Starting Jane Austen coverlet/quilt

Do you remember some time ago, I rescued a pair of 1980s curtains made of Warner fabric in the same design as the centre of the Jane Austen coverlet? The time has come to start it.

I have measured the angle of the diamonds on the original, it seems to vary between 70° and 75°. To fit the smaller diamonds around it, whatever size I use, needs to be divisible by 11.

I cut out diamonds in multiples of 1¼", 1 1/8" and 1".  And with both, I cut it at 70°and 75°. I tried to align the flowers and the birds the same as the original. In the original the base of the basket is not quite on the horizontal.... I wasn't aware of being OCD but this annoys me. I know they did it to accommodate both the birds at the top but it is like a painting hanging askew.

It seems the colour varies according to the camera.....

Lis kindly gave permission for me to use her image from the Bowes museum where you can see the complete panel.  Click on her name to see her other photos.

You can see my fabric, back at the top, has a different treatment framing the basket of flowers.

This is based on 1¼" x 11 and 75°

 The same but twisted a little.

 1" X 11 at 70°

1" X 11 at 75°

 1 1/8" x 11 at 70°

1 1/8" x 11 at 75°

I am going with the 70° with a 1 1/8th base.

Then came designing the layout. It seems the Austen sisters (if it were them who made it) Joined the sashing in many different ways.

I quite fancied doing it like this until I realised how many partial seams would be involved.

I am fairly sure this will be the way I shall piece mine. You can see how those little diamonds at the bottom and the sides have to be a third the edge and vertical length of the bigger diamonds and why the bigger central square has to be divisible by eleven to fit the sashing which also has to fit the tiny diamonds at the edges.

Had you realised that the larger and tiny diamonds are mirrors imaged both side to side and top to bottom? I think I will go the extra mile to mirror image in the centre section, but the outer border, probably not.