Enjoying my mug of chai on the deck. What a lovely view! After spending the weekend at my cabin in northern Wisconsin, I felt excited to share this table runner pattern. I designed it with the northwoods in mind.
This is “At The Cabin” , which measures 16″ wide x 40″ long.
Growing up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin has instilled a life long love of animals. The “Farmyard Stars” quilt was motivated by all my lovely memories of animals and pets that we saw on our farm every day.
I love everything about this design. The animals are bold and bright with whimsical expressions. The black and white border presents a calming, yet quirky frame to the colorful animals. The animal sounds were machine embroidered in the sashing, but could also be satin stitched, appliqued, or skipped altogether.
I have a hard time choosing my favorite animal, but “Demi Moo” the cow is right up near the top. Remember, these are farmyard STARS, so each is named after a celebrity.
Here’s “Kitty Purry” the cat.
“Pig-Casso” the pig…
“Lady Baa Baa” the sheep…
And, another one of my favorites, “Pony Danza” the horse. Love those teeth! I have designed lots of horses, but he is precious.
To see the names of the other animals you will have to check out the pattern at Etsy or Craftsy.
Finally it appears that spring is here. The birds are up early singing and busy building their nests. I have some lovely paper pieced bird patterns to add to your collection.
The Hummingbird is one of my favorite patterns. They are so fascinating to watch.
This Yellow Finch is stunning with it’s gold and black coloring. Finding a fun striped fabric for the wings adds some punch.
The Blue Jay is a bird that I don’t see very often around my hometown of Oshkosh.
The Cardinal is always a lovely addition to any bird collection.
The Parakeet is sweetly looking over its shoulder.
And this colorful Robin completes my collection of paper pieced bird patterns thus far. All of the bird blocks measure 6″x 6″ finished, are super easy, and can be found on my Etsy shop.
This wall hanging was a simple way to incorporate some of the birds into a project.
Would you like to see any other additions to this collection? Just leave a comment!
A few weeks back, I designed this LOON ON THE LAKE paper piecing pattern.
Every year 2 loons inhabit the lake near my cabin in upper Wisconsin. I love to listen to them singing at night.
I liked my loon block so much that I decided to design more “birds on the lake”. This is SWAN ON THE LAKE. The dragonflies add some depth to the block.
GOOSE ON THE LAKE reminds me of all the Canada Geese that come to visit in the fall.
And finally MALLARD ON THE LAKE. It’s always exciting to see my first mallard of Spring.
I haven’t actually used my blocks in any projects. I plan to make a set of pillows for my cabin. I would also like to add more birds to this collection so I could complete a full quilt. I am working on a PELICAN right now. Can you help me think of any other “water birds”? They don’t have to be specifically northwoods. Which is your favorite block?
Easter is just around the corner. Per my friend Marilyn’s advice…I have been designing lots of Easter blocks.
My Easter blocks measure 8″x 8″ unfinished and can be used in table runners, potholders, gift sacks, pillows, or even quilts. This photo was shared from Marilyn who used my patterns to teach a class on paper piecing.
The bunny and chick blocks can be purchased as a total pattern: Easter Table Runnerand Potholders. Some of these blocks are also available for single block purchase.My Happy Easter Bunny and Happy Easter Ducky are another popular set of Easter blocks. Find a really cute fabric to use for the egg, and you are all set!
Isn’t this table runner adorable? Lisa England used my Happy Easter Bunny pattern and made the cutest Easter runner ever!
If you are into Easter Bonnets, this is the block for you.
And here’s a block to make your mouth water…Chocolate Bunny.
Here’s a real simple block, Easter Egg. Find a cute striped fabric to make this super easy pattern.
I spent last Saturday vending at the West Bend Quilt Show in Wisconsin. So much fun! So many sweet customers! The most popular item in my booth was my “Dogs Only” quilt.
This pattern offers 11 different breeds, but that has not been sufficient to please the many dog lovers out there who love to paper piece. Since creating this pattern, I have designed about 50 more dog blocks. Well, true to form, I had 2 lovely customers request breeds that I don’t currently have. So, thanks to my clever customers, I have added an elegant Maltese and a cute as can be King Charles Cavalier.
These “gold coins” are actually fabric yo yos, but could also be gold buttons.
One of my sweet customers shared this photo of a Leprechaun table runner, using my blocks. This is adorable. I love to post my customer’s creations using my pattern blocks, so please share your photos at: maryannhertel@gmail.com
This is “At The Cabin” , which measures 16″ wide x 40″ long.
