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CONSIDER Marion Kolson a quilt rescuer.
She scours flea markets and auctions for patchwork pieces that might not rate a second glance from the average shopper.
She painstakingly mends frayed edges on the handmade coverlets or appliques over worn centers.
"I like to imagine the quilt maker looking down on me saying, 'thank you,'" Kolson said.
She sells antique quilts and quilted items in the upstairs of the Fredericksburg Antique Mall at 211 William St. Most of them are in mint condition, others have been refurbished.
Quilts that can't be repaired in full get recycled as vests, pillows or pin cushions.
"Quilts are heirlooms," Kolson said. "Most can be restored and need to be kept."
Kolson is an artist who also creates pen-and-ink drawings when she's not restoring quilts. Her business, called House Portraits and Quilts, encompasses both ventures.
She attended Philadelphia College of Art with the idea of going into commercial art. But constant moves with her military husband curtailed her artistic career.
"I was always interested in textiles, but I didn't like to sew," Kolson said.
She became enamored with quilt designs after attending auctions in Columbus, Ohio. She couldn't afford the $100 to $200 price tags.
By the time the family moved to California, Kolson decided to make her own. She learned quilt making from renowned quilter Eleanor Burns and began to appreciate the time and care it took to craft a quilt.
Her fascination with antique quilts took shape after a move to Oklahoma. She collected more than 100, buying them at auctions for much less than she had seen in other parts of the country.
She began selling some in her collection after the Kolsons moved to Washington in 1986. At the same time, she noticed damaged quilts were being used for drop cloths and furniture packing. She bought them inexpensively and brought them back to life by stitching period fabrics over worn or stained areas.
She also developed an eye for deciphering the age and value of quilts. Those from the 1800s have rich browns, indigo blues and turkey reds. Depression-era quilts have more whimsical pastels, while 1940s quilters used bolder colors.
Some of the most beautiful quilts came from the East Coast, where quilters used thinner batting and sewed more refined stitches. Northern and Northwestern quilts tended to be more utilitarian because of the cold winters. Stitches were larger because of thicker batting.
Kolson considers Amish-made quilts among the most prized, especially those made in the 1800s. They have very graphic designs made from fabrics that have stood the test of time.
She tries to educate people about the intrinsic value of handmade quilts.
Too many people fail to recognize these treasures that have been handed down over generations. They'll discard a quilt that has a stain or sell it at a yard sale because it seems outdated.
"A quilt is so much more valuable than the money you can get for them," Kolson said. "There's rich family history behind them."
To ensure that tradition continues, Kolson encourages family members to record the quilt history on a piece of muslin with a waterproof marker. Include the name of the quilt maker, date made and for whom, and sew the muslin on the back of the quilt.
"That way, family in the future will know the history as it passes from one generation to the next," she said.
Kolson recounted a time when a customer brought in a damaged lone-star quilt bought at a yard sale for 25 cents. The seller said the quilt was ruined because a mouse had chewed a hole in the center.
Kolson repaired the 1930s quilt by appliqueing over the damaged area with fabric of the same period. The value of the refurbished quilt soared to $300 to $400 and the new owner displayed it at a quilt exhibit.
Handmade quilts need proper care to preserve the life for generations, Kolson said.
She cautions against cleaning a quilt in the washing machine or taking it to the dry cleaner. The agitation of the washing machine weakens the fibers, as do chemicals in dry cleaning solution.
"Quilts shouldn't be manhandled," she said. "The more you abuse them, the shorter the life of the quilt."
Instead, Kolson recommends washing them in a bathtub by hand with a mild soap containing no additives. Thoroughly rinse so the quilt retains no soap residue. Even then, washing should be limited to every five years.
In between, Kolson said, debris can be removed by vacuuming the quilt with a nylon stocking fitted over the hose attachment.
Kolson also discourages everyday use of heirloom quilts. They can decorate a bed, but should not be used as blankets. Body oils tend to erode the materials, she said.
Here are some other suggestions to add life to handmade quits:
Vary the way the quilt is folded periodically to avoid stress on the same spots of fabric.
Keep quilts from touching bare wood. The acid in wood makes permanent brown spots on fabric.
Avoid putting quilts in direct sunlight to keep fabric from fading.
Quilts make great wall hangings to decorate a room. Leave them up no longer than six months, then store them flat for the same length of time.
Quilts are best stored by laying them flat on a guest bed one on top of another.
"When company comes then you can remove the quilts," Kolson said.
Inexpensive handmade quilts sold at department stores often employ cheap unskilled labor from China, Kolson said. Those mass-produced quilts use large stitches that can't compare to the carefully constructed heirloom versions.
Handmade antique quilts can sell for anywhere from $100 to thousands of dollars for those in mint condition. They increase in value over the years, unlike the cheaply made ones.
The most expensive quilt, an 1850s Baltimore album quilt in mint condition, sold for $265,000, Kolson said. Even a damaged one brought $80,000.
"So many hours are put into making a quilt," Kolson said. "It's a work of art in fabric."