"Vintage Chain" using 2.5" squares

I did manage to finish up another top a few days ago. It has been a confusing week with Mike heading to Ukraine - and that part of it being up in the air. Other things were going on as well.

Anyway, I did finish this one.

I needed 13 of those x blocks shown top left and 6 each of the other two.

I had started it a while ago and just played around with it - probably because I had actually considered pressing all the seams open instead of pressing to one side. Well, I talked myself right out of that (it takes longer) and decided to just do what I usually do and press to one side.

Once I had that decision made, I went ahead and made up the blocks.

Because they are so big - or at least feel so big after working for so long with smaller pieces or strips, it felt like the blocks are huge!

Here is what I was doing - when laying it out.

But in the end, I like it.

However, I’m getting a little tired of working with this color scheme.

I’m ready to change my direction on colors and use something else. What I’ve not told you is that I was going to make a Scrappy Triple Irish as Corey Yoder is showing on her You Tube channel.

I was going to use the same colors (black as the main one and brights) as this Vintage Chain, but I’m not. I’m kind of ready to make some changes on working with brights for a bit.

I say that, but as I look at the top, the colors just make me smile. So, who knows?

Because this one is a classic type chain quilt, of course I like it! I pretty much love all designs with a chain look! It’s also a great way to use up a LOT of scraps.

For the colorful pieces I pulled from the bags of 2.5” strips and strip pieced as much as possible. I did end up cutting the black and a lot of white from off the fabric rolls of these colors that I have from Polish manufacturers.

The history behind the original Vintage Chain is that someone on one of the scrappy groups on Facebook showed us an old quilt and asked us what the pattern was. We all recognized it as some sort of chain, but no one knew the actual name of it. So I drew it up for her and shared it with her - her name is Barbara. She made one - as did I.

I decided to call it Vintage Chain. It is a variation of a classic Irish Chain.

Let me show you those quilts. I made that one in blues and purples and she made hers in a classic color schemed, which I love as well. But those were made with smaller blocks - for those we used 2” squares/strips.

This one shown below is actually part of my Upcycled Blues series - but also part of the 2” series. This gave us smaller blocks and as such, more blocks in the finished quilt.

Let me see…using black and a stark-ish white I’ve made several of these types of tops/quilts. Let’s see what they are.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been using black and brights quite a bit - after all, it is a handy fabric to have and after not having much for a year or more, once I got more in the last year and a half, I’ve been using it a lot.

Maybe it’s time for me to take a break - make a few quilts with a different color scheme. Here are the ones I’ve made that scream “Black and colorful”. I’ll put the name of the quilt under the photo. Most of these are offered as free patterns. A few aren’t done yet.

I suppose you can see that this year or at least in the last 12 months several of these 2.5” tops are the ones I’ve chosen to make in this color scheme. That’s probably part of the problem!

So I think you can expect to see a different color scheme yet - maybe even a few. Maybe I’ll go back to some of my ultimate favorites!

(OK - after relooking at this top - as I write this post - I still seriously love this quilt top. I could make this design again and again just not right now.)

Once again I can review this 2.5” series - here it is.

And there you are. This one actually was started quite a few weeks ago now. Like I said, I put some of the pieces aside while I decided whether or not I was going to press my seams open. :)

Have a great day wherever you are reading!

Thanks so much for coming along with me on this journey!

Rachael promised more installments of her journey to the H+H americas next week!

Becky Petersen9 Comments