Whoa! Imagine that!

 A couple of weeks ago, getting a few things sorted through at MIL's house, we found a project box marked "quilt".  In this box, a few squares of hand-appliqued maple leaves onto a background of white, with stacks of more leaves - some already basted and turned ready for applique, some notched ready for turning, some just cut; cardboard box templates and the pattern!  

The pattern is from the magazine, "Family Circle" from March 8, 1977, and the photo on the cover is this quilt, called "Canadian Maple Leaf Scrap Quilt".  In the project box is the magazine cover, and an inside page with the quilt finished on a bed, and the directions.

Materials .... "Used but unworn white Queen or double sheet for backing, and twin size for the blocks.  Green polyester-cotton for the sashing ..."

The background fabric has been meticulously ripped - a thread pulled from the weave and ripped along that spot at the required 17" for the block.


Chatting with MIL about the project, she remembers starting this, and the clothes the scraps came from.  That beautiful brown leafy fabric was from a dress she wore on one of the first days the Superintendant was in her classroom and he commented on her lovely dress!  Some of the funky patches were from her daughter's dresses.

The project box this has been stored in was not an acid-free box, and stained the blocks quite a bit.  I've been working for the last couple weeks at gently removing those stains, and I think most of them are now gone!  Oxy-Clean is a wonderful product!

Now, I am not a hand-sewist.  Have had carpal tunnel surgery and still have to be careful - if I am not using one of the ergonomic keyboards and keying a lot, my hands let me know.  And then there is some arthritis setting in.  Applying binding (I machine sew one side, hand-sew the back) is painful. So I usually don't hand-sew.  

But I decided that this would be a project that could be tackled a bit at a time and I could do this!  So it's in a new project box, getting ready for more hand applique.  I'm a happy camper!

And this morning, on one of the FB quilting groups, is a posting by a fellow who has found an unfinished quilt top in an antique store in Maine - does anyone know anything about it??


Whoa!!  That's the same pattern!!  We traded "no way!'s".  He was interested in seeing what the original pattern quilting suggestions were, so I scanned the pages I had and sent it off to him.  All happy campers!

Minutes later, this one shows up ...


This one has been rescued from a trash pile, cleaned up, backing added and quilted up and now treasured by its new owner.

And one of the very fun tidbits of this story - the date of that Family Circle magazine - my husband's birthday!  (not his actual day of birth, he was a teenager when the magazine came out, but published on his birthday).  

Do you hear spooky music too?  This project was definitely meant to be finished!!

Happy quilting!