as I have now. And it made sense to me to add strips til I got them to a uniform size..12 1/2" at that time. It was a pretty ugly top then and still is, in my view. I gave it away back in the late 1980's to a church group who sewed for the African Missions. Imagine my surprise when my friend Jean showed this very top to me a couple of years ago...LOL. Yes, it was too ugly even for the missionary ladies. To ugly to use, even for backing...LOL BUT...too good to cut up or seperate. As you can see, Ebby is not disturbed at all by weirdness. There are 3" bow tie blocks, 4 and 9 
patches, a few Jacob's Ladder blocks, an appliqued heart, some random HST blocks, some blocks just made up of strips, and who knows what all! I finished it off at 72" X 90" by putting a border made of 2" strips around the edges. Probably the strangest part of this whole story is that it left in about the mid 1990's and came back to me in 2001. I'm still at odds as to what to do with it, but I'm leaning towards adding another border and maybe machine quilting it, or just maybe tieing it with yarn or perle cotton. AND if that's not weird enough for you....this past weekend, my friend Jean was down home for her Dad's birthday, and her mom(one of the 
mission ladies) gave Jean's boxes and boxes of fabric. All of which I had donated to their group back about 1996. LOL..I knew I gave them alot, but my goodness!! It's alot of FQ's and half yard pieces from when I ended my shop. Jean's getting ready to wash it up, and some will go into her rugs and some into mine. Talk about life coming full circle.
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16 comments:
Gee, I've seen way uglier quilts than this LOL. Granted, there are a few odd colours in there, but they couldn't even use it for a back?? It's so funny some of your fabrics came back LOL. There must be a great quilt in those boxes that it's your destiny to make :-)
Life is a circle. What was that song by Joni Mitchell? Oh, "The Circle Game". "And the seasons, they go round and round. And the painted ponies go up and down. We're captive on the carousel of life. We can't return, we can only look behind from where we came and go round and round and round in the circle game." Back in the guitar days, this is one that I used to play.
Oh Finn, you make me laugh. Too Ugly Even For The Missionary Ladies . . . could be the name of my new rock'n'roll band *s*
What a strange little story! I agree, you must have been meant to have that quilt after all! Ebby obviously loves it. I dont mind it, but I love scrap happy quilts!!
Happy sewing with your new/old fabrics!
Hey there Finn, I don't think it's an ugly quilt at all, and it's obviously meant to be with you! You're right, it's amazing how things can come full circle.
*hugs*
Tazzie
:-)
I think it is really fun!
It's scrappy. It's colourful. What more does anyone want? I just can't not like it.
Shame on them for not using this quilt. It's not ugly, it's just got a lot of personality! I am sure someone would have loved it.
What a delightful story! Maybe Reader's Digest would like it, embellished just a little with the "circle of life" comments. Actually, it's a fine quilt. If you really quilt it a LOT, I think your choice of quilting thread and pattern will help to blend it together. Do you need to practice? Or do you want to practice using a long-arm at the LQS? (I don't remember if you machine quilt?) It's a PERFECT quilt to demonstrate the purpose of quilting, using up, making do, stages in life, circle of life, etc. And your telling the story, is yet another chapter of "quilting".
LOL! I think it's soooo funny that both the quilt top and the boxes of fabric made their way back to you.
I don't think the quilt is ugly at all. Actually it looks quite Maverick to me. See you were just ahead of your time. :-) Bet LindaJ. wouldn't return it if you sent it to her.
I like the quilt, but I think Ebby likes it even better.
I agree with Nancy - it is very liberated. I think it is great you have it back. As for the fabric, I think this is a food advertisement for why fabric should be kept at home in the stash. It obviously didn't want to go...
I think this quilt is spectacular, and Ebby obviously agrees. I think your should finish it and use it with pride.
Are you sure there isn't a boomerang at the bottom of that box of fabric that came home to you? It reminds me of those stories about pets that travel hundreds of miles to find their owners. I guess it really belongs to you after all.
Thanks for visiting my blog. I've been reading yours for awhile and I love your scrap quilts and your rugs.
I agree that it is not an ugly quilt-it is a unique and creative quilt-if they were told it came from Gee's Bend-I bet they would have liked it! guess that fabric was really meant to come back to you. funny how that turned out ...what a strange turn of events.
This is a beautiful quilt...I love all the colors and it reminds me of the first quilts I ever saw when women just put together pieces of whatever they had.
you were just ahead of the times back then. this is a GREAT quilt - lots of personality and fun. Glad to know that you have it back to appreciate it and give it the wonderful home it deserves.
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