Polyester Seen at Garage Sale

I spotted this polyester quilt at a recent garage sale. I asked the young host if this quilt was for sale and she proudly said, oh no, my grandma made that! It was HUGE, probably at least queen size. She said there was a tub of poly quilts left behind by her grandma there too.

Like the other polyester quilt we saw recently, this one is exciting because of the bright colors used. It's a classic one-patch quilt, and we know it will never wear out!

How to Take Care of Your Vintage Quilt

All of us who love quilts hope recipients will take good care of them. A dear friend of mine made a quilt for her daughter and later learned her son-in-law washed it every week in the washer along with the rest of the bedding ...

So here is how to take care of your vintage quilt. Treat it carefully - don't let big dogs jump on it, don't drag it through the dirt in the olive orchard (like Finn did in How to Make an American Quilt, while I shuddered and shuddered). If you store it, make sure to wrap it in cotton, not plastic. Get it out occasionally and refold it.

When it's time to wash the quilt, fill up your bathtub with cool water and a small amount of gentle quilt soap (I use Orvis). Fold the quilt so it fits in the tub - submerge it and let it soak. Gently move it around in the water. Drain the tub and fill it with rinse water. Again, gently move the quilt around to make sure all the soap and dirt get out. Rinse several times if necessary.

Carefully/gently squeeze excess water from the quilt. I use a large washbowl to transfer the quilt to my washing machine. Place it there carefully - you don't want to let the weight of the wet quilt pull on any of the stitching. I set it to spin only - then it is light enough to lift out.

I dry my quilts on our deck railing. Spread a sheet on it first and put the quilt on it. On a warm spring or summer day, your quilt will dry quickly. If needed, I put if in the dryer for just a few moments to fluff it and make it softer.

Close up view of the amazing quilting by Kelly Cline

Kate's Wedding Quilt

When my girls were little, we watched the 1995 movie How to Make an American Quilt together. We had the VHS tape so we watched it often. It is a story about marriage and I'd say we'll watch it again when you think you are ready to get married.

Well! Our daughter Kate is getting married next week. Not only did she remember watching the movie, she remembered how the stitch group made a quilt for the young bride in their midst.

Kate wanted a quilt - and not any quilt: she wanted a double wedding ring quilt.

I told my stitch group. They said un-uh, no way! That is a hard quilt to make (and it was just months before the wedding).

Linda Frost, Carol Jones, Georgann Eglinski, Barbara Brackman, Roseann Smith, Kathe Dougherty

Quilt historian to the rescue. She pulled a 1930's vintage double wedding ring top from her collection. A back was assembled and off it went to trusty local long-arm quilter Kelly Cline. She quilted it beautifully, despite the fact that the quilt turned out to be predictably wonky.

I stitched on binding and we hand stitched it in place at our weekly meeting. Georgann made a label and stitched it on while Kate watched.

We gave it to them a little early - maybe it will show up in some of the wedding photos.

Kate and Nick Kuzmyak