Repairing A Quilt...

This quilt was given to my sister when she was a young bride.  It was made by our paternal grandmother sometime in the early 1970s.  It was backed with an old sheet and instead of batting, the inner lining was an old damask curtain.  Much of the fabric looks like 1970's era with  psychedelic colors and patterns, but several of the fabrics look like old flour sack remnants.

The quilt was well-loved and well-used. By the time I received it to repair, there were many tears, holes and the backing and lining were beyond repair. 

I was told by a quilt expert many years ago that when repairing a vintage quilt, do not remove the torn fabric. Instead, simply put a new patch over the old one. So I did.  Eight of the bow-tie squares had to be completely covered. About five more only needed a patch over part of the bow-tie. Many other patches simply needed to be sewn back together. Some of the quilt was handsewn, some was machine sewn.  I handsewed all the repairs and machine quilted the whole thing. 

I used Warm & Natural batting as the inner lining and white muslin as the back. The binding is the back, folded over.  Note that it doesn't match widths on all sides.  I miscalculated the machine quilting gathering up the back. 

It will be returned to my sister when I go to visit next month. :)