May 1, 2008
Up on the quilting table this weekend is another save from the depths of the linen closet. This quilt was hand pieced during the 1940’s by my customer’s great grandmother. The design is called the Double Ax.
I love working with these old quilts although some of the fabrics can be a challenge as they are so thin.
One thing that I like to do which seems to help with that is to line the top with a bleached muslin. You can see here that I will layer the backing, the batting, the bleached muslin and then the top on the table. The muslin adds a little stability behind those thin fabrics and also brightens the whites.
I haven’t decided what to quilt on this one yet. Any suggestions?
May 1, 2008 at 7:56 pm
no help with that, but I can commisserate…the 1940 lonestar I just finished had that very thin…almost threadbare muslin…I didn’t do my normal tight fill for fear of tearing the fabric, but it came out OK.
May 2, 2008 at 7:25 am
Lining with muslin, what a good idea, I would have never thought of it.
Thanks for a great tip.
May 2, 2008 at 1:37 pm
I also want to thank you for the great tip about the lining.
May 2, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Looks like it’s not too flat either, which makes even more of a challenge. How about something simple like a Baptist Fan?
May 3, 2008 at 1:10 am
I can’t wait to see what quilt design you decide on for this. It is one of my all time favorite patterns; Granny called it Apple Core and I have her template, cut from an old brown craft paper envelope, but doubt that I will ever sew one with all those curves.
Great idea to line it with muslin. I might do that with some of my Granny’s old quilt tops made with feed sack fabrics.
May 5, 2008 at 6:44 am
Those old quilts are so charming. I like the idea of Baptist fans. It suits those old pieces so well.
Belated Happy Birthday to your son!
May 9, 2008 at 1:51 am
It really is wonderful. You are my hero & role model!
I have some antique tops that I intend to do on Lily just as soon as I feel confident enough to do them justice.
May 11, 2008 at 9:43 pm
So pretty! The quilting really accents the center of the applecore pieces. Wonderful!