Several years ago my brother’s house was completely destroyed in a fire. There was absolutely nothing left except a few things in the front corner of the house which was the main bedroom. Even the kitchen appliances were vaporized. They barely got out of the house and didn’t even have time to put on their shoes. Interestingly enough, many of their quilts survived the fire. The boys were away at college and had their graduation quilts made by my mother. A quilt that I made and gifted them was displayed on a chair in the front entryway and partially survived. I promised to repair it and it has been sitting in a basket in my sewing room ever since. The problem with repairing it is that I didn’t know where to start. I have repaired several quilts over the years, but this one has damage everywhere. The binding is frayed and the fabric that looks like it is all right is very faded and damaged from the cleaning process that was used after the fire. This is a picture of the damaged quilt.
Recently I bought some beautiful Moda fabrics – one is a dark blue, one is a cream with blue flower sprays and the third is a rich red. In the process of prewashing and pressing the fabrics, I decided to pull out the damaged quilt and to see if these fabrics would work. And then seeing how simple the quilt actually is, it only made sense to use these three fabrics and make a replica of the original quilt. I spent the time between baking and getting ready for July 4th making the stars for this quilt.
As you can see, this is a simple but very pretty quilt with 12 stars bordered in blue and set with red sashing and borders. I made blocks one at a time on July 4 as I cooked and got ready for the grandchildren to come over. And yesterday I added block borders and sashing. This is the progress thus far.
The blocks are 9″ finished and bordered by 2″ finished blue strips for a finished block size of 13″. The center sashing is 3″ finished and the borders are 3″ finished (red) and 4″ finished (blue). I used the AccuQuilt GO! 6″ Qube with Shapes 1, 13, and 14 to make the stars and 2, 3, and 4″ strip dies for the remainder of the quilt. The outer border will be wider than the original, but I think this is going to be a nice quilt when finished.
Thank you for sharing your quilt. Both quilts are beautiful. I am in the process of making QOV quilts and will use your idea to make one with fabrics I have. Thank you again for your generosity!
Hi PJ, this really is a simple and quick quilt. But it is very striking. I am sure your recipients will be happy.
Great solution. Beautiful replacement.
Hi Josephine, Thank you. They are always so appreciative of quilts I make for them so I know they will love this one too.
Oh my. I’m so sorry for what happened to your brother and his family. I love the replacement quilt! You are such a kind person Marjorie. Thanks for sharing your work and all the patterns and sew alongs. Anytime I see an email from you I get excited!
Hi Deborah, It was a very difficult time but the entire community pitched in to take care of them. My Mother’s house was empty and had been sitting for awhile. The community stepped in and cleaned the house from top to bottom and furnished it so they were only in a motel for a few days. It was a quite a loss as my brother had done so much custom woodwork in his house and all the time and labor of love was lost. But community is a wonderful thing.
Your new quilt is beautiful. Thank you for sharing, it is awesome in it’s simplicity and would make a wonderful quilt for any age. If repairing the old quilt would have meaning, I would patch it, maybe with Boro stitches and patches. Not to try to make it look new but that people can survive and patch their lives back together through many kinds of disasters,
Maybe you could use the top row of the damaged quilt as a table runner?
Hi Janet, I have certainly thought about doing that. Another option is to have one of the blocks framed. I have seen antique blocks treated that way and it really is a nice way to preserve it as a memory.
What a beautiful idea – to give the old quilt as a table runner- along with the new quilt. Your family is strong and this represents the hard times that make all of you stronger.
Hi Elizabeth, I will find a way to give the old quilt with the new. I know John and Sherri will appreciate this quilt. When I gave them the first one they were so thrilled. And both of them are always so appreciative of quilts. I have even sat on the floor with John arranging log cabin quilt blocks to see what we could do with them.
Marjorie, I’m working on ginger cookie quilt and I think the trim size for the little houses can’t be right. Do u know the correct size? Thanks, doris
The correct size is given in the Cutting Instructions on Page 3 of the Quilt Instructions. I will correct the wrong number on page 7. Thanks for letting me know.
Hi Marjorie, I am truly sorry for your brother and his family loss.
I pray blessings upon them and that they are well.
I love the replacement quilt – it is lovely. I am sure that they will love this quilt even more.
Hi Parlene, Thank you. I know they will enjoy the new quilt as much.