Farmer’s Wife Quilt-along top is complete!!!! If I put the number of exclamation marks there that match how I feel about finishing this top, the whole post would be nothing but !!!
my first sampler quilt and my first quilt-along – thank you to author
Laurie Aaron Hird, I now have a book of block ideas for future quilts, and thanks to
Amanda and
Angela for the quilt-along, and big thanks to them for the
flickr group where we can all share – lots of support and inspiration there!!!
of course I couldn’t've completed it without this little guy:

(he doesn’t get to be super-sized!)
Oh, how I wish he wasn’t necessary… I did 49 of the 111 blocks in the book – a 7 by 7 layout alternating the squared and on-point blocks. Big thanks to
Michelle for doing the math on the sashing and then
blogging about it! and to
Melinda for grouping all the
finishes in one spot. :-) Do you think it’s too bright???

(I don’t know the story behind that inscription – something to explore later, but it seemed to match the quilt)

It was made to go along with this (bright) pillow in my living room. in that chair that’s supposed to be mine… (he arranges those pillows himself!)
It was a beautiful morning in Chicago today – though 90 degrees well before noon. I had a little helper, so I thought why not go down by the lake to take some photos. Look at her valiantly trying to help me get just the right shot – even on her tippy toes!

beautiful, but windy in the Windy City (which was nice given the heat, but makes quilt top pictures challenging). She was getting frustrated with the wind…
… and then came up with the best solution.

(isn’t she just the cutest???!!!)