Rescued Quilt Topper: New Tablecloth

For the past few weeks, I’ve been searching thrift stores, yard sales, antique stores, and Goodwill, looking for a quilt topper or old quilt that had no emotional significance so I could cut it up and make Christmas stockings. I was so excited when I finally found one for nine dollars at a thrift store. I picked it up with all the dreams of how beautiful these stockings would be. Then I went to another store and found another topper for an insanely low price.

Everywhere else I looked, quilts and toppers were being listed for crazy amounts of money, so I felt like I had found a deal. I came home and kept looking at them, envisioning all the cool things I could make out of them—but I just couldn’t do it.

I mean, honestly, isn’t this the most beautiful Christmas stocking idea ever? Maybe one of these days I’ll find the right tattered quilt to create these, but these two toppers aren’t the right ones.

I love the pillows and the bags I was able to make from one of the old, tattered quilts that no longer had any life left in it because it was so fragile. It was so rewarding and satisfying to see those pieces come together into something new.

But I just can’t cut these two perfectly beautiful quilt toppers. They are begging to be finished.

Right now, I don’t have time in my life to actually quilt. But I do absolutely love this blue one, and I don’t want it to be stuck in a thrift store or antique shop. I can enjoy it as a tablecloth. The colors are so soft and beautiful—I can just imagine fresh chocolate chip cookies and sandwiches being served on the picnic table while we sit around our backyard fire pit and watch the sunset.

I brought them home and ran them on a gentle cycle through the washer because even though they are beautiful, I don’t know where they have been stored for the past few years. I took the time to iron the cotton quilt and now it’s all set.

And tell me I’m not crazy…. I love the smell of a freshly ironed quilt topper. It just brings back so many nostalgic memories!

I don’t think I’m going to add any kind of backing or even hem it right now. It was going to be hidden away in the back of an old store and whoever made it—I would hope they would approve of me giving it new life and enjoying it for new occasions.

And who knows… maybe someday I’ll turn it into an actual finished quilt. Or maybe this winter I’ll turn it into Christmas stockings for our family to enjoy. But either way, I’m so glad I rescued it so that it can be appreciated and loved in our family now.

What about you? Have you ever rescued a quilt from a yard sale or a thrift store? I can’t wait to see if I can find some other old homemade quilts to rescue this summer. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll find one that is too worn out to use for a quilt or tablecloth and I’ll finally be able to make my Christmas stockings!