Farmer's Wife Samper Finish

It's a finish!

Farmer's Wife Samper

66 x 84

Most blocks can be found in the book Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt by Laurie Aaron Hird.

I started making blocks way back in January 2011.

The actual Farmer's Wife Samper has 111 six inch finished blocks. I think I made about half of those blocks.  In March 2023 I dug out the blocks and made a decision to do something with them.   I decided to use an Hourglass as an alternate block. I counted my blocks and decided I needed a few more. I had belonged to a 30s Reproduction Yahoo Group that swapped blocks made in 30s repros so found a few six inch orphan blocks from previous swaps that would fit the theme. 

In March 2023 I made the QSTs and assembled the top.

And here we are in October 2026 and I finally have a finished top. This is one of my oldest UFOs.  I quilted it on my sewing machine with horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. 

I added a scrappy binding. 

And sew on...

Finished Or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

 

Spiraling Flying Geese Top

It's a top!

Spiraling Flying Geese

64 x 76

Found in the book "History Repeated" by Betsy Chutchian and Carol Staehle

This UFO was started waaaaay back in 1921. I made a few Flying Geese from scraps as a "Before-I-Forget".  And then promptly forgot about them and put Flying Geese, book and box of civil war reproduction scraps away until a few days ago. 

A few days ago I remembered that box and made more Flying Geese from the scraps. 

I had no idea what I was going to use for the spiral between the Flying Geese. I didn't really have enough of any suitable civil war repro fabrics. Finally something guided me to a piece of brown plaid that was exactly long enough so I guess it was meant to be. 

And sew on...

***

Oh gosh, I've been so busy that I hardly have time to get out a blog post. We've had such beautiful weather so I'm still out doing lots of gardening and taking photos. I have PT twice a week and exercises to do at home. Had to grocery shop, take John to appt. and get gas and pick up prescriptions. And I finally had my long-awaited rheumatology appointment. Now I'm waiting for a long list of test results.

I'll catch up with more later!

 

It's A Finish!

It's a finish!

Stay At Home Round Robin (SAHRR) 2025 Row Quilt

40 x 56

This is one of five row quilts I made following the prompts for the SAHRR 2025. 

My center starting row for this one was the Basket Blocks in 30s reproduction fabrics. 

I made the rest of the rows with 30s repro scraps. 

I quilted it on my sewing machine in a few different ways in each row. 

The binding is scrappy - again made with 30s repro scraps. 

Now ready for a wee one's hug!

And sew on...

 

90 Flying Geese

90 Flying Geese

4.5 x 8.5 unfinished

For Spiraling Flying Geese found in the book "History Repeated" by Betsy Chutchian and Carol Staehle. 

It was one of many Before-I-Forgets I started back in November 2021 to use up civil war reproduction and similar looking fabric scraps. 

When I dug out this UFO box in it were 14 Flying Geese, body parts cut for 5 more and lots of scraps 4.5 inches or wider.  Now all my Geese are made and box emptied and the scraps from making these are now in the box with all the other civil war reproduction scraps. Some scraps here are a little snobby and don't mix in with the general population of scraps.  Other snobby scraps who have their own place - 30 reproductions, rose prints, solids, plaids, novelties, animals...

Now I need to find a fabric for the spiral and assemble my top. 

And sew on...

 

Sixteen Patch Finish

It's a finish!

Sixteen Patch

56 x 72

This month the theme in my sewing space is "reproductions". That means I've been working to move some UFOs forward that contain civil war repro fabrics or 30s repro fabrics. I might even work on my reproduction of a vintage quilt.

In 2022 I made 33 blocks to use up some civil war reproduction scraps. There's probably not strictly repros in there. I probably used other scraps like Thimbleberries and Kansas Troubles. 

In June 2023 I found more scraps to make 30 more blocks and had a complete block set that I set aside in my SAR (Some Assembly Required) bin. 

In February 2024 when the theme in my sewing space was "browns and blues" I assembled the top. 

I quilted it on my sewing machine on the diagonals. 

The back is a soft plaid flannel. 

And sew on...

Monday Musings at Brenda's Songbird Designs

***

Finished a book - The Alchemist by Paul Coelho. What a lovely parable.

Getting Ready For Cooler Temps

I finished my hat, wristers and curly scarf set. 

I've never cross stitched on crochet before so that was something new for me. 

I've been seeing terms like 

Granny Chic, also known as Grandmillennial style, is a nostalgic interior design trend that blends vintage charm, cozy textures, and sentimental heirlooms with modern touches.

“Grandma maxxing” — also called “nonna maxxing” — is a 2026 lifestyle trend where Gen Z intentionally adopts the slow, mindful habits of Italian grandmothers to reduce stress, reconnect with family, and embrace a more unhurried way of living.

Grandmacore is an aesthetic and lifestyle movement centered on cozy, nostalgic, grandmother‑inspired visuals, activities, and décor, emphasizing handcrafted items, vintage charm, and slow living.

Hey, grannys are the latest trend!

