Knitting and Sewing
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Caring for Quilts
   
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Creating Your Own Product: What Should You Write About?
Copyright 2005 Ronald Gibson
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Copyright 2005 Ronald Gibson
You would like to create your own information product, but you are stuck. What the heck should you write about' .....
Caring for Quilts By: Joyce Moseley Pierce
For many years my mother worked in sales and lived out of a
suitcase as she traveled the country, but that didn't stop her
from doing some of the most beautiful needlepoint and
cross-stitch work I've ever seen. When she retired, she quickly
filled up the walls of her home and kept the local frame shop in
business. After she had given favorites to her children and
filled every white space in her home, she decided to start
making quilts, but instead of just sewing the pieces of fabric
together, she cross-stitched or needlepointed squares that would
be sewn together by the town's quilting expert.
I was the recipient of one of these beautiful quilts but because
my children were small, I didn't want to leave it out on a bed
where it might get smeared with peanut butter and jelly, or even
worse, colored with crayons or a permanent marker. Instead, I
folded it up and put it in my closet inside a plastic zippered
bag that my bedspread had come in.
Well, when Mom came to visit the next time, she went looking for
that quilt. I assured her that it was packed away and that
nothing could harm it. After all, it was sealed in plastic.
Nothing could get to it. Boy, was I wrong!
I learned a lesson from Mom about how to store quilts:
1. Don't ever store them in plastic of any kind! It doesn't
matter that your bedspread came in it. It's not the same.
2. Don't store them in humid or hot climates. If the temperature
feels good to you, then it's okay for your quilt. If you live in
Houston you shouldn't even own a quilt!
3. Don't store quilts in attics or garages. It makes a comfy bed
for rodents and insects.
Instead, you should:
1. Store your quilt in a pillowcase or sheet, or roll it onto a
muslin-covered tube.
2. Place a piece of fabric between the pillowcase or sheet and
your quilt to protect it from the acids in the wood.
3. Twice a year, when the humidity is low and the air is
blowing, air your quilt outside, out of direct sunlight.
4. Mark your calendar to refold your quilt every 3-4 months so
you won't make a permanent crease in it. Crumple up some
acid-free tissue paper to help eliminate fold lines.
If you feel comfortable in displaying or actually using your
quilts (and isn't that why we make them?), you'll want to follow
these guidelines to make your quilt last longer and help retain
its beauty.
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1. Keep your quilts away from direct light. The sun will make
them fade and will age the fabric.
2. If you notice any tears, repair them as soon as possible.
Remember that "a stitch in time saves nine," and will help
lengthen the life of your quilt.
3. Clean up any accidents immediately. Washable quilts can be
cleaned with cold water. My quilt, with the delicate
cross-stitching fabric and thread, would need to be dry cleaned
by an expert.
4. Before you wash, test the fabric to see if the colors are
going to run. Use a white towel and cold water to test each
color.
5. Do not put quilts in the dryer or hang them over a
clothesline. They should lay flat between two sheets placed on
the grass in the shade.
When I was a young, married woman I discovered a box of fabric
in my grandmother's closet along with the pattern for a quilt
that had been published by the Kansas City Star in the 1920s.
Grandma told me she had bought the fabric when my dad was born
and had just never made the quilt. She told me if I wanted to
make it, she would pay to have it quilted for me. I accepted the
challenge, and without knowing anything about quilts (or
anything else!), I cut and assembled all of the pieces. It was
beautiful, and I remember the pride I felt in knowing that I had
sewn every stitch, but even as I laid it across my daughter's
twin-sized bed, I could see how thin and worn the fabric had
become. I wish now I would have used the pattern and bought
newer, more sturdy fabric, that would have lengthened the life
of the quilt, but that was just one of life's lessons I had to
learn.
Going through the process of piecing that quilt helped me to
have a deep appreciation for all of the time and love that goes
into each stitch. As I worked on it, I tried to imagine my
grandmother as a young mother and wondered what life was like
for her. Was motherhood as challenging for her as it was for me?
Did she ever imagine that she would have a granddaughter who
would treasure this old fabric and the bond it gave to both of
them?
Buying a bedspread is fast and fairly inexpensive because they
are mass produced, but you can't expect it to give you you the
same warm feeling as when you run your hands over the stitches
of a quilt that was made by you or someone you love. When your
hands caress the fabric and stitches of the quilt you have
painstakingly created, the memories of the past are guaranteed
to rush into your heart. If that quilt was made by someone who
loved you, you will feel a connection that seems oblivious to
time.
Copyright 2002 Joyce Moseley Pierce
http://www.emersonpublications.com Joyce is a freelance writer
and owner of Emerson Publications.She is the creator of "All
They'll Need to Know," a workbook to help families record
personal and financial information. She is also the editor of
The Family First Newsletter, an ezine for families with young
children.
About the author:
Joyce is a freelance writer and owner of Emerson
Publications.She is the creator of "All They'll Need to Know," a
workbook to help families record personal and financial
information. She is also the editor of The Family First
Newsletter, an ezine for families with young children.
http://www.emersonpublications.com