Replacing Grandma's Quilt - What Went Wrong

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My plan to replace grandma's quilt is to sew a very simple top and then send it to a professional machine quilter. I admire quilted items and I know how to do it, but my sewing interests and projects have typically been garments. I don't have the patience to hand stitch a quilt of any size (much less a king-sized one.) I don't feel compelled to make a quilt the same way grandma did and I am absolutely certain that she would approve of this strategy.

I'm going to gloss over most of the details for this next part because what I saw in my head was NOT what came out. This can happen to me for a variety of reasons and this time it was because I misjudged the scale.

I tried to reproduce this uncomplicated and easy design. Technically it's a chevron pattern, but I see hearts!:

What I did:

UGH. I made the fabric pieces too big and it threw the scale of the pattern off. I hadn't adjusted for the fact that my bed is king size and the one in the picture was probably double size.

I did not like the result and could not talk myself into believing that it would be fine when quilted.

I took all the stitching apart, threw the fabric pieces into a box, hid it the back of the closet and waited to calm down. All of this happened over a year and a half ago.

Coming next: Replacing Grandma's Quilt - Starting Over

Replacing Grandma's Quilt - The Decision

You know that one picture you have in your mind of a person? The one you always think of when you remember them? This is the one for me of my Grandmother Loretta. Here she is enjoying a beautiful Michigan summer day by sitting outside on her deck and quilting. Don't you love the "Harry Potter" glasses? She wore them decades before J.K. Rowling put them on Harry. I have many memories of my grandmother and her quilting is a prominent one.

Grandma made dozens (if not hundreds) of quilts for her family and she HAND QUILTED all of them! To this day, I don't how she did it. She believed quilts provide a function and purpose and she had one insistent directive when giving them - "Use it!" She didn't want her work stored away untouched and unseen. Through the years I received three of her quilts, two bed sized and one crib.

One quilt is in my guest bedroom. It is a double bed size quilt with a maple leaf pattern that is bright and cheery and has a vivid pink binding. The memory of my grandmother is passed on each time we have new guests and I tell the story about her and her quilts.

The crib quilt became a "blankie" for my daughter Laura, who loved wrapping herself in it. Enveloping yourself in one of grandma's quilts is ...... Wow, I can't find any words for that incredibly special feeling!

The biggest quilt is queen size but fits our king bed (pictured here on a smaller bed) and has been covering it for over 30 years. The quilt is literally falling apart and needs to be replaced (you can see some of the damage in the photo). However, the idea of sleeping under a store bought quilt doesn't feel right and I can't do it. I need a quilt that will continue to help me remember grandma and one that follows her quilting tradition. I'm going to have to make it myself!

My plan is to sew a king size quilt to replace my grandmother's quilt. How much of a crafting adventure will this be and what can (or will) go wrong? Follow my journey and find out!

Next: Replacing Grandma's Quilt - What Went Wrong