99 cent quilt top!

[Bama]

Look what I found at a thrift store today for 99 cents! There's one torn part at the bottom left, but I think I can replace it with a piece of vintage red fabric. The sashing looks kind of pink in the pic but it's really gray. It's all hand pieced. Would it be terrible to machine quilt a hand pieced quilt top? Or should I just tie it? I don't have time to hand quilt anymore.
I think it would look nice hanging on the wall above our stairs.

[bridesmom]

Oh man Lori, what a find!!!! It's beautiful. As far as machine quilting it, I can understand your reluctance to hand quilt it, gosh, I'm torn. I do have a hand pieced and quilted quilt my mom and grandmom made that needs to be repaired, and I am machine sewing on it, cause I hate hand work, at least that much of it. I think if it was done really well, you could go with machine quilting, just my opinion. And I'm a machine quilt person.

[lendube]

That is really incredible but there are so many people who don't know what they're looking at when it comes to needlework. (It'd be like me pricing car parts! ) Obviously a non-quilter (sewer) priced this piece! As a non-quilter I would think using a machine stitch that resembles a hand stitch (i.e. a long stitch) would be fine. I wouldn't feel the same if it was a quilt that had sentimental value for you. Then I'd say, Bite The Bullet, Lori. That top deserves hand stitching!

Btw, how big is it?

[Bama]

If it had 4 more blocks it would be twin sized. I'll probably hang it on the wall. Good idea about the hand stitched look machine stitches Lennie. I'm not sure if my new machine has it. Speaking of hand quilting tops with sentimental value, I have several quilt tops that DH's grandmother pieced. I don't know if I'll live long enough to do that much quilting by hand. I would like to hand quilt them, but don't know if I'll ever get around to it. Maybe I'll get to retire some day.

The thrift store where I found this has a section for quilts. The cheapest one I've found there was about $12. Still a great buy! This top I found in a bin of fabric. You're right, I don't think they knew what they had.

[Magot]

Wow - what a find!! And to be honest Lori, hand quilting doesn't take that long! About as long as it takes me to machine quilt... Lennie - shame on you the best hand quilters have 9-12 stitches to the inch - use a long stitch indeed!

[susandf]

What a find!
Just a suggestion, but there are hand quilters out there that will hand quilt for you. There are several Amish families that will hand stitch a quilt for a reasonable cost.

[Bama]

Great idea Susan. I'll have to check and see if our local senior citizen club still does that.

Jan, but what about the Big Stitch technique that Billie Lauder does using embroidery floss? That might be an option as well.

[Magot]

Thats true - you could go that way!

[lendube]

Lennie - shame on you the best hand quilters have 9-12 stitches to the inch - use a long stitch indeed!

I certainly do know that, Jan, but then it would look exactly like machine stitching would anyway. I think it'd be preferable to have it look more like a beginning quilter might have done it as opposed to an expert if you're trying to fake it anyway.

I'm surprised I've never done this. I have an actual Amish quilt dh picked up for me somewhere in Pennsylvania Amish-land. I just measured the stitches. 7-8 stitches per inch consistently in the 6 spots I checked. Not bad then.

[sewhappyrtr]

Wow!! that is really neat!! Now I know what else I need to look at when I go Goodwill/thrift shopping!!
I have looked in the past at the sheets/rugs/ etc area just for some Disney ( imagine that!!) fabric/sheets to use for tops..