I wanted to make something for all my relatives--we are having a big reunion next month, but wool toys didn't seem like the right thing... I want something more meaningful. I have had an old quilt, made by my grandmother in the 1920's. My grandmother was about 80 when I was born and I never met her. I grew up with this quilt. It was old and worn, but we used it. I took it to college and grad school as a piece of home. My mom tried to repair it, and covered the most worn pieces with new fabric, but those patches always looked out of place. I quit using it and have just stored it. It is too worn to be a pillow, too worn to use, too worn for anything but display folded on a shelf.
So, I'm going to share pieces of it with my family. I don't know that anyone else will remember the quilt as I do, but I think all will appreciate seeing stitches made by a grandmother, great-grandmother, or great-great-grandmother.
I used fabric stiffener on the quilt and cut hearts. I added a button and a string to hang. We can use them as Christmas ornaments, scrapbook decorations, or whatever. I'm happy with how they are turning out! I actually think this was a pretty good idea. I have some other cutter quilt pieces that I want to play with using the same techniques. Birds? Stars? Garlands made from birds and stars? Hmmm. A lot of possibilities.
