I received so many messages when I shared my grandma Jordan’s quilts last week. Everything from suggestions for displaying them and things to make with them. And full out horror that I would consider cutting them up at all and ideas for restoration.
Susan W. wrote, “Many of the fabrics look like vintage feed sack prints – highly collectible.” Randy M shared, “The missing squares are normal. Some dyes from the ’40s. Blacks and reds ate the fabric.” As I looked closer at the missing squares, they had been brown and red fabrics.
The more I thought about cutting up the quilt to frame, the sadder I felt about the loss of the whole.
Perhaps the very best suggestion I received was to take a photo of the quilt and frame it while holding on to the quilt. I’m working on creating an image of high enough resolution to produce the quality print I’d like.
So in the meantime, I decided to hang it over our bed.
I purchased two center support brackets for a clothes rod and a white vinyl-coated wooden clothes rod. Rather than hang the brackets from above, I screwed them into the wall.
My bedroom has always been a mishmash of hand-me-downs or items purchased because of the lost cost – not necessarily to vibe with a theme. Playing off the aqua in the quilt, I splurged on an aqua-colored duvet cover, a new throw pillow, curtain rods, and some new sheers to finish the look.
My grandma Jordan is present in many ways. The wooden chair pictured here used to sit at her writing desk. I updated it a few years ago with a new cushion. I repurposed the bedside table from her writing desk, for which I no longer had a need. Read about that project here.
All in all, I’m happy with today’s efforts and am grateful for all of your comments and ideas!
Beautiful work. I’m sure that your grandmother is proud! What a clever idea to make it the focal point of the room. You will enjoy it each time you see it!
It looks beautiful on the wall.
I love what you have done. I have several quilts from my great aunts and grandmother that I would like to display.
As a quilter I was a little dismayed that you might cut that quilt up. I am all for saving it intact as long as possible. Having it where you can see it is a great idea.
My decorating is much like yours. I have many old pieces of furniture that belonged to my family and I love them for the sentimental value.
I always enjoy your posts. Thank you.
I love your aqua pillows…they pull the aqua out of the quilt just perfect. I think it is the perfect way to use the quilt.
Just so lovely!