Vintage Pyramid Quilt Top:Restoration

I just finished repair work on this vintage pyramid quilt top for one of my good friends Lin. It was a doozy to work on, with warped fabric and many seams that needed to be gone over or resewn altogether! One block was replaced and several holes patched. It is always so worth it in the end! I love that we can take something that was meant to be used at some point, that isn’t currently in usable condition, and make it something usable!

 

 

I didn’t end up with any fabulous photos (due to excessive pollen outside!)  Nevertheless, I’m very pleased with the result!

Fisherman’s Daughter: Good Morning!

Good morning from the Fisherman’s Daughter!

This pretty morning I was actually on  bait dock duty!…which basically means waiting for people who need bait, ice and/or need to unload the morning trap haul.  Also! I get peeler duty:)  I have to grab the softcrabs out of the tank BEFORE their “buddies” eat them:/  (and y’all thought I was kidding when I said Fisherman’s Daughter!)

Today was special because my great granddad took his annual trip out fish trapping today! My sweet waterman daddy takes him out at least once a year.  There were technically 4 generations on the boat today!  Grandaddy D., his daughter (Ru Ru) my daddy and my little brother!  Here are a few pics I was able to snap in between customers!

Daddy and Granddaddy D.

My “little” brother;)

 

 

One more shot for “coolness” sake

 

My daddy sorting food fish from bait

 

The “Miss Dottie”

The best part?…lol…I get to do it all over again tomorrow morning;)  Let’s just say fishing in any form isn’t really recreational for me!  Fish slime with a hint of crab is my summer perfume:/ Lol!

 

Rag Bag Quilt: Handquilting

 

I am currently handquilting the Rag Bag Quilt.  So far instead of marking my quilting lines I’ve just been eyeballing them.  The slight imperfection makes me happy for this scrappy quilt.  Unfortunately I found out very quickly I CANNOT eyeball the Baptist Fan pattern:/  lol!  I’m leaving in the sloppy stitches (which breaks my perfectionist heart) and I’ll have to mark the rest if the arcs.  (The picture makes it hard to see so you’ll just have to trust me…the fans look terrible;)

Rag Bag Quilt Top: Starting to quilt

I’m just starting to quilt the Rag Bag Quilt Top.  Just random, uneven lines to match the piecing.  Simple, easy and little to no marking the quilt top (which is always a winner with me!)

Lazy Monday

Today I’m thankful for a lazy Monday.  I have so much to do cleaning, sewing, writing, and getting some exercise but…..for right this moment I’m lazy;)  And I have a cat who agrees with me!

I found the little stinker in my fabric bin!…

 

 

She’s a crazy one after she’s had a nap, but from that face you’d never believe it!

I’ll get my lazy self in gear after lunch…maybe;)

Rag Bag Quilt Top:BASTED!

I spent the morning piecing a quilt back together from scraps, and the afternoon basting the layers together.  I’m using a wool batting for a change…fingers crossed I like it!  The top is warped in places from the previous quilters piecing… so I’m going to hand quilt this pretty.  I’m thinking an all over Baptist Fan pattern, but I’m not 100% sure yet. I’m not really wanting to mark a pattern on the top since some of these fabrics are 100+years old and they just don’t need me drawing all over them;)  So maybe just eyeball some straight lines…decisions, decisions…

I have a day filled with Easter traditions tomorrow. Church, family and food. So blessed and grateful for it:)

Happy Easter y’all!

Rag Bag Quilt Top: FINISHED!

I just finished putting the Rag Bag quilt top back together!  It’s a gorgeous day (although a tad bit chilly) so I took the top outside for a few photos…Unfortunately the wind disagreed!

 

LOL!   I guess I’ll have to wait until it’s all quilted to get a good photo.  I’m still working on finding a good backing…and I need to order some batting:)

 

 

 

 

Rag Bag Quilt Top: Starch & Iron

It’s a beautiful spring day in the south!  Perfect for opening the windows and starching a quilt top.

I have repaired all of the little holes and skimpy seams on the Rag Bag Quilt Top, so now I’m going to starch, pin and sew the quilt back together.  It’s currently in two pieces + two new strips to take the place of two old strips that were in tatters.  After ironing and sewing the rows together I’ll need to square the quilt up.  I’m thinking no borders.  Just hand quilt as is.  It should be a cute little quilt when I’m finished…fingers crossed!

 

My favorite starch…Mary Ellen’s Best Press

 

I’ve run into quite a few crisscrossed seams that need to be clipped and ironed correctly.  Here’s a quick peek;)

1.Carefully snip the seam… being careful not to cut the stitching!

2.Flip and iron the seam in the correct direction…and you’re done!

Easy peasy lemon squeezy;)

Rag Bag Quilt Top Repair

Working on the Rag Bag Quilt Top today!  Replacing and sewing over fabrics with damage.  I dipped into my civil war reproductions stash to find some close matches, and pieces that would go with the existing fabrics.

 

First off was this 1800s indigo with holes…

 

 I was able to find a similar fabric to replace it with.  It matches so well I have a hard time finding the piece in the quilt!

Like all of my projects I simply can’t refrain from adding pieces of Minick and Simpson fabrics.  Both of these fabrics worked great with the look of the quilt.

 

 

I have a few long strip pieces that need complete replacing and then the quilt can go back together!  Then the problem of finding a good backing:/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rag Bag Quilt Top: Fabric Identification

I found one of the fabrics from the “Rag Bag Quilt Top” in one of my fabric identification books! The fabric is dated 1870s-1880s…this could be a later reprint of the fabric.  The fabric in the quilt has color in the flowers instead of the background.  It’s such a sweet floral print.

Green

Purple

Bright Pink

Grey

Light Blue

Quite a few colors of the same print in one quilt!