Territories - not a state yet! I think the shirt was considered a little risque by my grandmother, hence it was cut up for projects.
I have been carefully taking the top apart, teeny tiny stitch by stitch, some done by machine and some by hand. The seam allowances are frayed and many of the seams are separating. I think the top must have been washed several times over the years, but was never quilted. My plan is to reassemble and hand quilt, probably in a clam shell pattern.
I received the top when I was living in Hawaii as an Army wife. My mother sent me this top and a quilt and some doilies soon after my 96 year old grandmother passed away. All had been made by my grandmother. I remember sitting on the edge of the bed opening the box and as I lifted the top I was transported back into my grandmother's house. There was a familiar fragrance from the items, and touching the fabrics brought back comforting, sweet nostalgic memories. I burst into tears, lay down and wrapped myself up in Grandmother's quilts. I thought, then and now, what a tenderhearted gift from my mother.
I truly treasure this top and have displayed it everywhere the Army sent us, never being brave enough to begin the needed repairs. I guess I felt it would be disloyal to undue all the hard work my grandmother put into it. But now I see that finishing it is a tribute to her work ethic and color sense. I don't plan to change a thing about the setting.
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21