Grandma Dodds' Musty Quilt...

So, Deena's three children (Chad, Toby and Kelcy) bought Grandma Dodds' beautiful hand-appliqued quilt to give to her for her Christmas Day birthday.  Wanting this wonderful gift to be perfect -- Brenda (Toby's wife) texted me, "should we wash this bedspread?"

I texted back, "NO, NO, HELL TO THE NO."....

In 1996, when I tried to buy this quilt at Aunt Rozella's auction, I knew it had been folded and stored in a cedar chest since 1972 (the year Grandma died). My Aunt never used it...it was just packed away. Such a shame...

And, the woman who bought it at that auction did the same thing. She packed it away for another 20 years.

My best guess is that this beautiful QUILT folded and packed away since the 1940's.  So, it really did need to be freshened up and aired out.

So, Brenda gave me the quilt -- and I did this...

First of all -- I asked Ross to help me do a complete TWO PERSON SHAKE. We stood outside and held each corner of the quilt and went up and down, up and down....repeatedly. Flipping it back and forth, and every which way...

If you don't have another person to help you do the shake -- you could open the quilt on your bed, and do a thorough vacuuming. (Put a nylon hose over the end of your vacuum tool to prevent snagging...)

But NOTHING WILL HELP THIS QUILT MORE than a good outside airing and some sunshine.

First, I made a hammock for the quilt -- using a flat sheet.

At this point, I used clothespins to position the quilt. I wanted the air to flow above AND below the quilt. But I didn't want to leave the pins on the quilt for any length of time...

Of course, the biggest problem would be if a bird pooped on the quilt when it was hanging on the lines...

Which is why the second, TOP SHEET is so important. Also, now I can position the pins so that they are not directly on the quilt.

Once the quilt sandwich was in place, I let the winter sun do it's job...

I LOVE MY CLOTHESLINES..!!

Because the winter days are very short, I put the quilt out on the line for three days in a row.

Also, there is a lot of moisture in the cold air -- so I did not fold or roll the quilt when I brought it inside at night.  I made sure it was completely open...