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.

Nelly Vileikis has been driven to create quilts for quite a long time.  She also enjoys sharing the craft through workshops, lectures, trunk shows and private classes.  Her quilt designs are dynamic and colorful.  And they range from simple, easy quilts to more complicated showpieces.

 All Star Quilt allows you to choose a theme and then showcase it in the large center of the simple blocks.  The instructions are easy to follow.  Create a quilt that will mean something special.

Amazon Reflections takes a new approach to the stack-n-whack method.  Change your color palette and change the mood of the quilt, but you’ll still end up with a “wow” piece.

Snowball blocks and modified nine patches come together easily (even for a beginner!) to create Playful Rings.  No one has to know how easy it was to make this complicated looking quilt!

Traditional patchwork and machine applique come together to create this contemporary design, Caribbean Fiesta.  You’ll have to work a little harder for this one, but what a splash it makes, right?!   In these colors it kind of makes me want to play Parchessi.

Believe it or not, Whirligig is made up of only squares! Looks hard, but it really isn’t.  Take the opportunity to play with color, fabric and composition.

Nelly’s clear, concise instructions will walk you through the process of paper piecing this masterpiece, Sunset on Ellis Island.  Then you can say “I did that!”

From simple to complicated, all of Nelly’s designs are colorful and interesting.

Are you a bit timid about color?  Do you want to explore brighter quilts?  Do you want to stretch yourself?  A quilt from  Kitambaa Designs is the perfect answer.  Pippa Moore’s designs are bold, bright, and beautiful.

Pippa began quilting in the 1980′s.  Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally.  Many of Pippa’s quilts are in private collections throughout North America.   In the last ten years her focus has been on quilts with color and energy, celebrating life.    Kitambaa Designs specializes in quilt patterns for African and other vibrant fabrics.

Under the African Sun is an adaptation of the traditional Drunkard’s Path block.  African fabrics, batiks, or bright prints will make this a stunning wall quilt. Pippa’s clearly illustrated instructions make this pattern suitable for all skill levels.

Choose hand applique, machine applique or fusible applique as your method to bring to life Zebras Crossing the plains.  Lush green grass is in the foreground and a blazing sun is in the sky. 

Kitambaa Designs has a series of Art Deco inspired quilts that each vividly portray the feeling of a single word.  Fusible applique is use for the quilt Felicity.  You could also use pastels if that expresses bliss to you. 

Hope, another in the Art Deco inspired series, is colorful if a bit more monochromatic.  To me it looks like, if something other than a floral was used for the border, it would make a nice untraditional Christmas quilt. 

Go ahead, check out the rest of Pippa’s designs and add some color to your life!

Kara Schorstein of Seams & Dreams has a wide variety of patterns.  Her quilt designs range from easy modern styles to rather intricate traditional pieces.  Whether you are a beginner quilter or have been quilting for a long time, Kara will have something for you.   And she hasn’t stopped at just quilts.  Several of her patterns are for aprons, skirts, jackets and home decor.

Marble Game uses marble fabrics to frame prints.   The fabric used for the sashing within the blocks is repeated in the narrow border.   Tiny contrasting corners in each block come together to create multi-colored diamond pieces.  This is a great quilt for you to use up some of your scraps. Instructions for crib size and queen size.

Kara Schorstein started with the traditional Irish Chain Block, modified it, and created Crossroads.  Two simple blocks that work together for a striking design.  Instructions are for a table topper with a scalloped border and a queen size quilt.

Need a summer skirt?  Need to look like you lost a few pounds?  Try the Simple Slimming Skirt Pattern.  With sizes from 6 to 18+, there are three style variations and the underskirt is optional.

Need a new purse to go with your new skirt?  Oh, you made two skirts?!  No problem!  Make one of Lizzie’s Reversible Bags and you have a different purse for each skirt!

Do you have an occassional table that you like to dress up and change with the seasons?   Seasoning The Table gives you seven options for appropriate table toppers.  Log cabin blocks grace the center of each and you can choose the layout.

This selection barely scratches the surface of Seams & Dreams quilt patterns….. there are dozens more.

Whenever a new quilter finishes their blocks for their first quilt, it’s a real eye opener to see the different layouts that can be achieved.  A whole new world of creative fun is opened up for the quilter’s pleasure.  Finding circles and curves in quilts (that aren’t really circles at all…. just an illusion!) is another eye opener.  A new trick learned.  But this trick can’t just be stored away.  Once it’s been discovered, it just has to be explored!

Rings & Things comes in two sizes, full and queen.  “Circles” made from angled lines surround stars.  Extra stars also appear between the cirles. The two different shades of purple add more interest to an already visually pleasing quilt.

Bargello Circles is an eye catcher.  Using circle fabrics repeats the bargello circle theme.  The rectangles that are strategically placed in the center area are given a little more interest by using striped fabric for some of them. 

Illusions is just what all these quilts are about.  When you are not looking for the straight lines, but standing back and looking at these quilts as a whole, the “circles” really stand out.  Pictured here in reds and greens this makes a perfect winter holiday quilt.   Replace the reds with pinks, use a softer green and you will have a garden looking quilt.

Offset Log Cabin blocks and sashing are used to create the circular illusion in Prarie Night Starburst.  This quilt looks complicated but it is mostly strip piecing so it is fairly easy to put together. 

Isosceles 12421 looks like there are curves everywhere…. it really keeps your eyes moving around… and around!

Did you see any you like?  Go ahead, try a circular themed quilts and still use your rotary cutter and ruler.  Have fun!

Who says you can’t make an interesting quilt with just squares and rectangles?  So many quilts use angle cuts to add motion and interest and design but as you can see from these examples, by using just squares and rectangles, you can make some pretty fantastic quilts.

The placement of the light and dark fabrics in the Thirty Something quilt makes it look like it is pulsating.   This pattern is perfect for stash reducing or maybe you have a fat quarter bundle that you’ve been wanting to use.

Double Takes I has one pattern in two sizes.  Use layer cake squares for the larger quilt and charm squares for the little quilt.

Scrap Therapy Square Deal Quilt will work to reduce your scraps but don’t overlook getting fabric specifically for this pattern.  This pattern would really shine with the right batiks.

Can’t get any easier than Easy As 10…11…12!  Three fast, fun, and easy quilts.  One is fat eighth friendly, one is layer cake friendly and one is jelly roll friendly. 

If you are looking for a bigger impact, and aren’t afraid of a lot of pieces, here are a couple patterns you might want to try.

Reminiscent of a Trip Around the World quilt, Day Trip uses squares from 2 1/2″ strips to give the look of diamonds.   Lots of pieces but it will go together quicker than you think.

Little Sister Quilt is patterned after an antique quilt.  Simple nine patch blocks are placed in diagonal rows by color.  In the sample shown here, Sandy Klop chose to use different fabrics within the unusual border to make the quilt look more like an antique.

That was just a sampling of the quilt patterns available that use straight line pieces.  Don’t be afraid to be square!