Red and White Double Irish Chain

Way back at Christmas time, I happened upon a box of red fabric in my grandmother's quilting stuff. 

The box was full, but the fabric had been used for something because the pieces were torn into long, long lengths and had evidence of stuffing attached. My guess is that Grandma helped put together a Christmas display and this red was used for background. The white stuffing would have been snow. Anyway, she'd cleaned it up as best she could, folded it neatly and kept it in this well-marked box.

I got into it at Christmas time and made a couple of Christmas gifts, and while I was sewing an idea came to me. With this red fabric, I would make a red and white Double Irish Chain quilt. In fact, when I shared the idea with my sewing buddy, Sharon, she wanted to make one, too, and already had fabric for it.

Game on! We decided that we'd do it in July - and here we are in July already! Time to get busy.

Backing up just a bit, the fabric was old - this may have been stored since the 1960s or 1970s. It was very cheap-feeling, and I just knew it had absolutely zero color-fastness. This made me decide to wash it in hot water. While I didn't think I would ever be washing my quilt, who could say that it wouldn't somehow get wet? Or someone after me might try washing it, only to end up with a pink quilt.

Look at that water! My intuition was correct - no colorfastness. I hand rinsed in the hottest water all the yardage - three times. The water never lightened up. So, I know I still have a danger on my hands, but I wanted to start. The month is half-gone already!

I now have a few 25-patch blocks assembled. These are fun to make, and with an audio book going, I can churn 'em out quickly. Note: I did catch that white squares should be in the corners, and have corrected these 4 blocks. 

I don't know that this will be a finish for July or not, but I am going to have a pretty good start.

Happy Quilting, Friends!