Hello everybody. So many great ideas! I looked at those images too and saw one I really liked. I believe I'm going to stick with the Triple Irish chain pattern and use some of the vintage fabric squares I have. That will keep old fabric with old and use them well--there are a lot of different colors amongst them, like the SBS blocks. I really like a scrappy irish chain, and the minimizes the amount of fabric I have to buy too. I want to stay in period as much as possible, so am planning on buying a reproduction jelly roll or two.
I don't know how old exactly those blocks are. My DH's grandmother would have been around 100 if she were alive today. She was a saver, so who knows? She did all those sues and about half the embroidery. It was the embroidery that was unfinished, as well as the hands on one sue. I've had the blocks myself for about 10 years and am trying to finish/clean up all these unfinished bits. I am glad to have this piece of history for my children...we live in the valley a couple miles from where their great-grandmother was born and raised. We live in her house and pick fruit from the trees she planted from seed. I like to renew classy old things like these blocks and make them usable for generations. I'll try to post pictures as I make progress!