Old quilt...new life

Hi...I'm Ashley from Under the Sycamore. Thanks Rachel for the invite to guest blog and congratulations (more pictures of that sweet girl please!). I'll admit I was both excited and intimidated when Rachel asked me to be a guest blogger. You see, I feel a bit out place. I've looked at some of your blogs from your comments and it seems that not only does Rachel, the RVA girls and the other guest bloggers have that super cute Indie coolness going on, but most of you readers do too! I am a mom of 4 kids all age 5 and under (3 boys, 1 baby girl)...I drive a mini-van because it is practical...I couldn't pull off cute headbands no matter how hard I tried! However, I love life, creating and most things vintage - so I think we have some things in common. I debated what to share with you here and opted for a little diy project that involves repurposing an old quilt. I've passed by numerous quilts in thrift stores because they were in such bad shape not much could be done with them. My mom picked one up at a garage sell for $5.00. Intially I considered trying to repair it, but it was too far gone. WARNING: This post involves cutting an old quilt...

Here's the quilt...there are sections intact, but most is falling apart. Quilting is a big part of my family, so I fully appreciate all the time that went into making this, but I couldn't help thinking that the woman that made this would rather see it being used and appreciated rather than stuck in a closet (or a $5.00 garage sale)....

With a big deep breath I made the first cut...the first cut was the hardest!

My project was to create ruffles with the top and back of the quilt. So I cut my strips, pulled the quilting stitches out, removed the batting, sewed down the edges (and made a few strips with new fabric too)

After making my strips I sewed the edges down on the edges of kitchen towels (a couple of dollars from Target). Once the edges were attached, I pinned the strips down creating ruffles and stitched them down. I repeated using 3 strips: quilt top, quilt back, modern fabric.

You know this is a fast project if I could get it done with an awake baby watching me in the room....Rachel, it is possible I promise!

The final product...ruffled semi-vintage tea towels.

Tie a couple cookie cutter to it and you have a super cute gift for Christmas!

Another idea...just for you Rachel...sew some ruffles on a pair of bloomers. I've learned quickly that every dress you purchase at a store comes with bloomers. I admit I wasn't much of a ruffle girl until 4 months ago when my daughter was born - now I want to add them to everything.
I'll be back next Thursday with some more ideas for what you can do with those beyond repair old quilts...come visit me at Under the Sycamore sometime! See you next week...