Helping a Friend

So, I'm helping my friend Sally deep clean her house. DEEP CLEAN. A quilt made by her late husband's grandmother was stashed under a bed. It was hand pieced and hand quilted, but the edges were mostly gone, with batting showing all along. Besides that, many of the squares were frayed enough that they would be considered on their way out. Still, Sally did not want to part with the valued quilt. Tote bags was my solution, and Sally loved it. First, I had to wash it - it was super dusty from being under the bed. I soaked it in the bathtub in lukewarm water with quilt soap and walked (gently) on it. Rinse, repeat. I wrung it out by stepping on it until no more water came out. I confess to giving it a start in the drier on delicate and letting it air dry the rest of the way. Whew! It survived. I made four bags - barely eking them out (one had to be a bit smaller than the rest). Come Christmas, Sally will have one bag for each of her children as well as one for herself. The bottoms, handles and linings all came from my stash! Sal, this post is for you (even though I know you'll never see it.)