Erica's Stitches

The old quilt that I am copying has 2 blocks with information about some ladies that may have worked on the quilt.  I have no idea how reliable the information is but I have done some research. First we have Ruth who was born in 1796 and died in 1864. Obviously, this wasn't written by Ruth but the dates match what I can find online.   Next is Sally who was born in 1789 and died in 1881.  Again, the dates match up with the records. Her block  is said to have been pieced on April 7th, 1879.  What happened on that date in 1879 so that the date was remembered?  I found nothing on "on this date" lists so it must have been something local.  I need to do more searching and see if there was a birthday or a wedding on that date.  It's also possible there was a note with the block or a diary entry. So, what do I know?  If these are to be believed the quilt was documented and assembled after both ladies died.  But...

These are my favorite fabrics from the original quilt that I'm copying.  They appear in many of the quilt blocks. Stripes and polka dots in 2 different colorways!  I need this fabric.  Someone please print it again. Here's what I managed to find: I didn't have any luck at all finding any old-fashioned looking light blue prints.  I settled for this light teal calico.  I was able to find black prints and this was the closest I found to polka dots. Here I used a black calico and a gray fabric with tiny polka dots. And finally another dark gray fabric with small polka dots.  I did find a white fabric with red dots even if the scale is off.   Notice how I ended up with white, ecru and tan for the light blocks and how similar the light blocks are in the original?

I've been showing you blocks that I've been making  based on an old quilt I have.  Actually, it's not a quilt.  I think you would call it a coverlet.  The blocks are sewn together and the edges are finished but there is no backing or batting. Since progress is temporarily stalled, I thought I'd start showing some of the original blocks and my reproductions.   I think I did pretty good on this block and it's a mixed bag.   First, the mustard yellow fabric is nearly identical to the old fabric.  The colors are slightly different but otherwise there's no real difference.  That did not happen very often.  I quickly learned that I couldn't be too picky when selecting fabrics. At the other end of the spectrum is the black fabric with blue flowers that are the star tips.  I couldn't find anything even close and I tried and remained hopeful through the last quilt shop I visited.  I don't know if it was a striped fabr...