TBT - Strippy 4-Patch

I came to quilting by way of living history -- that's where you put on funny clothes and pretend to be someone from another time and place.

Nashville Refugee Aid Camp
Battle of Nashville Reenactment - Rippavilla 1993

That's me in front, next to the lady with the chicken -- oh, that's a story for another day ....

Anyway, I thought piecing quilts would be an appropriate activity for someone of my age and station in life (in the 1860s), so this is what I started on.

Strippy 4-Patch - McCall's Quilting

I purchased this kit at my very first Paducah AQS Quilt Show. I think it was one of a series of kits put out by McCalls to support breast cancer research.

I didn't have a clue about 1/4" seams. And I recall hand stitching some of these 4-patches in a darkened lecture room at a Civil War civilian conference.  Needless to say, they were all over the size spectrum!  When it came time to assemble this I went to the sewing machine hoping the trimmed squares wouldn't fall apart before I could get them stitched to the setting triangles.

I added a few fabrics from my small stash (at the time it WAS small) to make the quilt a bit larger than the kit which meant I also had to get more light fabric for the setting triangles.

It may have been my first purchase, but not my first finish. It was also my first UFO for several years.  It began my lasting love of strippy quilts.

Linking up with Krista Quilts for Throwback Thursday.