Farmer's Wife Sampler - forging ahead

18 Century of Progress - drawn in EQ6 to remove some seams, hand pieced

23 Country Farm - Marti Michell templates B12, B13 and B14

24 Country Path - Marti Michell templates plus 1.5" diagonal square template

25 Cups and Saucers - MM templatesB12, B13, B14 and D29

27 Darting Birds - N79, B13 and D29 (aka N80)

28 Duck and Ducklings - paper pieced

29 Economy - MM templates A1, A2 and A4 (would also be very easy to paper piece)

30 End of Day - MM templates - C19 trimmed with A6, and A6

32 Farmer's Daughter - Paper pieced

88 Star of Hope - paper pieced

43 done of 113 blocks

Recapping 2009

2009 started with me enthralled with knitting along with quilting. I had been collecting knitting needles and yarn, so the first finished things in 2009 were knitting needle cases. I took a sock knitting class, and began my quest to have enough hand knit socks so I could wear them all the time (haven't gotten there yet). So far I have finished 7 pairs and have another pair on the needles. I also discovered dish cloths were nice small projects to get better at following knitting directions, so I made two of them, and would like to make more. A helmet liner and scarf for my Marine son were also completed. And two scarves for me.

Another thing I worked on this year were bags, shopping bags (17 or so, many gifts) and a BB travelor bag (holds my IPOD). I also made pillowcases (at least 8). And two pencil case type things, small zippered bags, that hold knitting paraphenalia.

Then there is quilting. I finished
1. Dear Jane My way, started many years ago, and finally quilted by me on my Bernina 630
2. Cube Lattice - twin size quilt, started and finished in 2009 (quilted by Jennie Michael of Finally Finished)
3. Apple Blossom Fairies - a baby quilt, started and finished in 2009
4. Crane Wife (aka Katie's Quilt) - queen size, started in 2008 and finished in 2009 (quilted by my sister)
5. Half Square Triangle table runner - started and finished in 2009
6. Nine Patch flannel baby quilt - started and finished in 2009
7. Prairie Paisley baby quilt - started in 2008 and finished in 2009
8. Gingerbread Christmas - a wall hanging started and finished in 2009
9. Let's Go Fly a Kite - large lap quilt - started and finished in 2009
10. Elm Creek Sampler - my Sylvia's Bridal sampler, enlarged a bit, (quilted by Sue Baddley of Summit Creek Quilts) started in 2008 and finished in 2009

11. Deco Rose Double Irish chain was pieced and given to my sister to quilt

2010 Goals!:
Then there are the quilts started but not yet finished:
1. Farmer's Wife Sampler - another queen size quilt of 6" blocks (40 of 113 done)
2. Civil War Diary - another queen size quilt of 6" blocks, being done with my small quilt group and we are getting a slow start ( 3 done of 121)
3. 1930's applique sampler - class quilt, wall hanging from Piece O'Cake designs - about half of the blocks are appliqued
4. Wacky Bird - another class - small wall hanging, currently quilting it, and over half quilted
I am trying to get the Farmer's Wife Sampler, Wacky Bird and the 1930's applique sampler done this year, and will continue to work on Civil War Diary.

Then older UFOs to work on (after the first three of these are done):
5. Out to sea - a medallion quilt (started in class with Judy Mathieson)
6. Spiral Lone Star (started with pattern in Jan Krentz's book)
7. Women of the Bible quilt - online block of the week, center blocks done and pieced together, Celtic knot applique border in progress
8. Dutch treat - trying to do a block a month
9. Put the Patchwork Party Prairie Paisley blocks into a quilt, and get it quilted

We will see at the end of the year how I have done.

Sylvia's Bridal Sampler done!

I finished up the binding for Sylvia's Bridal Sampler on 30 Dec 2009, so I met my goal of getting this finished in 2009, just barely :)


The working title has been Sylvia's Bridal Sampler. It's temporary name is Elm Creek Sampler, because all of the blocks are from the Elm Creek books, and it is not a Bridal Sampler for me, not after being married for 27 years. (picture is without binding, but close to what it looks like now, binding is finished narrow, only 1/4")
Quilting and photo by Sue Baddley of Summit Creek Quilts.

FWS blocks - Contrary Wife and Corn & Beans

BOW #12 for the Farmer's Wife Sampler was #21 Contrary Wife, which I was about to cut out anyway, so that was a pleasant surprise. Cut using Marti Michell templates B12 and B13.

While I had those templates out, I pulled out two more, B14 and D29, to make the next block in the book, Corn and Beans.

33 done, 80 to go. These blocks were sitting next to each other on the design wall, and the background fabric is the same. Boy, does each one look different.

Let's Go Fly a Kite

The other day I finally finished the binding on my California North American Mystery Quilt which I call"Let's Go Fly a Kite". The background fabric is Peking Kids, where in another print you can see the kids flying kites. These are just the Kites.

I did kites and kite tail quilting in the background pieces, and a large stipple in the orange bow tie sections.

The blue border is also from the Peking Kids line, but the oranges were all leftovers from my Women of the Bible quilt, still a UFO, but no more orange is needed. The border has kite tail quilting. All of the quilting was done free motion, no marking, on my Bernina 630. The quilt is about 62" square, with cotton batting (I thing it was warm and natural, but it might have been Hobb's Heirloom), from leftovers of another quilt.

FWS blocks - Frienship Star and Friendship

Friendship Star was the BOW (#11), and while I had the book open (or EQ6 up), I decided to also cut out Friendship.

Friendship used Marti Michell templates C20 (four cut from light fabric), and A2 and A6 (cut 4 dark fabrics using each template, so a small and a large triangle from each fabric). I found these went together nicely if I pressed two squares' seams towards the large triangles and two squares' seams towards the small triangles, then the seams nested when I sewed the squares together.


Friendship Star used B12 and B13 (like so many other blocks in this quilt). I reversed the dark and light fabrics, making a gold star in a black background.
31 blocks done, 82 to go!

Not much quilting going on

While I am working away at trying to finish my Kites quilt ( stitching down binding when I get the chance, hopefully some more tomorrow night), I have been mostly working on making shopping bags for gifts. I finished up the sixth one today, sending three to each sister-in-law. I get complements on mine, they hold a bunch and they are sturdy, and did I mention they look good? They might get used to wrap the other presents that we bought, or not. This is the same bag I did this summer with the flower fairy fabric (to hold the flower fairy quilt).
Then I also made two pillowcases for the eight year old, with paper doll fabric that is just too cute.

I did actually make one block today, using Marti Michell's 5-patch templates, making a humongous 12" block.

Too tired to cut, so I think I will just read a bit then go to bed.