Indigo Resist Fragment and a Surprise

Today I received an indigo resist pillow from Lorford's in the U.K. My plan from the beginning was to take the pillow apart and use a bit of the fabric to repair the loss in my c. 1780 wholecloth quilt from Rouen, France. The print isn't identical and the color isn't a perfect match, but I think there's a way to make it work.

Here's a picture of the loss that needs repair. The batting is gone, too, but I'm in luck- there's plenty of batting in the quilt fragment that can be used. Right now I'm picking the quilting stitches out of the fabric to separate the fabric so it can be reused. When I opened p the pillow, there was a wonderful surprise.

There was a very vibrant piece of paisley fabric on the reverse. Score! I'm working very carefully to make sure both fabrics are intact when the quilting stitches are picked out and the fabrics are separated from the batting. The tiny holes left by the quilting threads should press down nicely, and the fabric should turn out almost as good as new.

 It looks like I'll be able to get bits off the edge of the indigo resist fabric for the repair, and I'll have a nice chunk remaining. No plans for the paisley yet, but it's fun to have it. Perhaps someone else will need the fabric for a repair. If not, it's a great study piece.