Pioneer Sampler Quilt Finish

 After TEN LONG YEARS this quilt is finished!

It sat as a top for most of those ten years.

I thought about spreading this post out over a couple of days, but I'll just put it all down here, and you are free to skim if you like!

So here's the story of the Pioneer Sampler Quilt.
10 years ago I signed up to take my very first quilting class at Liberty House Quilts (no longer in business). It was for a sampler quilt, and was advertised as perfect for a beginner quilter.  Which I pretty much was.

 Book in hand, I went to purchase fabrics.  They were a combination of fat quarters from the quilt store and Joann's calicoes.   I even went so far as to tea dye the light cream fabric into the tan fabric.  I thought I was pretty clever!

As I recall we did two blocks a week as an assignment.   (And during that time I was pregnant with #1.  Fighting nausea during each class) When it was all said and done I had the twelve blocks pieced together - and I'm sure I was rather proud of myself, until Mr. Riley said it wasn't big enough to be a proper quilt.  So. Consulting the book I figured out the Seminole patchwork and added that as one border.  Then I added another border of the brown floral print.  And then I didn't know what to do.  I didn't know how to quilt something where each block was different.  And so it sat.  I would look at it once in a while.  Still stuck on the quilting.

So last November I pulled it out, determined to quilt this thing and just get it done!  It didn't lay very flat when I was basting, but I carried on, determined to get this thing done.  I decided to quilt each block differently as practice.  I figure it works since its a sampler quilt, anyway.

 Cheyenne. Three Step Zig-Zag stich on my machine.

 Louisiana. FMQ Shells

 Rocky Mountain Puzzle. [FMQ Spirals

 Arizona. FMQ long squiggles.

 Colorado. Straight Line Quilting - two different directions.

 Chisholm Trail.  FMQ Pointy Swirls?

 Illinois. FMQ Tendrils (I will be using this again!)

Montana.  FMQ squares

Kentucky Chain.  FMQ triangles.

Golden Gate. Wavy lines.  Machine Stitch Setting.

 Salt Lake City. FMQ Just lines that I made up.

Missouri Star.  FMQ More lines that I made up.

  I did the sashing in a meander/stipple.

 The Seminole border has wavy lines along the seam lines.

 The brown border is loop-de-loops.
I chose the blue for a binding to pull in some of the blue from the brown floral and also because it was more of a 'calico' print.  I finished the binding this past Saturday Evening.  Labeled and washed the thing Sunday.

 The backing is an old somewhat ugly print I've had around for a while.  Possibly bought for this quilt - I don't actually remember.

 My picture helpers.

 It's hanging out on E's bed until her Fairy Quilt is finished.

The batting is Warm and Natural.  The quilt finished at 66" x 79".
This was my third oldest UFO.

And now, if you've made it through the whole story - it comes full circle.  As I had pulled it out late November/ early December to work on it - I was fighting nausea all over again.  Baby #5 is on its way!