Bringing Old Quilt Tops to Life--First Step

Well, I took some old quilts to our family reunion this weekend and when I started putting them back, I came across the two Grandmother's Flower Garden tops I have. (Remember, those are all hexagons.)

The first one I bought in the late 80's or early 90's at the Estate Sale of Mrs. Inez Guy, my neighbour and wife of the Postmaster in Bradford, TN for many years, Mr. Nathan Guy. It was a silent auction and I spied this top on a bed for the price of $60. It was very well done and nice colors so I snatched it up.  I know Mrs. Guy didn't make it; it's a mystery as to who made it and how it came to her.

A couple of years later I found another in a junk shop for $30. It is not as pretty or as well made, and the hexagons are a little bigger. However, it was much more yellowed--kind of tan in fact.

So I decided on Sunday that I would WASH these and see what difference that made!

BOY--did that make a difference! First of all, I could NOT believe how dirty these tops were (more the 2nd than the first). I put them into my laundry sink with Woolite and the first water looked like coffee, as did the second wash, and finally the third wash was better, but not clear. I started rinsing until the water was pretty clear. Laid them out on a tarp today to dry in the warm winds.

Yes, they do look quite different now, although a few of the edges still need additional cleaning. But I'm going to quilt them first before I wash them again. The second one needs some repaired stitching here and there as well.

I'm thinking the one that was so dirty had to be in a fire and got smoked OR lived in the home of a smoker!

But two women put in an awful lot of work to create them, so I am going to get them into quilt form finally!