Cherry Knoll Cherry Knoll Quilt Restoration

Welcome to my Quilt Restoration website ~ Where old quilts are renewed, giving you back your history.

When starting a restoration project, for myself as for a customer, I weigh the possible historical significance of the quilt, the amount of work required to do a sympathetic restoration, what the original maker's intentions might have been, and how she herself would want the quilt repaired today, if she could speak to us. Based on these criteria, some quilts must remain as is; others can tolerate more liberal restorative measures. Here are a few of my own quilts that have made it into the restoration line-up, and that lean toward the latter category. (The "shoemaker's children never having shoes" principle is alive and well here, so please re-visit this site as progress on my own restorable quilts continues.)

 

This "Monkey Wrench" quilt was spotted by a quilting friend and purchased on my behalf. She saw its potential but was puzzled, as I was, about two blocks near the center of the quilt that had very pale yellow fabric (since replaced) for the pattern fabric. The pale yellow was inconsistent with the saturated pinks, greens, and browns of the other blocks. Could they have been repair/replacements in a quilt top that was in otherwise perfect condition? Unlikely. Or could the maker have really wanted this insipid yellow in the center? Very doubtful. Further examination of the seam allowances revealed that most likely they were originally a dark green, but that the overdyed blue had disappeared, leaving only the yellow. I struggled with the idea of replacing the yellow fabric with a more appropriate green. This would return the quilt to its original look, but would also alter an antique quilt top "unnecessarily". But I decided to make the change, honoring the maker's vision by returning the quilt to its original hues -- just as I, as a quilter, would want done someday to my own faded quilt top if that would help to finish and preserve it.

I purchased this "Flower Pot" quilt in 2005 without a moment's hesitation. I delighted in its happy pattern, the colors, the tiny quilt stitches. And I loved the huge hole in one side! I suspect that a fireplace spark was the culprit, and later on, scissors tidied up some of the charred edges. My restoration goal was to retain as much of the aged beauty of the quilt as possible, while being practical. Different options presented themselves. Recreating the missing section from vintage fabric and achieving a near-perfect match of color over such a large area would have been nearly impossible. The opposite extreme, removing all three of the damaged rows of pots, would have eliminated the whole (hole) problem immediately, but would have made the mother quilt look skimpy and lopsided. Ultimately, only two damaged rows were removed, and the remaining damaged triangular section in the mother quilt was carefully unsewn and removed. A comparable section from the cut-off rows was likewise unsewn and removed, and then sewn back into the empty triangle in the mother quilt.

   

           

This quilt was purchased literally as one-fourth of a "Strippy" quilt (the other 3 sections were in the sale bin as well). I bought it because I loved the colors, and thought it could be an ideal "Half and Half" quilt: one that is only half restored, so that one can see the before/after aspect of a restorer's work. Right now it's a "2/23 and 21/23" quilt. Please re-visit this web-site for evidence that I have progressed on it!

   

This wallhanging may have begun life as a crib quilt in the 1930's. The pattern is simple, the fabrics colorful but unpretentious, and with some simple restoration work, the small quilt came to life again to be enjoyed by future generations.