Original Quilt with the appliqued blocks removed
Yikes! It looks like a theft at a museum! But, no this was a sanctioned block removal from a baby quilt that I made in the mid 1970s. (More about that on a previous post).
It was fun to see my handiwork. I was amazed at how tiny my applique stitches were. I think I must have been a lot more patient in my 20s! I don't really notice the stitching on the front of the blocks but they were so clear on the block backs when once they were removed.
Back of an appliqued block sewing the stitching. The oval is an embroidered eye which gives a sense of the scale.
I found I needed to remove and re-do some of the embroidery on the blocks. I'd used a lot of a variegated gold to cream thread it was completely worn away. Some of other colors looked like new!
Looking for something else in my box of old patterns, I was delighted to find all my original templates and one original drawing for the animal appliques on my blocks. Here's my original sketch of Pooh and my cutting template. I drew them freehand from Ernest Shepard's illustrations in my childhood copies of the Winnie-the-Pooh books. (I got a chuckle when I saw a note to one of my college roommates on the initial sketch. I'd remembered working on this in my dorm room, but then thought that couldn't be right. But here's the proof)!
This project has been a bit akin to an archeological dig! So much fun!
The old restored blocks have been reassembled with new sashing, batting and backing. I finished machine quilting the renovated quilt last week. I still have some hand quilting to do and the binding. Hopefully I'll be able to post a picture of the finished quilt next week.
The new quilt is so different from the original but very sweet...