This is the first quilt I ever started; I had loved quilts for a long time prior, but never jumped in and tried to sew one myself.  So when a smart lady on a quilting forum suggested a calendar-themed sampler quilt for newbies, that sounded good to me.  I bought a group of fabrics all in the same line (“Vienna Nights” by 3 Sisters for Moda), and tried to get my nerve up.

Once each month, the instructions for a new block would appear.  My sewing machine was far too intimidating still, so I learned hand-piecing, and decided to stick with that even after I became comfortable machine-piecing.  Except for the two borders, the quilt top is all hand-pieced. 

My tastes have changed and now I know what sorts of designs I prefer (higher-contrasting fabrics, for one), but this sampler was a great place to start.  The project took a back seat a lot of the time, but I’m so glad to have gotten this far with it.  It will go into my quilting frame over the weekend.  🙂

Oh, for non-quilters trying to spot the monthly themes, June and July’s blocks are  called “Wedding Ring” and “Shoo Fly”, respectively.