March 31, 2015

Zipper and Pearls


My friend Julia found this really cute 1950's party dress - in perfect condition except for missing the zipper pull.  Rather than replace the vintage metal zip with a new-fangled nylon one, I crafted a replacement pull from my stash of jewelry-making supplies.

March 26, 2015

This Baby Quilt is Already Nearly 35 Years Old

One of the great perks of the quilt repair biz is taking in quilts that come with great stories.  Here's one.

This quilt was begun nearly 35 years ago, in 1980.  A woman started making it for her godson, but never quite got it finished.  All quilters know what that is like, right?  Over the years, it traveled with her on many, many cross-country moves.

Now, her 35-year-old godson is about to become a father.  She brought the quilt to me for completion.

March 21, 2015

A Quilt Stitched by Many Hands



This quilt now belongs to an 11 year old girl.  The quilt was made in 1987 by her mom's sister, her aunt, in a high school Home Ec class as a gift for her mom's high school graduation.  Her mom took it to college with her.  She has now given the quilt to her daughter, who shares the name of the aunt who made the quilt.

In the early 90s or so, it needed some repairs.  It was sent down to Georgia to a family friend who belonged to a quilting circle.  The Georgia ladies also added a lot of hand-quilting to the original machine work.

March 13, 2015

Hexagons and Elephants

There are soooooo many Grandmother's Flower Garden quilts out there, that it's really fun to see someone doing something else with the good ol' hexagon!

This is like the hexagon version of the Trip Around the World pattern, isn't it?

March 8, 2015

Favorite Quotes #8 - The Patchwork Girl of Oz


My son and I, when he was around 10 or so, read through the whole series of Oz books by L. Frank Baum.  There is so much more to the world he created than what is in the movie classic.  First off, the movie is based on just the first of the 14 books in his series.  And really, the movie is even not much like that first original book.  The Oz in the books is much less fantasy and, I think, more of a utopian vision by Baum.  My son and I had many long discussions about how the Oz world differs from our own.

There are lots and lots of characters that Dorothy encounters during her multi-volume journey through Oz.  Of course, I was most drawn to this character, the Patchwork Girl of Oz.  She has her own book, and even her own movie, produced in 1914 by Baum himself.

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