Christine, I love the progress photos! You go, girl. The stand would be a big help, I liked to use a wood sweater drying rack thing I had for my strips but my son asked for it when he moved out (he actually liked to use it for drying clothes!) and I never replaced it.

This year I plan to work with some civil war fabrics I've collected. Way back around Y2K I did a lot of fabric swapping and although I'm not a huge fan of them, I amassed a lot of 10" squares of civil war fabrics! I think between the squares and suitable yardage (not all truly Civil War, some just Thimbleberries in correct colors or close enough) I have enough for about 3 quilts. I thought I planned out my first one but I've just changed blocks/directions.and need to play with my fabric a bit more before starting and I think I'm going to need a couple more Indigo fabrics than I have, but that's not hard to find something close enough to work. Currently thinking about a Joseph's Coat variation, where the blocks are made from selected fabrics but each block is different. First thought was a Gentleman's Fancy/Rambler variation (lots of triangles) with each piece different per block, even though I work in random a lot I lean more towards the planned variations than the chaotic variation and I think I'll be happier with the new plan. Plus, I'll probably still have enough fabric for the "Fancy Rambler".

I googled Gentleman's Fancy, that looks like a great block! I've been eyeing some HST quilts to do in tandem with the Circa 1880 for when I need a break from tiny blocks.

If you wanted to use HST block units, you could redraft Gentlemen's Fancy for that... traditionally pieced as triangle going around the center square but the same look can be achieved with HST units.
https://www.quiltingdaily.com/pattern-gentlemans-fancy/
For the Rambler version, which first caught my eye back in the early 80s, the corner triangles were green and you emphasized the flower shape in the center with the fabric selection, usually pinks and reds.

I've been eyeing my stash and fabrics for ideas for the civil war fabrics for a year now... they are starting to speak to me on how to use them up.

One of my sayings is that "the quilt we make depends on the fabric we have" I have a lot of somewhat related fabric in 10" squares and so that limits me somewhat, but what I'm finding with that Joseph's Coat is that the units will all cut nicely from those "layer cake" sized pieces I have.

I'm looking at emphasizing the star pattern in the middle, using reds and madder browns for the stars, and having all 4 of the squares from the same fabric.

https://www.patchworksquare.com/mf/j...uilt-block.pdf

Christine...whoa you have come a long way. It's going to be fantastic..I've eyed this quilt when it first come out, but I have so many big small quilts in progress I hate to start another one!

I've been tempted to make one...check out roguequilter's blog. Her version is the prettiest I've seen. Absolutely stunning! She and Pam Buda (Heartspun Quilts) exchanged blocks. Her's is exquisite (as is Pam's...they had a block exchange). If you're interested and find others who would like to make one I would love to participate in a block exchange.

I finished my Circa 1880 nine patch quilt in August this year. It was a fun journey! I made a queen size with 716 two inch blocks, 7,934 pieces. I entered it in a quilt show and it won a 1st place blue ribbon! The pattern is spot on and I recommend it!

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hBGvlC8F7...bbonwinner.jpg

That is a very lovely pattern! I don't know that I would have the patience to complete one. Then again, it could always be a work in progress! Thanks for sharing!

That is simply fantastic! Congratulations on completing it and on winning a blue ribbon!

The Circa 1880 is certainly a scrap buster and almost anything would work as long as the prints were small. I would have the cut the pieces larger if I did it or I'd go crazy working on it for so long.

Congratulations!! A lot of hard work went into that and it certainly paid off. I love civil war fabric and have seen this pattern before and have thought about making it. Your post has inspired to take another look at it. Great work and again congratulations on a job well done.