A Vintage Rescue

Sparkle Jane spotted it, wadded up in a pillowcase in a scrap bag. It sort of appeared at her shop, snuck in and left without a word. Many mysteries…

And she brought it to me. “Mom, you can do something with this.”

Well, I can try, but what is it?

It appeared to be a fairly large vintage flimsy that had most likely been washed. It was so tangled I couldn’t even flatten it out enough to see what it was.

So it sat for a while. But, while I was home with Covid, it became interesting. What is it really?

I started from a corner on the back. Trimming threads and fixing any popped seams that came up. By the time I was done (the picture is EARLY in the process) it looked like a fairly large long haired cat had taken up residence on the cutting table.

It was STILL too rough to really see, so I turned it over and started pressing. And pressing. And pressing. More than 2 hours of pressing

Sort of flat…

To the quilter. Who did an amazing job. A thick batting helped to absorb the waves in the blocks. SO much stitch-in-the-ditch. So much detail.

Finished

And now, it is the centerpiece of the guest bedroom. I look in every time I pass and feel great happiness that it is finally finished. I wish I knew who the original maker was. I would take it back to her and show her that her work was not wasted.

How old is it? There is no polyester in the top as far as I can tell. There is some original feedsack material. 1950s or maybe 1960s…