Monday, May 4, 2015

UFOs DONE…after FIFTY YEARS!

When Sandy’s SIL got wind that she had taken up quilting, she had a light bulb moment!!  The SIL dug these two UFOs out of their hiding place and gifted them to Sandy!  They were tops made by her MIL and had been ‘hanging around’ for over FIFTY-SIXTY YEARS!! 

These UFOs had every fabric known to mankind in them…two scrappy happy quilts that just weren’t that happy!  The larger of the two was in sad shape…it was very flimsy, frayed around the edges and wrinkled…but then aren’t we all after 50 or 60 years of good clean living!!

Last week Sandy brought them to Heritage quilting…there was lots of discussion on how to quilt them.  I have a midarm so I took them home…we had decided that I should meander the heck out of them, just to hold them together, without putting too much stress on the seams and fabric…and that’s just what I did!

This one is the smaller of the two and was in better shape, mainly because the fabrics were sturdier…

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My midarm sewing machine did not like these intersections…I broke two needles before I realized that I needed to go around them!  DUH…

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I could feel mama looking over my shoulder as I put this one on the machine.  It was baggie in spots…stretchy in spots and some of the seams were starting to open…holes to catch my FMQ foot!  I drove like a crazy woman…avoiding the bags, sags, holes and seam points!

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And in the end…I LOVED HER!!  So pretty!  No pleats or tucks (whew!), a needle and thread will be needed for two of the seams.  Sandy can stitch on the binding and give her a good soaking…and she will wrinkle up the way mama would have loved!

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Can you see the sheen on that grey fabric?  Love that!  And I had a dress out of similar dotted seersucker when I was young!!

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When these quilts are bound and washed, Sandy is gifting them to her two grand-daughters…a gift from heaven from their Great Grandma!  Now isn’t that SWEET! 

BUT on a serious note…we have got to finish off our own UFOs  so that they don’t sit around for 50 or 60 years in someone else’s closet!!  If Sandy hadn’t become a quilter, these two quilt tops could have ended up at the Sally Ann or worse…used as a dish rag!  Let’s drag out those UFOs and try and finish off one a month…OK…OK…how about one a year?!  Better late then never!

Have a magical Monday and Happy Quilting!~P

11 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for the title of this post. It means I still have time - mine us only about 30 years old. Now, I'll go and read the rest of the post. I liked the photos (as I scrolled through.)

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  2. Oh my gosh, I can't believe that you have them both done in six days,(actually I can believe it). Sorry for all the challenges but I am thrilled.They look so different in pictures. Quilters really are the best.

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  3. Great job on the quilting, P. It's unfortunate that these beautiful quilts were stashed away for so long when someone could have been enjoying them over the years. Sandy's great granddaughters will be getting wonderful heirlooms.

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  4. OMG...60 years...I gotta get stitching! How wonderful you were able to quilt them...you are a wonderful person :)

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  5. What a wonderful story! I do hope that someday someone will finish all of my UFO's with such love and care. Thanks for sharing

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  6. Wow, I love some of the fabrics in that quilt. Those dots on the bottom picture are a fabric I would buy today! I have some cotton blocks I made in the 70's when cotton fabric was hard to find. I have some of the leftover fabrics too. I was thinking...that's 40 years ago almost! Yikes! Guess I still have 20 years to get those out of the UFO pile!

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  7. Loved hearing your story today. It does give food for thought about getting quilts finished. Your quilting definitely added to the charm of these quilts.

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  8. This is a touching story! The quilt was really worth to be finished... wonderful, I love the yellows!

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  9. That is wonderful! I like they are going to be given to the grand daughters of the maker.

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  10. What great old quilts; they look lovely quilted. I hope the girls treasure them.

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  11. What a strange construction for that first quilt. I guess someone told her mitres are better! But it is good to know that you all were able to rescue them, and I hope they will be well appreciated by the recipients. Good work!

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