Reproducing the Civil War--In a Quilt

Awhile back, my mom was sorting through some vintage and antique quilt blocks.  Some to keep, some for an auction and a few she gave to me.  Amongst the ones I received was a set of seven made of the same pattern and fabrics.  All had the same pink crossbar fabrics, but there were three or so different blues used ranging from navy to indigo.  They are all hand sewn and I do not know the exact age of them.

A simple but effective block.  I really liked the combination of the dark blue with the pink.  The pink is not too babyish, not too bright.  I thought wouldn't it be cool to be able to make a quilt that incorporated these seven vintage pieces.  Well, that started it--off I went to research fabrics that would fit the look I wanted.

To be honest, I hadn't even thought of the Civil War reproduction fabrics, but when looking for navy colored blues with white designs that were similar to the seven, that is exactly where I ended up.  It just so happens that the best pinks to fit the design were also from various Civil War reproduction fabrics.  Originally, I'd planned to go with a mix of blues and just one pink, but changed my mind to a mix of blues and a mix of salmon-toned pinks.  The use of the reproduction fabrics allows me to match the pink tones better and gives me the dark blue with white motifs in a large variety.  Mixing allows me to purchase some now and then others later with each paycheck without having to worry about finding the same designs months from now. 

These were my first selection of fabrics:

I still need another yard's worth of blues and about 1.5 yards of pinks, plus border (considering a sage green), backing and binding, but what a start, eh?!  I like the range here of blues--dark navy to indigo.  I'll be using these blocks for both my months in the Moody Blues Bee and the Sew Buzzy Bee.  That should put me on the road to a lovely queen sized quilt (which requires at least 72 blocks) and give my bee groups a quick and easy block.  The original vintage blocks will go on the back of the quilt.  I'll be posting an easy strip piecing tutorial this week.