Durham Quilt Rescue

 Hello

Well it's been quite a while since I last posted (again!).  My New Year Challenge was this  very sad Durham Quilt found in an attic when I was helping a friend to empty her father in laws house.

The quilt had been used to cover a large hinged loft hatch and was nailed to it.  It was grubby and the sun  had rotted the exposed side (attic had windows).  All the edges were very worn.  I had the idea that it could be saved somehow and perhaps made into something else so took it home with me.  First job was to wash it, which made the bad side even worse, the fabric almost desintegrated 

Thinking cap on, cushion covers? but decided to make a smaller quilt cutting off the damaged sides. Bought a sheet from Dunelm which was made out of recycled fabric, it was quite thin and very soft which made it a better match with the old worn soft fabric of the quilt.  Used this as backing, covering up the worn out fabric.  Made applique hearts to cover up holes on the "good side" put pretty binding on the edges.  A running stitch around each heart anchored the backing fabric.

All done, I kept thinking about the original woman, who spent a long time hand quilting such a lovely design, hope she would be glad we didn't throw it in the bin.  Its still delicate in places but now has a job keeping my friend warm.

It will be quite a surprise when she sees it next week.

Cheers

Sharon