What's old is new again.

I had another old quilt sitting on a shelf for may years and it finally got a much needed makeover too. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of the original quilt before I started cutting, but believe me, the "upcycled" version looks much better than the original!!

With the left over squares I even managed a small table runner.

This vintage Dresdan Plate quilt was one I had given my daughter many years ago. When she saw what I was doing with some old, rather tired, quilts she decided to give it back to me so I could work my "magic" on it. With a lot of careful cutting and culling of damaged parts, then hours of machine and hand sewing, I ended up with a quilt which still has many years left in it!

Rail Fence and Windmill Quilt

Even though it's a lot of work, I love using the technique I learned for making reversible quilts. Although this one is not pieced on both sides, the back with its framed border has a lot more interest than on many quilts. I pieced and quilted the main part of the quilt and then pieced and quilted the 4 border sections separately. They were then joined to the quilt with reversible sashing and finished with a reversible binding.

Reversible vintage quilt- upcycled

I think the hummer was attracted to the reds in my latest quilt!

You wouldn't think that cutting apart two old quilts and sewing them back together would take so much time! But it was making this one totally reversible that required patience.

One side features pieced basket blocks while the other is simply solid red quilted blocks. But what reds! The old quilts were faded to varying shades of red which creates a wonderful dappled look set off to great effect (I think!) by the black print sashing strips joining the squares. The sashing on the other side is a solid light green which picks up on the basket handles. Even the binding is reversible so that it matches the sashing, no matter which side is displayed.

Paisley quilt

That box of fabric at the garage sale also contained a huge piece of paisley. Great for trying out new ideas on, I thought. But once I got a couple squares done I realized it looked pretty good. Hours and hours later this is what I had accomplished.