Snail Trail – Finished
My Snail Trail quilt is done, and I’m so happy with how it turned out. The pattern, the colors, the 1930s/40s fabrics…everything about it is perfect.
I still can’t believe I found this quilt top in an antiques store for only $22. It was definitely a lucky find, but I feel like we were meant to come together!
Once I started quilting it and really worked with the fabric, I could see that it was made from old clothing. It looks to me like most of it comes from old work shirts, which makes sense given that it is likely from the 1930s or 40s.
It’s hard to see in the photos, but I ended up doing a grid-like pattern for the quilting. I stuck with the modern, straight line quilting that I like so much, but thought the grid would add a little something extra and some nice texture.
The back of this quilt is made with an Elizabeth Olwen print that I think is the perfect complement to the front. Normally I like to make my quilt backs a little scrappy or do something interesting, but in this case I went with a solid back and only used the Elizabeth Olwen print. It just seemed like that was the right call for this one.
And yes, if you notice, the turned block is still there! When I talked about the mistake in the quilt top in my previous post, someone mentioned in the comments section that a wrongly turned block or a mistake in a quilt is knows as a “spirit piece” or a “humility block.” I love this idea and I’m going to use it the next time I make a mistake in a quilt. Who’s with me?!?!?
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Hi Angela! Just discovered your blog. I love this quilt, especially that it’s made from old clothes. The turned block adds to its charm. How are you using this quilt and did you try washing it yet?
Hi Deirdre! I have washed it; in cold water on gentle cycle and let it mostly air dry. When it was almost dry, I tossed it in the dryer for a few minutes and it came out beautifully. I did run into one problem that I wasn’t expecting, however, and that was my quilting marks. I often use water soluble quilting markers or pencils to mark my quilting lines and have never had a problem with them before, but in this case some of the ink didn’t wash out. I’m not sure if it’s the age of the fabric or that some of the fabric isn’t traditional quilting fabric, but it did cause a problem. I’m kicking myself from not doing a test patch, but because I’ve used them for years without any problems, I didn’t even think to test them first. I think over time and with some more washes they will eventually come out completely, but if you look closely you can still faintly see the quilting lines. So fair warning!