I made a great find over the weekend. 
Stuffed in a plastic bag, on a chair, in the corner of an antique shop here in town. I could have cried, seeing it so mistreated.
But, I didn't cry. I didn't make a sound. I snatched that bag (ever so nonchalantly, of course), lingered a bit longer in the shop so as not to appear TOO eager, made the purchase aaaaaaaaaaaand - - - out the door! HA! Another quilt saved from Moving Blanket/Dog Bed status.
Quite pleased with my stealthy self, I headed home bathed in the glow of having found a treasure. And it really is quite beautiful ... different than anything I ever make. I've always wanted to make a yo yo quilt.
I got it home & spread it out gently on the carpet & took a long, good look at what my few dollars bought me. And realized ~ it's quite the "Monet" ~ great from a distance, awful & messy close-up.
And then the dilemma dawned on me. O, you just had to know this was coming. 
What do I DO with it? It cannot be used as it is ~ The yo yo's are made well (for the most part) ... most look to be drawn to their circle shape by sturdy cotton thread. But the "flowers" :::::sighs::::: she must have grown weary by the time the yo yo's were all made because she attached them all together with what looks like, well ... string. One pass through the new yo yo & then knotted. And most of the knots aren't holding up well. Either the knots are fraying & untying or brittle & breaking.
I'd have to say ~ maybe 1940s for this one. ~ maybe 50s. It's not been used, that's obvious: it's quite clean. Not even dusty. An impractical odd & elongated shape. The 'flowers' wilting apart, some of the yo yo's not holding up to the weight pulling on them ( & being stuffed into plastic antique-shop bags didn't help either).
So.
Do I put this aside, unable to use it or do I set about resewing the yo's now (9 rows, each with 15 flowers, each flower with 19 yo yo's hmmmm...that equals (o good Lord why did I do this math??????) ... 2,565 yo yo's. And each stinkin' yo with multiple attachments.
That sob you heard was mine.
I'll be sewing yo flowers for a while, I think. Take it down to the individual yo, I think.
Repair/resew each flower, one at a time. That way, at least the yo's of each flower will stay to the original intent & design of the quilt maker.
The layout needs to be changed, too. The 15 x 9 row/column layout is just impractical. Such an odd shape; unusable.
I don't have any hesitation about tearing this work down to the basics & rebuilding it. I don't think I'm destroying an antique or defiling a work of art. What I have here is something made for beauty & meant to be enjoyed & utilized. And this isn't happening. It's what quilters actually do, I think. Unless we are weavers & dyers & printers already, we take materials at hand & turn those beautiful things into something new ...
something beautiful, useful ... & we have no guilt whatsoever (nor should we) saying ~ "Here. Here is something I have made. "
I'll keep a journal of my progress. Here would be a great place for that, yes? From the sad discard in a plastic bag that came home with me, then each yo flower as it is pruned & then re-blooms. And finally (yes, I'm determined) a beautiful throw or lap quilt. No new yo's. No replaced yo's.
It's like I'm setting about to make the Bionic Quilt. I'm not changing it ~ I'm making it better, 
stronger, faster. Ok...not the 'faster' part. But maybe it will be more beautiful. It will certainly be credited to (once again) the Unknown Quilter. She is one prolific quilter, Ms. Unknown. I am only the one who will bring the work to light.
Looks like I'll be sewing yo flowers for some days to come. The Zen of Yo.
ooooooohhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I am no longer sobbing :)
It's been this way for a bit. I have great changes coming up in my life over the next few months and perhaps this is my way of staving those changes off ~ if I don't work toward the future, the future will not arrive.
