The Autograph Quilt: Chapter 4, Now What?

 It has felt good to get

the story of this unique quilt written.

It's something I needed to get done

for quite awhile.

Thank you for following along.  

Our group of three mothers and three daughters

kept up the letter writing for almost 3 years

and then 

we all came to the same conclusion: 

We were done.

Now what?

How to do come up with a design

that is simple enough to allow 

all those special names to be the stars,

yet make the quilt interesting.

At the time, I was thinking patriotic and 

chose a deep rich blue and a red with stars.

If I were choosing today, I might 

have chosen differently.

1996 verses 2020  

Colors and styles have changed.

I drew out a simple sketch

and thought a simple 6" blue square

surrounded by the signature rectangles 

and then using the red star

fabric as the connector squares

would work, allowing

our huge pile of signatures 

to each find a place of honor.

I began to sew them together in no particular order.

And it grew and grew.

The center was now 74 inches by 74 inches

It was there I stopped.

I didn't know what to do with the rest 

of the names.

So I put it all away

for a very very long time.

Now fast forward about 20 years

One day out of the clear

I decided to simply sew the remainder

of signatures into a piano key border.

After almost 20 years of starting this quilt,

 the top was finally finished in 2016.

Autograph Quilt

1994 -2016

91 inches by 91 inches

Are you wondering about the big white square?

One of the other mothers of our group, asked the touring company

of the Phantom of the Opera to add their names to our quilt.

She boldly went to the stage door at the Buell Theater in Denver

and left 3 squares which someone placed somewhere

and someone returned to us.

Amazing, isn't it.

In order to keep track of where I

had sewn names, I had to draw out a chart.

I should really do it over, but kind of

like my cut and tape version.

And now fast forward another 4 years to 2020.

The question is:

What do I do now?

I have really wrestled with this.

How should this unique quilt be finished?

Should I hand quilt it?

I really don't want to spend 

another decade doing that.  hahaha

Of course, this was my original idea back in 1996 and 

 quilting something fancy in the blue squares?

Maybe now is the time to have it machine quilted?

(no stitching over the writing)

Quilting in the ditch and a star patriotic pattern 

in the blue squares?

 

Or maybe leave it simply as a top?

(It would take up less room and no creases

from folding the quilt)

Awhile ago, I had written to a well known quilt historian

asking if she felt the quilt had any historical value

and how I should proceed.

I was told signature quilts are quite common

and I should go ahead and finish it so my family 

could enjoy it.

So I'm not sure if it will ever find

it's way to any place other than with my family

and that's okay.

We had made it for and with our daughters

as a snapshot in time.

You might be asking what the other 2 friends

have done with their signatures.

Sadly, nothing.

Although, one of my friends

is committed to working on it in 2021.

Me too!

Here are the fabric she had originally chosen

 and the design is more 

of a Chinese Coin strip layout.

It really has been on overwhelming project.

So I need your help.

What do you think?

What would you do?

Any opinions?

I'm committed to getting 

this quilt finished.

****

I played detective the other day

and guess what?

I figured out who belonged to the mystery scribble!

 

We had written to Le Var Burton in 1994

and thought he had never written back.

Our family were big "Star Trek, 

The Next Generation" fans.

Le Var was also popular on a series 

for children called "Reading Rainbow".

We're so excited.

I'm surprised I figured it out, but

thank goodness, for the internet!

Until Next Time-

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,

Kyle