Not only a dreary day, but I have had it with this view of my neighbor's roof. When I set up my sewing room, my son and daughter were still living at home and they were in rooms with better views. Those are guest rooms now. So hey, why don't I just move into one or both of those rooms!! Brilliant, oh but what a pain... My husband and I did most of the move over the last couple of weeks - moving beds, dressers, desks, and yes the longarm. Now look at my new view:
still a dreary day, but there is a neighborhood playground and tennis court out this window and
Here I can see the neighborhood pool and my backyard where the dogs are frolicking.
I love my new location, but whew it was a lot of work moving all that.
I put my great-grandmother's quilt top on the longarm after the move.
Here are more pictures of it:
just the top
here is one of the blocks that I repaired, I appliqued the light blue background diamonds over some shredding fabric.
Another background repair with the sage green diamonds.
Here is how the quilt looked on the back, all hand pieced.
She used different colors of threads
I put a layer of muslin underneath the top to help stabilize the aged fabrics. Now many people told me to do this (add the muslin), but no one told me HOW to do that. so I spray basted the muslin to the back of the top. Then when I described my method to a friend who's a longarming genius, she asked me if I had pre-washed the muslin. Well, duh, of course I didn't, what a doofus! Then she asked me why don't I just put the muslin on the longarm and baste the quilt top to it... I could then take it off the longarm and put the backing and batting on as usual. So I took the spray-basted muslin off, washed it, and re-baste it on the machine... a much better method.
I added a pretty blue border AFTER I basted the muslin to the back. That also helps keep the muslin from shifting.
Okay, so it is all together and getting quilted now. Here's a teaser, with more photos to follow as I finish. I am using two battings, a cotton from American Fiber and Hobbs wool on top. I really hope this double batt doesn't make the quilt too stiff. I want it to be cuddly, but pretty too.
another view of my new longarm room, see the room is kinda rounded with those three pretty windows, and it is also gives me two more feet to get around the longarm. Not too sure about the lighting, but I can work on that later. Oh yes, and what a show off, I hung up my ribbons yesterday!
I got some more information about my great grandmother from my Dad last weekend. He remembers playing around her quilting frame as a child. He poked his finger with a needle and she told him he would forget about it soon. Dad is 83 and she was wrong, he still remembers it! He showed me a picture of the house where she lived and pointed out the upstairs room where her frame was, and would ya believe it has 3 rounded windows just like mine! I hope that her spirit will be happy to have this top quilted finally, even if it is on a machine!
Have a good day, I better get back to work, Karen
What a wonderful piece of heritage to have.. you told a beautiful story.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this process in detail. It means so much! I have a similar project—6 pointed stars in hexagon blocks too, and will be adding fabric to create a top before even thinking about the long arming. I had not heard of backing an old top with muslin so am thrilled to know. Will be delighted if mine turns out half as beautiful as yours! Thank you again.
ReplyDeleteLovely post, Karen. Great Grandma would be amazed to see what you've done with her quilt. It's amazing!
ReplyDeleteOh Karen, that is sooo beautiful! A little history for anyone interested... In the late 1970's, our Grandma Mickey (Christina Joly Comiskey) passed away. When her house was cleaned, this hand pieced quilt top was in a box with scrap fabric. My mother, Dorothy Comiskey Penney (the oldest of 10) didn't recall her mother ever hand-piecing a quilt top. Her Mother, my Grandma Mickey, had a sewing machine and knew how to use it! And boy did she! We grandkids have tons of clothes to show off, but that is another story.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, with the age of the fabric and the hand stitching, the descendants decided this quilt top must have been pieced by the original Grandma Mickey, Mary Comeskey, mother of Patrick Comiskey. The older generation spelled their name with an E instead of I in Comiskey. My mother took the quilt top home in a large box of scrap fabric and it became a "one-day" - as in One-day I will finish it. It stayed in her boxes until the 1990's when she downsized to a smaller home. Then my Mama, Dorothy Comiskey Penney, cleaned out her boxes and gave her fabric scraps to me. It then became my "one-day". I had room in my house and put the box of fabric away in the front closet. I never realized what a wonderful keepsake I had until I got married and merged homes. My husband referred to that front closet as "Fibber Mcgee's closet" for anyone old enough to remember Fibber McGee. As I cleaned through the closet and fabric, I re-discovered this quilt top. And, contemplated, could it be my "one-day"? Reality set in - nope, not likely. I am never going to do this thing justice! So.... I am soooo glad I reached out to my talented cousin Karen. She has expertly completed the job started 3 generations ago! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Can't wait to see your completed quilt at the 2018 Comiskey reunion! so wonderful. Love Alice