The Pied a Terre Quilt

A couple of years ago, I told Part 1 of this story, in which I mended a memory quilt for a customer.  She shared its sweet story for me to share here.  On the post, you can see the quilt and read the story of family love across generations and many miles.  I've also described the mending and rebuilding that I did. 

Here are a couple of photos from Part 1 to whet your whistle.  In today's post, I will share Part 2. 

Part 2 began when I received this email from the quilt owner.

A few weekends ago, I was telling my aunt about the work you'd done on the quilt.  She was amazed.  She lives in Bangkok, and she's my mom's only sister.  We were video chatting.  And would you believe that my aunt walked into the other room and pulled out another quilt my grandma had made?  Apparently, she made it before my first trip to Thailand -- I was a baby then!  Grandma wanted me to be able to use it when I visited family there, to remind me of home.  She was a tough old Okie, and a farmer well into her 70s.  But she really was a sweet, sensitive lady, too.

Sadly, my aunt used to have another quilt that my grandma made for her.  But she lost it during a move, several years ago.  What a shame.  I think it had trees on it.  But my memory of it is quite faded, at this point. 

Anyway, now my aunt wants to send my baby "pied a terre" quilt back for me to keep.  Thank you for opening the door to us having that conversation and sharing memories... and a long-forgotten quilt!  (I haven't used it in 13 years now.)

So, she sent the quilt to me for a new binding.  And now, the second quilt has been mended.  This time, the sewing was done by my assistant Jennifer.  These are her photos as well.

The colors of this quilt are very soft and muted, so many new fabrics proved to be too bright.  Jennifer found a floral print with similar colors that were softened just the right amount by using the reverse of the fabric.

  

Here, you can see both the worn, old binding and the new binding.

And here is the re-bound edge, showing how nicely it replicates the feel of the original floral fabric.

And here is the rebound quilt:

I do love mending family quilts that keep stories and memories alive!