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Reproducing a Quilt

I've been given a hand pieced coverlet (not quilted).  I'm not sure how old it is but I plan on finding out more about it (it did come with some family information).

It is a sampler - every block is different.  Some of the blocks are simple, basic blocks, others are more difficult to piece and some are like nothing I've seen before.  I've never seen a quilt with blocks set the way these blocks are.

The blocks are made of mostly brown, red and pick fabrics with some blue, black and yellow.  The background is a surprisingly bright blue.

I've decided to make my own copy of the quilt.  Actually I'm going to make two.  I've learned that if I'm making a sampler it's almost as easy to make 2 of every block if I'm chain piecing so that's what I'm doing.

For the first copy I've been collecting reproduction fabrics.  For many of the fabrics in the quilt I've managed to find fabric that is nearly identical.  Other fabrics have no modern equivalent so I've found reproduction fabrics with a similar color or style or a modern fabric that captures the spirit of the fabric.  It won't be perfect but I'd rather start quilting then search endlessly for a fabric I may never find.

For the second copy I'm using wild and bright modern fabrics to make a bright, modern (I hope) quilt.

I've laid out the quilt in EQ7 to help me get going.  Since it is an old hand pieced quilt, not all of the blocks were square or an easy size to piece.  I've fixed that.  The blocks are mostly 9 or 10 inches square with a few 11 inch blocks (and a few of other sizes).

I've decided to present the blocks in the order that I piece them as a mystery quilt.  So, that means I'm not showing the original coverlet until the end.

Curious?  I hope so.

Some basic information if you'd like to follow along:

Size: about 73 by 80 inches
Sashing/Border Fabric: 3 1/4 yards Moda Bella Solids Bright Sky (a little brighter than the blue in the quilt but surprisingly close).  Usually I wait till the end (and I will on the modern version) but once I saw a blue that would work I pounced on it)
The rest of the fabric - I collected 1/4 to 1 yard cuts of fabric for the reproduction and fat quarters for the modern version - a mix of light, medium and dark fabrics.  I have the amount that looks right.  I know that's not very helpful.  If I have too much fabric I can use it for other quilts and if I don't have enough I can find more.  I'm not worried about it.  Quilting is a "make do" hobby and I don't want the sampler to be too coordinated.

I'll post the first 2 blocks tomorrow and hopefully continue with some more blocks every weekend.  I have a head start on the blocks, but as they get more complicated they take longer (and I don't get quilting time in every week),


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