratch baby quilt for my final project that year.  When I turned in my quilt at the end of the semester I told her this is the first and the last time I'll ever make a quilt.  And here I am today totally obsessed with quilting.  

Until next time...

I hope you find time to stitch up something sweet!

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Throwback Thursday

Are you ready for another blast from the past?  Before sharing my throwback quilt today I'd like to invite you to share your own over at Krista Quilts.  It's a brand new linky party and we're having fun sharing the quilts at the beginning of our quilting journeys.

My quilt this week isn't the one I wanted to share.  It just happened to be the first older quilt picture I came across while searching my old picture files.  Mom started this quilt when I was pregnant with my daughter back in 1987.  Well like mother like daughter, it became a UFO for 20 plus years.  This is what it looked like when she gave it to me to finish for my first grandchild.  All I can say is UGGGGGLY!  It needed a bit more character.  At the time I had a full time job that left little time for quilting, so it was laid aside and forgotten.

A few years later while rummaging through the ever growing UFO pile I ran across the hand embroidered blocks that I had removed, washed and pressed.  It was time for a shopping trip!  I took the blocks with me to the LQS and found that the colors mom used in the hand embroidery matched very well with 30's reproductions.

Luckily I was able to find a muslin that matched perfectly with the fabric she had used over 20 years ago.  The quilt pattern was a freebie called Hugs and Kisses.  Moms embroidered blocks had to be squared up and enlarged using the muslin.

I didn't have a frame quilter at the time so I did some straight line stitching to secure the blocks for quilting with my embroidery machine.

Instead of giving this quilt to one of my grandchildren I gave it back to mom on her birthday in 2011.  The label reads

Embroidered 1987

by L.F. Mason

Pieced and quilted 2011 

by L.A. Brummett

It's not very often that my grumpy ole momma gets teary eyed but this put a lump in the grumpy Gerties throat.  Not the reaction that was expected...but better.  

~ Lea Anne ~

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This Old Quilt

At last it's done!  Yeah!  There's still some work to be done, we've gotta find a way to get the pre stamped lines off the quilt.  I've tried oxiclean, q-tip with bleach, white vinegar and peroxide, and synthropol on a q-tip...none of these worked, so it sits now in a plastic garbage bag, still wet.  Today I'm going to town to see what other harmful chemicals I can try...LOL  If I remember correctly RIT makes a color stripper. Gonna put that on a q-tip and see what happens, maybe some Retayne?  I think that's the name of it...they sell it in quilt shops along with the synthropol.  Well here she is with all her ugly factory  markings.  Momma started these squares back in the late 70's early 80's, they've been finished for years, all they needed was for the blocks to be sewn together and quilted.  I've had them in my possession for over a year.  My first intentions were to hand quilt...well the road to hell was paved with good intentions.

 Even though momma gave me the freedom to quilt as desired, I chose to stay fairly simple, letting the quilt still have the fluffy feel that most older quilters like.  

We decided that 100% poly was best, because again older people seem to like it, and momma didn't like the price of wool.  However I splurged and used 100 wt. invisafil white thread.  You should have seen her face when I told her what a cone of that cost...non quilters have no idea!

 Even if I can't get out those factory markings she could turn it over and enjoy the back.  I'm a sucker for the back...Baby got Back!

Momma won't get to see it for a few more days, hopefully without the ugly factory paint.

Until next time "Quilt out of your Comfort Zone!"

Lea

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