A stitch in time

My quilt, raggedly unfinished and abandoned has been beckoning me from a cupboard in the second bedroom for a while. Usually, I push the thoughts of it out of my head and think of the more important and immediate tasks I have to accomplish like dinner, vacuuming, ironing ...
Sunday afternoon I succumbed and was at the sewing machine from 2 until 7pm, admittedly there was probably more unpicking than sewing!

Here it is laid out on our bed, it's gotten bigger! I may only be one or two complete circumferences of squares away from dealing with battling and binding (quite a scary thought - where will I find the room to do these things in our little cottage?)

Anyway, since I started this quilt before we bought our cottage and I've still not finished it, I'd almost forgotten my reason for starting it. But looking at some of the rather shockingly wonky squares I remembered the moment of inspiration. I had discovered some old purple Victorian fabric (on Rag Rescue) and was trying to think of the best way to use these snippets when suddenly it hit me - a quilt!

Initially I was quite determined to use only Victorian fabric for the quilt and then the scarcity of the fabric made me think again. I've used some 1940's French and German lilac coloured prints and some hints of red and other colours have entered the mix which is probably more in spirit with patch working!

I'm doing this free-hand with no rotary cutter and I don't always mark out my seam allowance either but just guess it instead which is probably why it looks so uneven. But I tell myself that this is pleasingly rustic and who wants a perfectly regulated patchwork anyway?

Ivy, on the other hand has been spending her Sunday the best way she knows how - blissed out on the eiderdown (that she is not supposed to be on!)

And Holly was not far behind in following suit!