Thanks, Nanny!

I found the quilt in an antique shop about twenty years ago. It's a wedding quilt, which means it was assembled by a group of women to be presented to another woman on her wedding day.

I only mention this because my quilt was never finished. There is no backing on it, and no batting. I don't know why... did the woman die? Did the marriage get called off?

And I only mention THIS because the quilt is not as heavy as a quilt that had been finished, nor as thick.

ANYHOW. I did the framing myself. My husband built the stretcher -- sort of like a stretcher for a large canvas painting --

Sort of like this:

I then stretched a dark brown king-sized sheet over the stretcher. (You can see the edge of this in the photo; the quilt has a yellow crocheted border.)

I used a staple gun to attach it to the stretcher, exactly as you would if you were stretching a canvass for a painting. This is easy to do, but you should get some pointers from someone who has done it, to make sure the fabric is stretched properly.

I then stitched the quilt to the "canvas" -- long, running stitches. I did this while the stretcher was flat on my dining room table, held up off the table with soup cans. Sort of like a giant embroidery hoop.

The glazing... I sent away for the plexiglas. I forget where it came from... somewhere in the midwest. MUCH cheaper than getting it from an art shop, even with the shipping, which was elaborate, given the size and the WEIGHT. That sucker is heavy.

Finally, the frame... I ordered it from a framing catalogue. Wish I could remember which one. It's oak, to match my table. I assembled the frame myself.

The whole contraption is held on the wall by a horizontal wooden brace underneath it (you can just see this in the photo, it's painted the same color as the wall) and two corner brackets at the upper corners.

One of those projects that I look back on and think, "WHAT MADE ME THINK I COULD DO THAT?" But I did it, and now that I've explained it to you, it's all worthwhile. Let me know if you have any other questions.

If you decide to tackle it, I'll be happy to help guide you through it.

-- Maureen

Maureen that looks like more of a crazy quilt than a wedding quilt to me. It is lovely and I love the way you have it displayed.

....Jane

Hey Jane...

It's a crazy quilt AND a wedding quilt, LOL. Every square has a different initial, or set of initials. Here's one square:

Gawd I love that it is gorgeous, and rare.

Maureen,

Thanks so much for your instructions, which were so perfectly clear and concise, BTW, that I don't think I'll need extra help. The brace was so neatly painted the same color as your walls that I didn't even notice it. I've stretched my own canvas for oil paintings that I've done, so I'll apply the same principles for the quilt, I don't know why this method of treating it didn't occur to me prior to now....lol!

The quilt I'm thinking of framing was originally a collection of cathedral squares that my mother put together to make a child's quilt for my then newborn daughter in 1975. Unfortunately, my mother died suddenly before she was able to finish it. My daughter has always loved the quilt, but treasured it so much that she refused to "use" it in any way, afraid that regular use would cause the fabric to become faded and worn. I've kept the nearly finished quilt clean and like new, all it lacks is a border. Once I finish the border, for those reasons mentioned, I know she would never put the quilt on a child's bed.

I figured that I could frame it attractively and preserve it this way. Then, at least, I could give it to her as a gift that she could hang on a wall in her own home, instead of here in mine where she seldom sees it. It sounds like a good project to tackle this summer....thanks for your tips.

Heidi, a.k.a. Nanny

Thanks, Newdawn!

Heidi, that's a wonderful, bittersweet story about your quilt, and a brilliant idea to frame it for your daughter. Does she know you're going to do this, or will it be a surprise?

I'm sure you know, you can get UV-blocker plexiglass; this might be better for your project, since it's a family heirloom and your daughter is (rightly) concerned about fading. I never bothered with this, because ... I forget why, LOL.

Also, I've always been bothered by the fact that I don't know the history of my quilt. I hope that you write the history of your quilt, and some details about your mother's life, and tuck it in an envelope somewhere behind the frame... so that when it's hanging on the wall of your great-great-great-great grandaughter, she knows exactly where it came from.

I would love to see your quilt. Please post a photo when you're finished!!!