This is the second finish for the year. I have no idea what to call this, other than 'grey, cheddar quilt.' I put the blocks together as a sixteen patch, which greatly simplified things. 

I made 4 patches using two fabrics, in sets of two which gave me a sort of framework for dealing with the scraps. A set of two cheddar and grey 4 patches and another pair of lighter  grey/blue combined with the lightest squares in shirtings, red and white checks and pale blues.

A vintage gingham in black and white gave me the darker stripes running diagonally across the top. The original quilt that I was inspired by had a lot more of these darker areas but I didn't want to recreate that blotchiness, and preferred these subtle bands instead.

The borders were made from men's dark grey shirt strips alternating with the remains of a fat quarter, cut in 1 1/2" strips, and then a 4 1/2" strip of another vintage gingham that was only 36" wide. This one was blue, but I think that helps tie in with the light blues in the centre of the top.

 

I knew that joining the gingham in any-old-how fashion would give an unsightly break in the borders, so I decided to have a go at matching the checks. These little squares are 1/8" wide, eek.

This attempt....not so great, but it will do.

This try was better, but I wasn't going to agonise too much. As long as there was no overall break in the pattern I was happy.

This used up all the grey and cheddar scraps that I wanted to deal with, and I actually had to cut some strips from fat quarters in the end. I have some leftover blocks because I changed my mind about how big I wanted this to be, and I'm going to make a second top using these colours, in a different design. I'll have to use the stash now that the scraps have gone but I really liked making these blocks and I'm not sick of them yet.

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First finish for 2022

 It's hard to see the borders in this little top but they are there, framing this baby top nicely. Still haven't found the missing sheets but when I do I'll set the rest of the blocks I made into another little quilt. I'm quite pleased with how the fabric behaved so I'll be on the lookout for more very lightly used cotton linens at the opshop. And then try not to misplace them...

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