Quilt Repair Tidbits #1

 

The worktable.  Grandmother’s Flower Garden c. 1980

I’m starting a new little outreach project here.  A weekly tidbit and photos.  A new insight or skill?  A really cool fabric?  Who knows what it’ll be!

This week’s tidbit:  I’ve found myself ending up patching with fabrics that at first glance I was sure would look terrible.  They certainly aren’t exact matches, but end up being just right.

My underlying goal is to inspire new students for the virtual workshop I’m planning for winter 2024. All the info is on my website.  And you can email me to be added to the interest list for notification when registration opens.  

At the workshop, you’ll get to bring a quilt or two for show-and-tell and discussion of how to proceed.  You’ll learn about fabric history to have guidelines of what to look for in patching fabrics.  You’ll have access to a video collection of stitching how-to.  It’s really fun!

A block I repaired using a large floral to patch over a very geometric print. Color ended up being the important factor.

On a previous visit to my “quilt spa”, I patched this block with a fabric that looked pretty good (bottom center).  On this visit, I found I needed more of those hexies but didn’t have more of that fabric.  You can see sample fabrics pinned on during the choice process. 

The final result.  I decided to remove my prior patch and replace it with my newly found fabric.  This is exactly the same dynamic as in the second photo - color is most important.  

The moral of the story:  Try every fabric you possibly can, even things you are sure won’t work.