Friday, July 24, 2015

I saw a butterfly, there can be more to life

 I made this quilt in 1988.  (when she was three)
 Grace took it to university with her in 2003. (when she was 18)
 I'm glad to see that she really used it.
 I had discovered painting on fabric around that time.
I remember painting and then appliqueing these fantastical butterflies onto the scrap quilt base.
 The title is from a book I was reading at the time  about caterpillars. (and society)
I've started to mend this quilt for Grace.  She still loves it and uses it all the  time. (just turned 30)
A small thing I can do for her in the big picture of her life.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Such a vibrant quilt! Please explain more about how to mend individual patches. I have a similar worn-out-by-daughter quilt I'm trying to repair before she leaves for college but repairs are not looking good.

Judy Martin said...

What I have been doing is;
1. make a paper template of the exact size of the finished triangle
2. trace around this template onto mending fabric.
3. cut out 1/4 inch away from the drawn line - so that the triangle's raw edges can be turned
4. turn all the edges and baste down. Miter turn the points.
5. lay this piece over the worn patch and invisibly stitch to the seam line. I have been leaving the old fabric underneath the newer fabric

I'll post some pictures of the mending and what it looks like one of these days.
x

Liz A said...

Mending is truly an act of love ... holding on to a bit of the past so it can come with us into the future

Tina said...

This made me smile today-love at its best

apiecefullife said...

I was going to leave a comment about mending but I see you are going to be very neat in your repair.
I also like the idea of random patches or appliquéd things. I love mended things.
I tore a whole in my pants while walking and am thinking of patching it while still on holidays. I did bring a bit of quilting to work on so maybe I can cut off a bit of backing...

Mo Crow said...

30 years... for me half this lifetime... time flies gently these days, like a butterfly... such a beautiful quilt Judy, full of love in the making and now the mending and in the wear of living

Els said...

A wonderful thing : mending this butterfly world ;-)

Alison Schwabe said...

isn't it rewarding to see a quilt you made for someone be literally loved to death or to a state of necessary repair - I am about to do a replacement, I think for our son's quilt he took to college 25 years ago ...