Tree Farm - Another Quilt From This Last Year

Here is another photo of a project that was finished this last year. This was a quick and fun quilt - quick because it was a kit and fun because it is came from Country Threads in Garner, Iowa.  The pattern is called Tree Farm, and can be found in the Country Threads book "We Made it Through the Winter". When I say quick I mean that the whole quilt took me 7 days from starting to cut and piece to completing the machine quilting and binding.  Like most projects, it just took me a while to get around to actually getting started.

I fell in love with the Country Threads "look" when I found the first Country Threads book (from the Quilt Shop Series) just before I left South Africa . After 4 years of African quilt overload, it reminded me of everything I loved about American quilts - the symmetry of traditional patterns, the subdued colors (well, subdued compared to African colors), and the appropriateness of the quilts for placing on a bed.  African quilts by comparison were more contemporary and "artsy", with free-form designs and use of lots of bright colors. They were not quilts that I would place on a bed, but that is probably my "quilt prejudice" creeping in.

During the remainder of the 1990s, my job afforded me lots of opportunities to travel.  Imagine my excitement to travel to see a vendor in Orange City, Iowa, knowing I was so danged close to Country Threads in Garner.  Orange City is in western Iowa, and Garner is way over there on the other side of the state.  No matter, it was a "short" 4 hour drive along perfectly flat countryside and lots of corn fields to cross the state, and I knew I could always fly home out of Mason City, which was another 30 minutes away. Parking next to the Country Threads barn was almost a religious experience, and I felt that I was trodding hallowed ground as I walked amongst the chickens, goats and dogs to the shop. I bought patterns, and kits, and yardage; I met Connie and Mary, the infamous proprietors.  And when I went back to my car with my treasures an hour later, I just KNEW that my suitcase was going to be over the weight restrictions.  But I was deleriously happy, and spent the night caressing the fabrics that were actually purchased at Country Threads, and they were ALL MINE!

The next morning I gladly paid the $10 for for overweight baggage (yep, it was only $10 back then) and flew home.  And I was able to visit Country Threads 3 more times, and each visit was just as wonderful as the first. I finally quit flying for business, and have not been back to Garner, Iowa since July, 1997. It is easy to remember this, not just because July in Iowa is miserably hot and humid, but because it was the day that Gianni Versace was killed.  Isn't it amazing what we remember?  Anyway, whether or not I ever get back there, Country Threads will always hold a special place in my heart as the first quilt shop that I truly fell in love with.

Edited to add:
Someone has asked me about the size of this quilt.  Thaks so much for taking the time to ask - because of this I will be adding relevant information for this and all future quilt postings.
Tree Farm is composed of 8" squares, so it is 72 1/2" X 56 1/2", including the binding.  It was machine quilted with a straight line pattern on my trusty Bernina, using Warm and Natural Batting.