A month or so ago I decided to use my old yarn stash before a mouse nibbles or nests in it and made a lot of hats for kids. I used most of that stash and may have gotten into the crochet groove and bought more yarn.  As I've been searching for free patterns I like I've come across a lot with granny squares. I do love granny squares. Back in the 70s I made a granny square afghan. I think I still have it tucked away somewhere. When the kids were little one of them experimented with a pair of scissors on it and I was always going to repair it but never did. But that's another story for another time. 

Well, I found a hat pattern with Granny Squares...

...and made one for myself with a variegated yarn. Love it and those colors...

...so I am waiting for an order of yarn to arrive in similar colors so I can make myself a granny square cardigan. 

Well, I titled this post "getting ready for cooler temps".  Friday night the temps dropped down to the 30s. I've been waiting and waiting for my Zinnias to set seed so I can harvest some for next year but they keep blooming and blooming instead. Guess I might have to, after all these years, buy Zinnia seeds for next year.   Thought I might as well cut some for bouquets and let John enjoy them inside since I know it's too late for seeds. 

Here in zone 5 we have to dig Dahlia tubers to store for winter. It's best to wait for a hard frost to blacken the foliage and then wait one or two weeks before digging the tubers.  I still have lots of Dahlia blooms in the garden so harvested some of those and mixed with some yellow Zinnias for another bouquet.  Yes, I need to dust but that's not a priority right now. 

Behind those bouquets is my Ancestor Wall. In the center is a chart of John's ancestors and my ancestors. On the wall I have photos on one side of his ancestors and on the other mine.   I did most of my genealogy research the old fashioned way - letter writing, visiting graveyards, talking to elderly family members at reunions and sitting at hand cranked microfilm readers looking at old census records and newspapers.   I have a little room full of genealogy books and documents and drawers full of papers and photos. I have a genealogy program that is no longer supported.   Well, again, "getting ready for cooler temps", this winter I want to get all my genealogy things organized so someone can make sense of it all when I'm not around.   

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

Brown Quarter Stars and The Prairie

In October 2024, according to past blog posts, brown was the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month and I started making brown Quarter Stars with 2.5 inch width scraps.

Then in October 2025, according to past blog posts, neutrals was the RSC color of the month so I made more brown Quarter Stars.

Then at the end of October 2025, according to past blog posts, I had 320 Quarter Stars - enough to assemble 80 - 8 inch Whole Stars.  In that post I also mentioned I would probably use the Quarter Stars as a leader/ender at some point.   Well, here we are in October 2026. The RSC color is once again neutrals. So, I dug out the box of Quarter Stars and am leader/endering them into Whole Stars and maybe by month end they will be ready to assemble into a 64 x 80 inch top.

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

***

Gardening.

The Prairie.

Two years ago I cleared an area in front of the house for a Tall Grass Prairie.

After studying the plants that were actually natives to the prairies in this area by visiting sources like the University of Iowa Prairie Plant database I purchased some mixes with a lot of seeds for those plants from Prairie Moon Nursery. 

  In December 2024 I sowed seeds mixed with sand in the area I had cleared.

Not sure if you can read my scribbles but this a list of what was in the mixes. 

This is year two and I posted a few prairie pics on an August blog post.

Here's a view from the South of the whole area this summer.

And this is a view from the North.

Well, now is the time to cut out trees and brambles and other weeds. I have been monitoring the area and as I see certain weeds ( like ragweed) starting to go to seed I try to get them out of there before that happens.  This year it is also suggested that the area be cut to 6-12 inches. 

I started working on the South end. After I cleared out a lot of wild raspberries, wild grapes and greenbrier, black walnut trees and virginia creeper from the area in the shade of those trees it left kind of a bare spot. Mostly Golden Glow Rudbeckia that I transplanted from another area last year was growing there.  I've done some research on the plants that will tolerate some shade and will sow some seeds there after all the prairie is cleared. 

Again on the South side going west from those trees. There are a lot of nice plants with seeds the birds are dining on right now so I didn't cut most anything here down to 12 inches. I figured any remaining seeds will fall and sprout sometime in the future. 

Continuing on to the North I cleared a lot of area and did cut some things back.  Up by the telephone pole and those two skinny trees was another shady area full of Snakeroot (Ageratina Altissima) that just popped up in that area. It's kind of invasive and woody so I tried to dig most of it out. I will sow some seeds there after the whole area is cleared with seeds that will tolerate some shade.

This area here on the North side is what I have left to clear and cut. 

I know there's a patch of poison ivy there about a foot in from the edge so hoping I remember to avoid it. I might put some heavy plastic bags over my shoes and pant legs before I wander in.

This is a close up of what I've been dealing with. There's a lot of good plants in here like monarda, several types of asters and rudbeckias and mints and grasses. But then there's always a few trees that pop up here and there. And there's some invasive honeysuckle in there too.   And I spy a wild rose that was not in the seed mix. They also pop up here and there around the property. Well, I do love roses and I see that 4 different types of native roses (meadow, pasture, smooth and carolina) are in the native plant database for this county so I think I will leave that there for now. 

Here's some of the seeds that need stratification that I will be sowing soon in those partly shady areas. 

Yeah, it's a lot of work. But I have a dream...and lots of gardens.

And sow on...