Smaller Blocks, Bigger Variety - Sampler Quilts

Sampler quilts are great fun for several reasons. First there is the variety. Making the same quilt block over and over can become tedious. With a sampler quilt each block is different. Secondly, you get to use several different quilting techniques in one quilt. Some blocks are hand pieced, foundation pieced, appliqued, or sometimes machine pieced. Another benefit to sampler quilts is that the blocks tend to be smaller, so the blocks are very portable and easy to work on while waiting for ballet class to finish or school to let out.

A great book with block patterns ranging from traditional to farm animals is 501 Quilt Blocks: A Treasury of Patterns for Patchwork & Appliqué (Crafts)by Lynett Chiles and Joan Lewis. There are wonderful blocks for every holiday, season, and mood. The block patterns are for four inch blocks and are ready for your template paper (I use freezer paper).

Another sampler quilt is the State Fair Sampler. Patterns can be found at Sentimental Stitches. From this site you can download and print PDF patterns of each block. The patterns include instructions and printed patterns for six inch blocks. I am doing mine in red and white since the quilt won second place in the Ohio State Fair in the early 1900's.

Finally, one of the most famous sampler quilts is the Dear Jane Quilt. Brenda Manges Papadakis mapped each 5 inch block by hand. The original quilt was sewn by Jane A. Blakely Sickle in 1863. The Dear Jane Quilt has a large following and the friendliest list-serv I have ever encountered. I will not turn this post into a Dear Jane post, but take a few moments to look at the Dear Jane site for information on the quilt, the pattern book, and the "List-That-Knows-All." I have been working on my Baby Jane (what copies of the original Jane Quilt are called) for several years, and am still enjoying my journey.