Hidden in Plain Sight

What we almost gave away

Back in March 2020, Dave spent a lot of time organizing. Once gardening season begins, everything else is usually put on hold, so this was the perfect time for him to go through things. We have a spot in the garage where I set aside unwanted items for me to take to the local thrift store or the Goodwill truck. Since I’m the one who delivers them, I always go through everything before it leaves the garage. I noticed that Dave had put out this comforter.

Dave’s comforter

As I do with everything, I inspected it to see if it was even thrift-shop-worthy. The edges were a bit tattered, so I decided it was better suited for donation to the local humane society.

Dave had that comforter for as long as he could remember. He recalls it from childhood, especially all of the time he spent trying to pull out the ties that held it together. (If you look closely, you can still see the yellow ties.) He also used it in the living room of the house he lived in before we married, eighteen years ago. I’ll admit, the comforter was cozy, but I was never very fond of the “cheater” fabric.

As I continued inspecting it, I noticed a tear and peeked inside.

A surprise find

I could not believe what I found. Underneath that cheater fabric was a perfect quilt.

I ran to Dave and asked if he knew anything about it. He was just as surprised as I was. I carefully cut away all the ties and uncovered the quilt. The binding was a mess, or rather, nearly gone, which must have been why someone had decided it was easier to cover the entire quilt than to rebind it. Aside from that, the quilt itself was in remarkable condition.

The hidden surprise

Whoever tied this quilt did an excellent job protecting it. Here it is on our bed.

Hidden quilt on our bed

I mention that it is perfect. Of course, it’s been worn. It’s been well-loved and washed many, many times during Dave’s childhood. Yet, there are no holes or tattered fabric, amazing for this hand-stitched vintage quilt. The only loss was that the binding was gone, so someone covered the entire quilt with the cheater fabric.

Here is a close-up that shows the size of the blocks.

Who made this quilt? When was it hidden? Dave has no idea. He couldn’t think of anyone in his family who quilted. My guess is that it was hand-crafted in the 1930s or the early 1940s. Whoever decided to protect it all those years ago gave it a second life.

I’m still amazed that something so beautiful was hiding in plain sight.