World Wide Quilting Page

Question of the Week

Question for the week of July 12, 2004:

Our question this week comes from Stephanie N:

I own a depression-era quilt top made by my great-grandmother. Unfortunately, my grandmother thought it required quilting before she gave it to me in the 80's and took it to a lady who machine quilted it with colorless invisible thread onto a mauve backing (trendy for the 80's). The quilting was done without regard for the design at all. I really think in this case the quilting detracts from the piece. Is the situation hopeless, or could I pick out the stitches and either leave it as a top or re-quilt it with hand stitches and a more suitable fabric?

Mindy :
If the top is special to you and the quilting really does make it gagsome, then spend the time--with a friend--and pick out the old stitches. If the quilting doesn't look bad, you can try to accept that this is what Grandma thought looked good and just smile whenever you show off the quilt.

Sue :
If you decide to start over on the quilt (and as a dedicated hand quilter, I would) think carefully about how you would like to see the quilt done. If you choose to have the quilt done by someone else, be sure to ask to see the quilter's work...I sent one out for hand quilting once because I had no time. I should have waited and done it myself.

A lady in our local quilt group had an unfinished quilt top that she had used for a number of years. She came to us asking for advice. Over the past six months she has been repairing seams and trimming threads. At this time she is hand quilting on a practice piece. When it is done, she'll start on the quilt her grandmother pieced. The project will take some time, but the finished piece will be very special because it has all been done "in the family". I'm awfully proud of her!

Charlotte :
I just want to cast my vote with Marie. You will always be unhappy with this quilt until it's quilted to your liking. Like Marie said, you don't have to take out the stitches in a day. Keep it by the television, and when you sit down for an evening, you'll have something to work on. Also, a good car project if you're the passenger on a long trip; OR if someone is long-winded on the phone, grab it, and you'll be surprised how quickly you can get those nasty stitches removed.

Marie :
I once made a quilt, used a wool batt and it machine quilted. The batt bearded like crazy. It looked awful and I loved the quilt ... so a friend and I picked out the WHOLE thing - tedious yes. It was requilted and today I am happy to report that it looks wonderful ..it's tedious and time consuming to pick out but you don't need to do it all in a day. If the fabric of the quilt itself is stable you should be able to pick out that awful invisible thread and restore your heirloom.... if you really love it. Good luck !

Kathy :
I think you have to ask yourself a few questions. (Some of them you appear to have considered already and maybe don't like the answers you came up with.)1. Sentiment--does the act of your grandmother in finishing the quilt, despite the fact that it does not appear to have been in the best interests of the quilt and not done specifically by her, make another sentimental tie for you? 2. Value--Is the quilt actually valuable in its own sake (There are a lot of Depression era quilts out there, and they are not necessarily all valuable just because they are old.) and does the quilting that was done destroy that value? Would restoring it restore the value? 3.The project itself--Would you enjoy the process of restoring it, the picking out the stitches and requilting it--or sufficiently enjoy the use of the quilt after that was done enough to justify the effort? I think you have to find a balance in your answers to those questions to decide how to proceed and it will be a personal decision as you may receive diametrically opposing views here.

Somewhat off the subject--I think that early invisible thread allover design machine quilting is what makes some people today say they don't like machine quilting. They haven't looked to see what is done now. Modern long-arm quilters (and us folks at our little machines as well) can do so much more than that to really enhance a quilt. Obviously not something that was done in this case.

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