This isn't about the ending of 2015 - that's later this week and next.  Today is about classic, traditional and heirloom - some of the fabrics and quilts that make us think of antique quilts.

Lots and lots of beautiful antique quilts.  These belong to Edyta Sitar - Laundry Basket Quilts Instagram.

While it seems like I've been sewing with lighter, brighter fabrics lately, I love Reproductions and have made many, many quilts with them.  Maybe not as many as Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings - the girl is P.R.O.L.I.F.I.C.

These are some - yes, some! - of her finishes from this past year.  (From Lisa Bongean Instagram.)  Maybe there's something in the fiber of Reproduction fabrics that make folks sew lots and lots of itty-bitty pieces into big quilts quickly.  Edyta is just as prolific.

What I love about most Reproduction quilts is that you can work with a specific color palette - brown & red, brown & blue, blue & gold - cheddar, and so on.  Or you can mix them all into a glorious celebration of color and pattern.  Big pieces and tiny pieces, they all mix beautifully.

It's one of the reasons I've been tapping my fingers waiting for the release of Betsy Chutchian's new book - Classic & Heirloom Quilts.  Published by the folks at It's Sew Emma and the Fat Quarter Shop, the book and it's quilts are beautiful.  (I've seen the quilts and since Betsy won't let me have any of them, I'm going to have to make my own.)

Aside from the gorgeous quilts, one of my favorite things about the book is that each of the eight designs comes in three sizes - a Mini, a Lap-sized and a large Bed-sized quilt.

Here are three of the Minis.  The pieces are smaller but the blocks are the same.  Did you know that Betsy likes to make mini versions of her big quilts first so she can check color-placement?  True story.  It's sort of how the book came about... she had the quilts anyway, right?

For a few of the designs, the pieces in the Lap and Bed-sized quilts are the same, but for some of the designs, the pieces and  blocks are in different sizes.

This is Stepping Out - it's one of my favorites.  If I had to pick one, of course.

It's made with Betsy's Lizzie's Legacy collection.

So is White Rock Creek.

Okay... all of the quilts in the book are made with Lizzie's Legacy but since I have this idea of making a big quilt using the small-size blocks from the Mini version... I'm going to need more fabric, right?  And if I need more fabric, that means I can add more fabric-S - as in, variety.

It's not like Moda doesn't have a lot of different prints - some that are already in stores and some that will be coming soon.  (Just so you know... I collect Layer Cakes for just this sort of thing, their size is perfect for adding just a little bit and then being "done" with it when it's gone.  And no, that's not my "genius" idea... credit Jen Kingwell for that.)

Clockwise from Top Left - Old Cambridge Pike by Barbara Brackman.  Mille Couleurs by 3 Sisters - technically, not a Reproduction collection by the prints and colors mix beautifully with most Reproductions.  Hawthorne Ridge by Jan Patek - also not technically Reproduction but it still works... those blues and greens are my favorites.  Eliza's Indigo - another one of Betsy's collections.

Collection for a Cause - Mill Book 1889 by Howard Marcus.  Southern Exposure by Laundry Basket Quilts.  Snowman Gatherings II by Primitive Gatherings - the colors and scale of the prints work beautifully with Reproduction prints.  Petite Prints Deux by French General - also not a traditional "Reproduction" collection but if you'd seen the blocks that Tammy has been making mixing Repros and French General, you'd know what an awesome mix they are.

While Christmas 2016 is still a long way away, I think I'm going to have to have some of this coming-next-May collection, Christmas Gatherings from Lisa Bongean.  (Link coming soon.)

Yes, I really do love Reproduction fabrics.

And quilts.  When Edyta finishes this one, I know I'm going to love it.

See!  You really do need all of them.

(I'm off to start figuring out how many layer cake squares I'm going to need to make White Rock Creed - the big Mini.)

Happy Tuesday!