Treasure! Grandma's dresses & patterns
#41
Power Poster
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Lowell, MA
Posts: 14,083
What an amazing windfall to have your grandmother's dresses, and that you want to make quilts for your aunts and uncles out of that fabric. I'm sure whatever you quilt/quilts you decide to make, I'm sure they will be greatly appreciated as your grandmother lives on through your quilts. The journal is an absolutely fantastic find, and I'm thinking I need to do more with mine, as I have photos of most of my quilts, but not all.
#42
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 9,299
Is this nutty or what ? I have tears in my eyes reading your post. I can just feel your joy, your pride, your sense of being entrusted with such a meaningful gift. It is going to have such ripple effects on the generations. Do keep us posted!
#44
Wonderful legacy! And no pressure whatsoever in producing these quilts. Kudos to you for embarking on this journey. I would be so petrified of ruining them, but thats just me. I wish you the best in this endeavor- and i think you should make one for yourself.
#45
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Merritt Island, FL
Posts: 672
Please consider putting a small piece of the dress fabric next to each photo. Do you know someone about the same size that could actually model the dresses for the photos? I love your album idea!
#46
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 7,583
With that wealth of fabric you should be able to make some beautiful quilts. Don't be too critical of your quilting, it seems we are our own worst judges, your aunts and uncles will know the quilts have been made with love.
#47
Super Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Sonoma County, CA
Posts: 4,299
I will definitely post pics as I go! I'm in the break-down stage...taking apart these dresses is a lot more work than I thought it would be! I've cut up about 12 so far and I need to take a day or two off, my right hand is getting bruised up from the scissors!
We actually do have a LOT of photos of Grandma in these dresses - they were her daily-wear outfits. In MANY of the photos we have of her, she is posing with her quilts! My aunt has that photo album and has promised to scan it for the family but she has about 25 family photo albums she's trying to scan so it'll probably be a long time before she gets to that one.
I love seeing how she built her dresses...each one is just a little different from the last. Her sewing machine was an industrial straight-stitch Singer from the 20's and I get such kicks from seeing her "free motion" zig zag stitches!
Some of the dresses are pretty worn, I almost tossed part of one of them because it's so thin it's almost falling apart but then I decided I'd fuse interfacing to that fabric to reinforce it instead and keep it. I figure the wear and tear is a big part of the charm!
We actually do have a LOT of photos of Grandma in these dresses - they were her daily-wear outfits. In MANY of the photos we have of her, she is posing with her quilts! My aunt has that photo album and has promised to scan it for the family but she has about 25 family photo albums she's trying to scan so it'll probably be a long time before she gets to that one.
I love seeing how she built her dresses...each one is just a little different from the last. Her sewing machine was an industrial straight-stitch Singer from the 20's and I get such kicks from seeing her "free motion" zig zag stitches!
Some of the dresses are pretty worn, I almost tossed part of one of them because it's so thin it's almost falling apart but then I decided I'd fuse interfacing to that fabric to reinforce it instead and keep it. I figure the wear and tear is a big part of the charm!
#49
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Lumby, British Columbia
Posts: 2,769
Oh man you hit the mother load. Or should I say the grandma load. I'm so so excited for you! Please keep us posted. Wish I lived closer so I could help you in someway. This is my favourite type of quilting,,,,,repurposing.
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