The current project being made from my collection of vintage quilt blocks uses some that are of the shoo-fly design. I am guessing that the fabrics in them are ~100 years old (early 1900s).
I have seven somewhat identical vintage blocks. Seven is such an odd number...what can be done with only seven blocks that measure 8" finished? They would make a long, skinny table runner, but I would not be happy with that.
Since I really like this color combination, I decided to make a nap sized quilt. I definitely need more blocks! My stash of vintage fabrics contained a small amount of the same "era" blue fabric, enough to make 1 block. Not having any of the pale red check/plaid fabric that is in the original blocks, I chose double pink fabric to take its place. The double pink seems to blend just fine with the pale red, and I had enough vintage double pink to make several blocks.
Looking through my stash of reproduction fabric, I found a lot of double pinks. I also found 3 pieces of blue fabric that are almost the same shade of blue, but these pieces were not big enough to make all the blocks that I would need.
With vintage blocks in hand, I headed to the quilt shops, looking for blue fabric. Of course I was not able to find exact color matches, but what I did find was interesting and will certainly blend.
P&B Textiles has a collection of fabrics designed by Evonne Cook, titled "Temperance Blues". The fabrics are small prints on a blue background, based on designs c 1850.
Wondering why this fabric line was called "Temperance Blues", I did a bit of research on the Temperance Movement and discovered that the symbol of the Temperance Movement was a blue ribbon!
The Temperance Movement took place from 1800-1933. Double Pink fabrics date from the late 1800s to the 1920s. Using these reproduction fabrics for the remaining blocks, all of my blocks will represent approximately the same era.
I now have enough fabric with which to make those remaining blocks. And while making them, I will be pondering what fabric to use for sashing. Once completed, I know that I will really enjoy this small quilt!
