Digging up History

We had the main level of our house painted.  In the process, all the quilts, pictures and paintings are taken down; and everything gets moved.  After the painters left, I like to change the placement of all the artwork in the house.  Just by chance I found a very old quilt that I made for a gift for my husband in 1984.  It's amazing what you find when you have to clean.

Hand Prints for Daddy (c) 1984 hand appliqued and quilted by Ann Fahl

This is such a charming little piece, that I pulled it out and laid it on my sewing table.  It just needed a little more hand quilting around the inner border and would hang better.  So I hand quilted last night for the first time in years.  This is now hanging on a wall in my living room so my husband and I can enjoy it each day.

It's hard to believe that my grown sons were once this small. Now they are tall young men, on their own, with their own careers.  It's good to look back in your history and at your early work.  As you can tell it isn't square.  I didn't know anything about blocking my quilts at the time.  But I did realize the importance of signing my quilt.

Signature on the lower right corner

It is good to see that I have greatly improved my skills over the years. Machine quilting has totally changed the world of quilting, it enhances the surface so much more than a lightly hand quilting one like this.

Go digging in your closet and look at the quilts you made in your first years. You'll be amazed at your progress!

Ann Fahl