Finished! Saving the Pink Fan Vintage Quilt.

100% finished, binding, through the washer/dryer, finished! I left you in the last blog post about at the picture below. It did take a long time to raw edge machine applique the stems and 3 different sizes of leaves, but when the last leaf was finished I knew it was time well spent.

See that pink spot at the bottom right corner below? Nail polish. I decided it should be left alone, why take a chance to further do damage by trying to remove it.

On to the flowers. Over the previous few months whenever I had a spare minute or two I was making yo-yo’s, 3 different sizes. I used the vintage fabric in the fans as a jumping off point in choosing the new quilting fabric for the yo-yo’s. Each flower got either a vintage button or a white ceramic bead in its center. The buttons were sewn on by machine, I sew on a Bernina and the #18 foot was a time saver. Initially it was my intention to leave the yo-yo’s attached to the quilt using only the stitching of either the buttons or beads. After looking at the quilt for a day or two I realized I couldn’t live with “floppy flowers” so they each were carefully stitched down around their outer edge by hand. Yes it took quite awhile but I was happy with the end results.

Remember from the previous blog I said I cut down the side border by half as as to have a matching border on all 4 sized? I sewed the new old border to the raw edge of the quilt body using a 1/4″ seam, trimmed away any excess batting, etc., pressed the seam open, machine straight stitched the seams open on both sides and finally, pressed once more. I covered this unsightly operation on the back of my quilt by sewing on a pink bias strip of fabric (think bias binding) so as to hide my quilt surgery. Worked like a charm!

Each side of the pink bias strip was sewn down by hand.

And finally, the binding. Do you know I once asked a certified quilt judge “If I hire someone to bind my quilt do I have to list it as a 2 person project?” That’s how much I dislike binding. You know her answer was a resounding yes.

But…it’s not finished ’till the binding is pressed! We all go to great lengths to make wonderful fabulous things but how many of you remember to press your binding once the hand stitching is complete? It makes such a difference! Take the time to press, you’ll be happy you did!

More stuff to think about: A few blogs ago I featured the Saving of the Double Wedding Ring quilt. In that project I used the quilt block to determine my surface additions and made no attempt to disguise the DWR block pattern. In this Save project I took the quilt block and enhanced/disguised it using surface design to make the fans into butterflies.

Stay tuned to my next blog post where I feature a Save project where the new surface design has almost nothing to do with the underlying quilt block patterns. Got your interest piqued?

Remember way back up at the top of this post I mentioned that this piece (once finished) took a trip through the washer/dryer? Several reasons for this: 1. I used a great deal of Elmer’s Washable School Glue and 2. I made this piece to be used as a Throw. I needed the stiffness of the glue to be washed out and I also needed to know that as I was using it, should something be spilled on my piece, never fear, it could withstand the my laundry room. I have a front load washing machine. I set the control to Delicate Cycle, warm water, no fabric softener. The dryer was set to Normal where I used half of a generic no-scent dryer sheet.

I hope you look at old battered once beautiful quilts in a whole new manner after reading this post. It makes me so happy to take something that’s seen better days and make it fresh and new again! If you should decide to take the plunge and freshen up your own well loved vintage quilt, know I’m here to help, just an Comment or an Email away.

Let me know if you have questions, I’m always here to help! As an important side note, take care of yourself and your loved ones, it’s a troubling time with the global spread of this nasty virus. I’m re-learning how to spend time sequestered in my home, learning not to take things for granted and counting my blessings at each turn.

Happy Quilting and blessings to all,

Rhonda

Published by Rhonda Dort

A creative person living in Houston, TX

33 thoughts on “Finished! Saving the Pink Fan Vintage Quilt.”

  1. May we ever see the other half of the challenge quilt (how it turned out)? I adore what you did with this fan quilt. Congratulations!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. What a perfectly wonderful quilt. I find it irresistible that you loved the quilt so much that you improved upon it. The vines and flowers are great and I, too, would not have like the floppy flowers. The bias on the back was a touch of genius. Happy binding…!! 🙂 BTW, first flooding and now the pandemic…almost more than one person should have to endure. You take care and may the virus stay away.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. I am inspired to make this quilt from scratch, it is magnificent! I am a yoyo lover and have utilized them in several projects but this is just fantastic… You are so blessed with talent, thank you for sharing!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. What a delicious result of all the intensive hours and heart you poured into this captivating beauty, Rhonda! Your beautiful attention to detail, as always, doesn’t disappoint! This cheerful little lovely is another testament to your ingenuity and talent! Say, a sweet little embroidered bumblebee would be a happy addition and neatly cover the nail polish oops!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Hi Rhonda! Do you know the name of the fabric that is used on the back (and maybe even the front of this quilt? Is it muslin? I love its old-timey, loose weave and I’m sure it just keeps getting better with every wash. It’s a lovely quilt – thanks for sharing it with us!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. Rhonda, it is beautiful! I have a chest full of quilts from my great aunts and my sister in law has just as many. You have inspired me to repair these. They were made to be used and my mother may have done some of the tops. The quilting was done by a bee my 2 great-aunts were in. Nothing was ever said about who did the tops, but my brother remembers my mom making some tops. All I remember is the joy of seeing the quilts when my mom brought them home and getting to choose which one was going on my bed. Then, a few months before my mom passed we got together and went thru the quilts and chose the ones we wanted.

    Right now I’m focused on UFO’s, but eventually, I would like to work in the repair of these quilts. Take care, stay home and be safe. hugs and elbow bumps!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment