I purchased this pretty pink and green quilt at an antique mall in Missouri. I love the colors and the interesting pattern. There are only 3 fabrics used in the quilt, a double pink, a faded overdyed green and a maroon print. The maroon fabric, located only around the edge, was threadbare. A previous owner tried to help the quilt by adding a new binding. However the wide, blue, 1940's print doesn't do any favors to this 1870's beauty. Since the interior of this quilt was in good shape, I decided it would be worth the effort to repair.
My original plan was to cut off all 4 sides of the quilt to remove the damaged areas. But doing this would've left me with only a 60" by 60" quilt. Too small for even a twin bed. Instead, I cut off 2 opposite sides and recycled the good blocks from the cut pieces. These were either put on top of or in place of the damaged sections. I originally removed the damaged blocks which took a lot of time. I then decided to simply cover the old blocks. You can't see the old fabric and this leaves the quilting intact.
I honestly thought this wouldn't take very long but I spent at least 8 hours carefully removing and replacing blocks. Then spent another 4 to 6 hours requilting the new blocks. And finally, a couple of hours on the binding. I used a new double pink pink fabric for the binding. With all the double pinks out there I had hoped for a perfect match but none was to be found.
I really think the quilt looks better now with only 2 colors. And the 60"X80" size is good enough for a twin bed. Don't be afraid to experiment with quilts that need some TLC. Of course, never do anything to a quilt that has historical significance, but your everyday quilts can sometimes benefit from a little reworking.
