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Monday, May 28, 2012

A Long-Forgotten UFO

In recent days, I have been slowly tackling the precariously heaped mountains of messiness in my sewing room. I have an idea of completely changing the layout of the furniture, so everything has to be cleaned up and moved out.

Well, in the midst of the mess, I came across this.


It doesn't look like much, but I assure you, it represents the beginnings of a monumental undertaking for me. (even bigger than cleaning out my sewing room!!) An ages-old UFO.


In the mid-1980s, I acquired this book. I spent hours perusing its pages, longing for some of the gorgeous quilts pictured there. It was in the mid-80s, when we were beginning our family, we were new homeowners, and new teachers, that I realized I could never afford to buy the quilts I wanted, so I would have to learn to make them. And this would not have been a stretch for me as I'd grown up around a grandmother who was forever working on one quilt or another.  (I've made frequent references to Grandma on this blog.) So, anyway, here is the one quilt that most often captured my fancy.

We have a white iron bed that was given to me when I was a girl. I slept on it growing up, and when we got married, it came with me. DH and I slept on it for a number of years before passing it down to our daughters when we got a new bed. It originated in my paternal grandfather's family, I believe. I tell you this because I always thought this quilt would look so spectacular on that white iron bed. I would adjust the size of that center panel to fit right along the edge of the mattress. I still think it would be pretty!


Here are the contents of the bag. I have basted quite a few flowers and leaves. I didn't bother to count them, but you can see I did a lot! And, if you have read this blog for any amount of time, you know how I go on about loving applique quilts, but just not having the patience required for them. I wonder what made me stop? Well, read on; perhaps the answer will become evident.


When I turned to the page with the directions, look at what I found down in the corner - a sticky note with information that I can't believe I had the foresight to record! (I amaze even myself sometimes - lol)

Cut out in 1990; basted in 1992. We were building our current house in '92, and I was preggers for Emma. Now I know why I quit working on it!

In studying this, I see that I have overlooked something. The flowers are not all dark outer petals with light center petals. If you look at the picture of the finished quilt hanging on the line, there are also a number of tulips with the opposite coloration: light outer petals with a dark center petal.

Now, when I get the mindset to get back to work on this, I wonder if I will do it as pictured, or just work with what I have?

How would you proceed?

Happy Quilting, Friends!

1 comment:

  1. What a great find. Like a mini time capsule. It is pretty, I hope you finish it. I never did the basting thing when I appliqued, couldn't stand to sew things twice.

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