Thursday, October 28, 2010

It's time

Oh - I've been away a long time. Thanks again to those who send emails and messages checking up on me. I've just been muddling around here - busy some days, not so busy other days.


I keep a small stack of quilts on the treadle sewing machine in the bedroom . . .


And now, girls and boys, it is time. Time to re-fold those quilts. If we leave our quilts folded in the same way all the time they begin to get fold lines,

Like this . . . oh dear!


And we don't want that, do we now? No, of course not - so let's get at that stack of quilts and re-fold.



If you have quilts hanging on a quilt rack - be sure and refold them too . . .



It is easy to fold quilts in half, in half again, then in half the other way, etc. By doing so, we form a habit in the quilt of always being folded the same way.

So refold in thirds and make sure that the fold lines are never in the same place as the previous ones. We have a lot of show-and-tell at our monthly sew-ins, and one of the ladies, after helping hold up the quilts so we can all see them, automatically folds them in thirds. That is a great habit, giving the quilts new fold lines.


Fold lines can discolor or become faded - so let's refold. We should refold quilts that we have on display, on the back of sofas and chairs, banisters, shelves or cupboards. It takes a little work every few months - but worth it when our quilts stay healthy.




Our quilts don't like to be left in the hot sun, rolled up in a plastic bag (someone might mistake them for trash), left in a damp musty basement or locked in an old trunk in the attic. Some kinds of wood can stain a quilt, and make sure, if you place the quilt on a wooden surface, that there is no furniture polish on the wood - it will seep into your quilt and stain it permanently.


If you must store a quilt - put it in a cotton pillowcase, it can breath and won't get tossed in the trash. If you have flimsies (quilt tops not quilted yet) refold them too. If they are stored on hangers in the closet, take them off the hangers and make sure the folds and hanging are not in the same spot as before. If you use clips to hold them on the hangers, pad the clips with scraps of muslin to soften the effect of the pinching on the fabric.


If you have a deep stack of quilts, rotate the stack so the bottom quilt is out from under all that pressure. I do this a little more often than I refold the quilts - just to keep the weight off one or two quilts all the time.

If you lay quilts across the foot of your beds for display, refold them too - it is good for the quilts.

Did you refold your quilts? If you have a lot of them, do a few at a time - but do keep at it until they are all refolded. How many quilts do you have, to refold?



15 comments:

Darlene said...

You've given me a wonderful reminder to pull all the quilts out of my cabinets and refold them.

Your quilts are beautiful.

joanne said...

you have a beautiful collection of quilts! I have just a few but thank you for the reminder to take good care of them...they are too precious.

Barb said...

Loved seeing all your quilts and thanks for the reminder...that is a must do when I get home....glad you are back.

Lynda (Granny K) said...

What gorgeous quilts! Thank you for the reminder. I sometimes fold a quilt with the corners inwards, and then in again. It's another way to avoid fold lines. (but it maybe doesn't look as good!)

Crispy said...

Lots of great info Jo :0) Now I just need to actually own a quilt that will need to be refolded LOL.

Crispy

Lili said...

I actually only have 1 quilt, so it should be really easy to keep up the maintenance on. However, before your post, I did not realize the importance of quilt maintenance! But not to worry, I just found my quilt less than a month ago. Good to see you back Jo! ~Lili

Julie in the Barn said...

Oh such a pretty collection of quilts. Thanks for the reminder to refold. I do refold occasionally but never thought about refolding my giant stack of flimsies. Maybe I should add that little chore to my daylight savings checklist: put new batteries in the smoke alarms and fresh batteries in the flashlights.

Julie said...

I have mountains and mountains of quilts in my linen closet and just a couple weeks ago took them all out (over 100 of all sizes) and refolded and reorganized them all. It's a big job but worth it. My flimsies haven't been refolded in a while though so I guess that should be next! Thanks for the reminder!

Deb Shucka said...

I don't think I've ever known anyone to have so much fun folding anything. :-) It's really nice to have you back here.

JoyceAnn said...

Loved seeing all your quilts. I only have a couple to refold thankfully , thanks for the reminder.

~ Peaceful Autumn Blessings ~

John'aLee said...

What beautiful quilts! Thanks for sharing.

The Quintessential Magpie said...

That certainly is some good information to know! And your quilts... wonderful!

XO,

Sheila :-)

Michelle said...

Very good reminder thank you!! Beautiful quilts!! You must live near us, we're on Whidbey Island

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Are you still hiding out??? I think I see you there underneath a big pile of quilts! Glad this post is still up so that I can peruse these beauties again! And they are beauties!

To answer your question, I'm not sure about the shrub/tree. I asked my neighbor, and he's not sure, either. But it blooms every fall. There's another gorgeous tree that grows about thirty feet tall or so that is yellow and blooms in the spring. It is magnificent. But this other is a mystery to me. It's not very big, maybe 15 feet, but it's very showy and so cheerful. I see it through my kitchen window, and I decided while I was out today to photograph it and share with you. I've got another lovely one next week that's pink and fabulous.

XO,

Sheila :-)

regan said...

Hi Joann!

Your quilt collection is fabulous, and the quilts in your "My quilts" gallery are wonderful! Quite lovely!

I have quite a few quilts that we use regularly, and when not on a bed for sleeping, they are 'stored' in our spare bedroom, flat out on the bed, one on top of the next, so they don't get folded at all! I saw this at an antique shop once, and thought it was so smart! They are ready to take off and switch with others at any time. I also keep the room fairly dark, shades drawn, so there is no chance of the sun bleaching them out!

Love your blog!

regan