April's Mini Quilt

If you're like me 

and many others fabulous quilt bloggers

gathered under Wendy's wing, 

you know making a monthly mini

can be a challenge.

It  feels like the months

get shorter and shorter,

but it's still  a great way to explore new ideas

and create something small each month.

This month I went digging into a 

sewing cupboard and pulled out

a stack of vintage basket blocks.

When or where I got them

is unknown, but they

have been there for a very long time.

The fabrics are a combination of

30's and 40's prints with a bleached muslin background.

The 32 blocks all measured 

ROUGHLY 

10.5 inches.

I decided I didn't want a big quilt 

so I pulled out Jack the Ripper

and took the blocks apart leaving the 

hst's intact.

I wasn't surprised to find all of these units

looking very different from each other.

The blocks were mostly hand stitched.

There was no way these blocks

would fit together.

I resized these from 2.5" down

to 1.5" along with the center section and 

the rectangular side pieces.

The blocks would now be 

a quarter of the size, 5" finished.

The blocks went from this to that.

I ended up using 28 of the 

original blocks.

Vintage Spring Baskets

25" x 35"

I set the blocks together in 

sets of 4.

Then I added a simple border

of Kona Snow and

 machine quilted diagonal lines.

Bound it with a 30's repro fabric.

The backing is a piece from a flour sack

with one more of the blocks used as a label.

****

Then it was time to hang it out on the barbwire fence

along with the other vintage minis that have been 

reconstructed over the years.

All of the quilts are made

 from vintage 30's and 40's fabrics pieces. 

I was asked if I had any regrets taking

apart another person's work.

I would have to say no.

I feel like I have taken pieces that

were abandoned and left undone for a reason.

Maybe I've brought these to completion, finally.

****

The exciting news  is that

Running Man and I will be soon

gathering up our passports, 

vaccination cards and heading off 

on an adventure.

I can't wait!

So Until Next Time-Kyle