Progress with Sawtooth Diamond top

You may remember that I bought this antique marked top, and decided to recreate the quilt. Finally, the top is underway as I have located some suitable fabric. (Many thanks to Susan B who offered some from her stash!)

Here is the little sample piece that I made - I bought 1/2 metres before making a big spend on large amounts of fabric.

The fabric that I have finally chosen is from the French General range of Rouenneries - it is a bit darker than the original, but a good approximation, and is dress weight so it quilts nicely. It is a printed solid, not a woven plain, so I'll have to be a bit careful not to erase or scrape the colour off the surface...

Here is "Faded red" another fabric from the Rouenneries series - it was a better match in colour, but proved just too coarse as it is a linen/cotton mix. The other fabric will be easier to quilt.

Here is the centre of the top. I have made half square triangles to finish 2 7/8" because the maths indicated that -the originals did vary a lot! I started with 4" squares, cut these in half and sewed together - this made a larger unit which I could trim down exactly to 3 3/8". I find it easier and more precise to trim the units down, lining the bias square ruler on the centre seam. I bet the old timers didn't take this care! however, can't shake the way I work...lots more half square triangle units to make; the plain borders will be easy to run up I think. I am just wondering whether I should trace the designs directly from the top, or use the tracing which is only 1/4 of the whole - it may be possible to trace directly from the light sections but I don't think it will be possible to trace from the dark sections - I will have to experiment on the light table to find out.

The pink Kona cotton will make a nice backing, which will show off the quilting nicely.