Over the years, I've been collecting older (maybe 30's or 40's-ish) brightly color fabric which has been sitting in a box. So far I've made one larger lap quilt out of it with simple larger & smaller squares.

Since I've been under the weather lately, I've had the chance to sit and read a wonderful book by Jinny Beyer on handquilting & piecing and would love to give it a try so to have a 'traveling quilt' to work on. I thought it'd be neat to maybe use these fabrics and do a simple period-appropriate quilt. I was thinking of maybe a bowtie quilt or a churn dash, which I believe would be rather simple to try. Any other ideas out there? I was thinking of doing a plain, muslin background with the brighter fabrics for the blocks. My other concern is the wear & tear on the fabrics. Would they be OK to use? They don't seem like they're dry rotted or anything, and most have a thicker hand, almost like a feedsack. Not sure if they are or not.

4 patch and 9 patch work well with this type fabrics with muslin in alternating blocks. Be sure to show your work as your progress:)

I think that these fabrics are perfect for hand piecing and quilting. As long as you purpose them for a quilt that will be treated kindly and not washed frequently they will do beautifully in any pattern. You might want to consider what type quilting motifs you will be using as you consider patterns, sometimes it's hard to find a motif that suits the age of the fabrics.

Ohhh, something else to think about! Thanks for the reminder. I really wish I enjoyed applique, but surprisingly to myself I don't. Can't understand how I LOVE to hand quilt, but not like applique.