Making Do

This is my most recent finished top. The 3" 9 patch blocks were the first exchange our quilt group did. The setting is from this book ('A Treasury of Mennonite Quilts', pg 78). I found the outer border in my stash, but had less than one yard. I don't like seams in my borders, so Jan and I went to our local quilt shop to find something. Once I had this in mind, nothing else worked - even with the whole shop to choose from.

So, I improvised. Here's a close-up of the border length. I had another fabric that was very similar in color/value, so inserted strips to lengthen the border without seam lines in the large scale print. I think that's what draws us to the old quilts - the querkiness that comes from making due with what's on hand. I added 9 patches in the outer corners 'just because'.