More than just a pattern for a quilt, this book is a collection of thank you letters and photos from children who won ponies by selling subscriptions to The Farmer’s Wife magazine in the early 1900′s.   Laura Hird selected 90 letters from the lucky pony winners and chose blocks inspired by the stories and photos.  The sampler quilt consists of 90 traditional 8″ blocks to make a large queen sized quilt.   Though the blocks are traditional, many of them will be blocks you don’t see used over and over.

As Laura states, “these endearing, poignant, and sometimes hilarious letters provide a unique window into the lives of children in rural America at the turn of the 20th century”.   

Following the letters is a section with complete, detailed assembly instructions and illustrations for each block.

  The book includes a CD with templates, foundation patterns where needed, and full sized line drawings of each block.  There are assembly diagrams for not only the queen size, but also king, lap and twin. 

Sampler quilts are always interesting to make and this one is even more so.   Just two blocks a week and you’ll be finished this time next year even if you take a few weeks off.   The Pony Club Sampler Quilt would make a great project for a quilt guild and would provide for interesting conversation.

You may want to join the Yahoo group “The Farmer’s Wife Pony Club Quilt“.   There you can chat with other quilters about your progress, post pics of your finished blocks, and view pics of other members’ work.

Laura Hird has been collecting copies of the Farmer’s Wife magazine and has one of the most complete collections in existence.  You can follow her blog, The Farmer’s Wife Quilt, where she posts excerpts from the magazines, and discusses upcoming projects.

While we are all drawn to certain patterns, and have our favorite quilt designers,  quilt books can offer a little more…. or a lot more!   Most books have several patterns for quilts, with options for different sizes for each pattern.   The designer will usually offer tips and insights for easier construction or color combinations.  If you will find yourself with a little spare time but can’t get into your sewing room, perusing a quilt book is the next best thing.

Summertime by Black Mountain Quilts features mainly quick, easy to construct summery quilts.  Many large pieces give you an opportunity to show off your favorite fabrics. 

Karen Eckmeier of the Quilted Lizard will show you how to make Happy Villages with an easy method of glue basting and machine stitching with a layer of tulle.  No seams or points to worry about; your mind is free to let your imagination run wild and make it your village.

Have you caught the “Modern Quilt” craze?  Embellishment Potpourri has dozens of creative accents using thread, fabric and more – don’t you want to know what that ‘more’ is?!  This book will be sure to fuel your creative juices.

Take a stroll through Miss Mabel’s Garden and you will discover projects galore.  From placemats to bed quilts, and difficulty levels from beginner to advanced this is a book you will return to again and again. 

If you have an athlete in your life, Fan-Tastic Sport Quilts is a must-have book.  Personalize the projects offered by using colors from your favorite team.  Five sport themes and five different projects are offered with simple, speedy construction techniques.  You’ll be a fan favorite!

Browse through the selection of quilt books we have available and find the books that you just can’t live without!

Whether you find yourself at the beach with a bottle of water, poolside with a cocktail, or sitting on the front porch with a glass of iced tea, when you are ready to read here are some books you may enjoy. 

Karen Eckmeir will teach you her trick of topstitching layers to create beautiful fabric landscapes in her book Accidental Landscapes.   Look around you … the inspiration for your next quilt might be right in front of you.  Imagine having a quilt to hold memories of your vacation.

Embellishment Potpourri explores many facets of embelling your quilts.  Fabrics that are folded, tied, stitched and gathered can create beautiful detailed accents.  Thread, yarn, buttons, beads, glitz… it’s all here.   This book is loaded with inspiration.  Watch your next project take on a new life.

The Quilt Maniac’s Playbook by Nicole Chambers includes detailed instructions for twelve quilts and six table runner.  Nicole also teaches you all about developing your eye for color.  You’ll learn easy to use color concepts that will aid you in choosing fabrics.  And we all know that color can make or break your quilts.  You’ll shop with color confidence.

Simple Quilts, another book by Nicole Chambers, includes instructions for twenty projects. These quilts make a big impact but are easy to make.  The sizes range from lap quilts to queen size.  Each quilt is shown in two color ways and Nicole discusses the different looks that are achieved by changing the fabric choices.   

We have over 150 Quilting Books available.  It will be hard to choose just one.  Take your time, enjoy the summer and your beverage, read slowly and think about the quilting you will do.  Think about the projects you want to try first, which fabrics will look best with which quilt, who you will be gifting with your finished pieces. 

Jo Morton’s newest book, Coming Home, will be available in late May.  But you can pre-order now.

Jo Morton has been quilting for over thirty years.  Not long after that she began creating small quilts that were new, but had the look of “olde”.  With a long list of teaching experience to her credit at quilds, shops, retreats and shows, she has also appeared on Simply Quilts and Love Of Quilting. Her quilts are in public and private collections across the country. Since publishing her first book in 2000, she has written and published well over a dozen books. 

You have almost certainly seen her fabulous lines of fabric that she designs for Andover fabrics.  The new collections of Jo Morton fabrics will take you back to the 19th century with beautiful interpretations of period fabrics.

Coming Home is 92 pages of projects and inspiration.  With a new layout and revised directions to make it easier to follow, you will find pieced quilt patterns as well as applique quilt patterns.  Twelve quilt projects, plus two more from Jo’s Little Women Club 7 that are “Worth Repeating”.  

Pre-order now so you can get your hands on this one as soon as it is available!