Lola’s Heirloom Quilt
In December of 2020, my cousin Sheldon Nichols called me with the news – as he was downsizing, he found a quilt top hand stitched by our Aunt Lola. The quilt was a beautiful Long Star pattern, all stitched with accurate and gorgeous hand stitching. 
Work begins
The quilting designs in the background had been traced using a lead pencil. I added the quilting along these lines, and then added ruler work to the star itself. As I worked on the quilt, my mind frequently turned to thoughts of Aunt Lola, who was a special person.
Completion and Cleaning
Once I had finished the quilting, I added the edge binding, with a red fabric Aunt Lola had included in the box. After researching safe ways to clean old quilts, I used one of the products following the directions on the product. I then washed the entire quilt with a mild detergent. I was delighted to see that all the lead pencil markings and most of the stains had been washed out.
And the colors of the star were just as vibrant as before.
Special addition
In the box with the quilt, we discovered a hand-written note that read: “This Lone Star quilt to be quilted and given to Sheldon Nichols. Love, Lola “. The note alone was true keepsake but added to the quilt it became Lola’s heirloom quilt. I scanned the note, printed it on fabric printer sheets, and along with a picture of Aunt Lola, and the quilt information, made a label for the back of the quilt.
This quilt has truly become an incredibly special quilt for Sheldon, and one which will be a lasting family heirloom.
