During April I completed the blocks for my Barn Style quilt that I made from novelty cowboy fabrics. Last week I had enough time to stitch the blocks together, and today I added the outer border. I’m so excited about this quilt because it pays homage to my family farm heritage: chambray and plaid work shirts and cowboys mounted on horseback. (Our ponies didn’t see any action while we rounded up cattle, but they did provide hours of entertainment for my sisters and me.) One of my grandpas came closest to a true cowboy. He farmed with horses as a young man and filled his pasture with draft horses for his pleasure during his retirement.

I planned to take a drive out of the suburbs to photograph my quilt top. Then I remembered that a neighboring development surrounds an old family farm. The barn, which is used as a community center, and a statue of a man with his draft horse made the perfect backdrop to show off my quilt. I’ll come back for more photos after the patchwork top is quilted and bound.

Here’s a flat photo of the 68″ square top, pressed and ready for quilting.

Farm Girl Denim Bag

Years ago when I began buying fabric for this quilt, I decided to use one print as a lining inside the denim bag pictured below. An old pair of stained jeans forms the body of the bag. And that reminds me of the quote I shared a few weeks ago during the New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop: Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. Truly, that is a farmer’s motto! (By the way, I used Joan Hawley’s Miranda Day Bag pattern and highly recommend it.)

This morning I watched a poignant story from award-winning journalist Boyd Huppert, who also grew up on a dairy farm. Sadly, the life we both experienced on a family dairy farm is endangered. Running a small dairy operation is no longer profitable. If you love photojournalism, please take a few minutes to watch Land of 10,000 Stories: Huppert Dairy Among Hundreds Selling Out.

Round 3: New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop

This week another group of talented quilt bloggers is ready to introduce themselves to you. You can start the blog hop with my leader, Beth at Cooking Up Quilts. She has a link to everyone’s post and explains how you can enter the giveaway.

Speaking of the giveaway, I was a winner during week two of the NQBBH! Thank you to Yvonne Fuchs, also known as Quilting Jetgirl, who gave me my choice of two PDF patterns from her collection. I was thrilled because I had been eyeing her newest design, Mod Star Tree, to make a Christmas quilt for our guest room. My other pattern choice was Starlight Crystals. So be sure to join in on the fun at the New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop and Giveaway. You might win one of the fantastic prizes!

Joyfully,

Tracie

I’m linking up with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts and Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.