Not as much shopping today! I had a meeting with the AQS book editor to talk about the idea of writing a book about what I do with quilts..fix, restore, and hand quilt old treasures. What do you think? It will be a lot of work!
I did buy some fabric….do you remember this top that I recently purchased?
I found some fabric that I think will work very well for the backing!
It is hand dyed and about 44 x 48…I got 2 pieces and will use it as part of the backing ….very groovy!
I spent a bit of time walking around …and made a trip to the Gerald R Ford Presidential Museum. I could not do flash photography but I got a few good pictures there, and outside shots in the city…(click to enlarge)
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- Down Town Grand Rapids
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- Down Town Grand Rapids..Ruth’s Criss Steakhouse on the corner
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- Down Town Grand Rapids
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- A downtown fisherman
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- Down Town Grand Rapids
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- River View
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- the outside of the museum
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- grounds outside the museum
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- fountain at the Ford Museum
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- Gerald R Ford
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- Gerald Ford’s Christening Gown (1913)
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- oval office replica
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- Bicentennial celebration Quilt
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- Bicentennial celebration Quilt
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- Cabinet room
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- They had a quilt show at the museum as well
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- The information
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- Beautiful trees quilt
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- the information
Happy quilting
Tim
If a book deal is what you want go for it!
karen
I think it would be fun! assuming someone would want to read it
PERFECT backing! I think a book is a great idea. You have such a good start with your blog and pics and ideas from that. There are too few books out there now on restoring old tops and blocks. Some that are out are more for the museum quality quilts-your posts are very practical for those of us that just want to preserve those wonderful quirky everyday quilts. But those instructions could also be used with any quilts. I say go for it! Easy for me to say, huh?
Thanks for the encouragement! I will work on it
That is absolutely the perfect backing for the bandana quilt! Love it!
I hope you do write the book. I think it would be of great interest to a lot of quilters. I’d definitely be interested.
fun fabric!! I couldn’t resist
I will start with the proposal for the book for the publisher and see where it takes me
Oh, I’d buy it! I think that there is a gap in quilters like you, what you do. I think it was sell. I have NO idea what all would be involved in a book like this, but I”m sure it would be very rewarding.
LOVE the backing!~~ perfect!
Thanks for the photos.
Thanks Sandra! I do think there is a gap…I will try to fill it
Tim,
The book would be a lot of work but I think it would be great. You have made me see quilts in a whole new light.
I never thought about taking old quilt tops or quilt blocks and resetting/reworking them. I especially like that you hand quilt them too. Recently my daughter and I attended a quilt show and saw the most amazing quilt using Civil Wart print fabrics but it had been totally ruined by machine quilting it!
If I am going to put that much effort into piecing a quilt then I think the finish should be appropriate for the style of quilt.
If you write a book then I would purchase it for both myself and my daughter!
Thanks Louise!! and I would sign if too! I agree about the quilting being appropriate to the top…old style tops should be hand quilted!
This is the cause you on which were born to publish, Tim! Rescue the Tops! I think your public is telling you there is a market niche for this book. Just think of the good work you could do — you could found the ASPC-QT, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Quilt Tops.
Seriously, you have all the material you need — about 10 case studies of rescuing different kinds of quilt tops, and the documentation of how you did it. Since writing is my trade, I can offer any help you might need, and I’m sure all the quilt experts in your network would pitch in to point out any gaps that might need to be filled in. A lot of work, yes, but not as much with a little help from your friends.
Thanks for the encouragement. The work is not the writing…it is the quilting. To publish you must have photos of all stages of a project…so If I wanted to feature 10 quilts….I would need to send them 10 completed quilts, for them to photograph (AQS publishing does all their own photos and design) and then the corresponding blocks and piecing and patterns and fabric requirements and yardage etc for each one. Quilt books now all have patterns for each of the pictured quilts…otherwise the general quilt public doesn’t buy… So that is where the work is…lots of production. Buy for the pretty pictures and patterns and then learn from the information about the quilts and the tips etc.
Yes, all that figuring the yardage and all would be hard for me. I use to do upholstery and draperies for years. I can do it@~ but to tell someone how and how much fabric on the arm and here and there and make patterns?!?! Espeically when each piece is different?!?! (same with each old quilt top). WHEW!~ Yes, lots of work!~ BUt, you can do it!
that math is not my favorite part of quilting!…..it is easier to just buy a lot of extra, than to figure it exactly
I must not be part of the general public. I prefer books without patterns. In fact, the patterns turn me off. I love the eye candy. One of my favorite books is Gwen Marston’s Liberated String Quilts. She includes patterns but it is the very many examples of string quilts that keeps me pulling that book from my shelf. If you do a book with ten patterns, please include many more examples. Those are the inspiration for me.
I agree…In my talk with the publisher I said that I would want to include a quilt gallery of pictures for inspiration. and then like Gwen’s book add patterns as well…I don’t want to make a pattern book, but it will need to include some
Oh, I didn’t cotton to AQS being the inquiring party. And Lisa below says that are already books in this genre — better get the toute suite to check them out and also check out the other publishers of quilt books. Sorry, just boiling over with ideas for research for the book proposal. Will give you fuller unsolicited advice by email.
This proposal is for AQS and I have talked with the head book editor at AQS, so I have a good feel for what they want….and How I can fit that….there are other publishers but I want to follow through with AQS first.
Yes! Yes, go for writing the book! I’d buy it. It would be great information that we all could use
Great photos of the downtown of Grand Rapids. I was telling my hubby that I’ve only been to downtown GR once and so it was quite neat seeing those beautiful buildings again.
Write the book!
OK thats one more vote to build my confidence!
Grand rapids does have some beautiful buildings…a great mix of old and new
Yeah, I was looking at all the old architectural detail on some of those buildings! Beautiful! and some of it was like frosting on a cake or a fabulous quilt border!
I took some pictures and thought about just that…what a great quilt border
GROOVY is the word!! Go for it, write the book, you know “if you write it, we will buy” (or maybe if you build it they will come??)……anyway, I have a massive quilt book collection so another one won’t hurt!
LOL…ok make room for one more
You should totally go for the book deal! It would be a lot of work, but no doubt very rewarding also (And the little bit of money made would help justify your unfinished quilt top addiction!)
LOL…a book that becomes an enabler for addiction….I should write a book about quilt top addiction and develop a rehab program….but I think you need to want to be cured for that to work
So that’s where you were today! Enjoying our fabulous downtown! It was a gorgeous day for that, for sure!
And there you go… Write about the addiction and maybe all you need photos of is all the quilt tops you buy!
I think it’ would be really tough that they would want to photograph the steps, as you go, in restoration, particularly. You don’t have extra pieces and parts to send in…
And your quilt is absolutely *gorgeous* in person!! Nothing like anything else I saw.
Congrats for getting there!
Thanks! I hope you enjoyed the show as much as I did! and GR is a great town
I do think you should go for the book idea. I have a couple of books on making quilts from old tops but I think they don’t talk about the hunt as much as I would like to hear. I have two quilt tops from thrift shops and one is quiltable and the other is beyond quilting but a wonderful example of period fabrics. I hope to be inspired for the remake one day. Anyway, I think you do a great job of the hunt, reworking and quilting in period appropriate manner. Good luck! But please include lots of other tops and how you found….for some of us, it is more than having patterns.
I have over 150 tops now so I have lots and lots of examples to work from!! I would love to be able to include them all…I will have to see how the process goes..and work with the publisher (First I have to submit a formal proposal and have that accepted) .like you I want a book with lots and lots of pictures!!
A book???? Oh yes please!
I will be working on it…should be fun and challenging