This is the first quilt I’ve made. It was done as part of the 2025 Mystery Quilt Project that many members of our group made. We had such fun doing this project and picking our individual fabrics. We all went to a quilt shop together to pick out our fabric. We had fun learning new techniques and helping one another.

In March of 2020 I learned about TAUNY’s Barn Quilt Mural. The mural has 32 quilt squares representing each of the 32 towns in the county. Our lake house is in Star Lake in the town of Fine, and I decided I wanted to make a quilt using the town of Fine’s star-shaped block on the mural. In 2023, some new friends came to visit and I learned that Bonnie was an avid quilter. She identified the Fine square as the Hunter’s Star, and volunteered to coach me on making a queen sized quilt using this block. I spent 2024 planning the quilt, selecting fabrics and learning some new quilting skills. In February of 2025, I started piecing the quilt and I finished piecing it in June. This quilt is special to me as it is a representation of community, family and friends.

The central panel of the quilt features a map of the county with each town in a different color. Surrounding this are 32 blocks, each one with an image or design which represents one of the towns in the county. An explanation of each block is on the back of the quilt. The quilt was commissioned by the St Lawrence Country Historical Association (SLCHA) to help commemorate the bicentennial of the establishment of St Lawrence County in 1802. The quilt was on display at the SLCHA during the County’s Bicentennial Celebrations in July 2002, and was a centerpiece of the SLCHA’s bicentennial quilt show held Sept. 6th - Nov. 15 2002.

In 2024, the Wanakena Historical Association (WHA) received a collection of red work blocks done by Lillian Wagner, a former Wanakena resident who lived in the house that is now the Wanakena History Center, located at 21 Second Street. CTQ is assembling the red work blocks into three quilts. This small wall-hanging quilt is the first of the three. We are excited to be working with blocks stitched by Lillian, and giving them a home in the house she used to live in.

In 2022, a friend showed me some paper-pieced 3" blocks that she was making from patterns by Gayle Bomers of Sentimental Stitches. Each week of the year 7 patterns were emailed to those who subscribed to "Little Blocks 365". I found the small blocks to be intriguing as the patterns were complex and the pieces quite small--both of which provided a challenge for me. So, I embarked on the project and finished the 365 small blocks in 2024. I chose to use Reproduction fabrics for this quilt as I find them to be interesting and intriguing. A few years ago, I saw a sampler-style quilt at a quilt show that had a 3D effect with a "shadow" under each block. I felt that after the amount of time I spent making the blocks for this quilt, it was worth my time to add almost 1500 additional pieces of fabric to make the blocks stand out. My quilter, Linda, spent over 30 hours doing hand-guided quilting "in the ditch" along the seam lines of each quilt block!

In late November of 2023, the Clifton-Fine Whiteout Weekend (WOW) committee approached Common Thread Quilts and asked if it would be possible to make a t-shirt quilt from past year’s WOW t-shirts. After discussions back and forth, and attempts to locate shirts from each of the past year’s WOW events, a design was decided on in early January of 2024. The design combined large paper pieced snowflake blocks with simple solid fabric blocks. The t-shirts from past years were then raw edge appliquéd on to some the solid blocks. The remaining solid blocks allow for addition of future year’s t-shirts to the quilt. In this way, the quilt becomes an ongoing living record of the Clifton-Fine area’s WhiteOut Weekend celebration. Note, the back of the quilt is plain muslin so there is also the possibility of allowing people to write their memories of WOW on the back of the quilt.

This wall-hanging has a border of crazy pieces from quilts done for special people/organizations. It has Dan Duggan’s lyrics, “These are the pieces of our life,” in the center with a few more lyrics by my friends Dan Berggren and Peggy Lynn. This wall hanging maps my quilting history through special projects like wedding quilts, baby quilts, fundraisers, special occasions, etc.

I bought the panel with the canoe picture because I love camping and waking up in the early morning to paddle. So it brings to mind many great memories of times spent with family and friends. Once home I then had to figure out what to do with it. I made 2 other quilts with the maple leaf pattern in 2023 and decided to use the maple leaf block to pick up the colors in the panel and challenge myself to have 3 very different quilts using the same traditional block. I've always wanted to do a chevron border and this seemed the perfect opportunity to do that and continue the colors in the panel. I didn't want that motion to continue top and bottom so decided on lower contrast blocks in a modified courthouse steps.

I love hand work of all kinds! When I learned about the amazing sampler quilt made by Jane A., Stickle in 1863, and it’s growing popularity among quilters due to the “Dear Jane” book, I knew I wanted to make my own version of the quilt. I selected 56 of the 225 patterns in the original quilt that appealed to me and made a smaller medallion style version of the quilt.

The Canton Bicentennial Quilt was made as a fund raising quilt by the E. J. Noble Hospital Guild of the Central St Lawrence Health Services and other Canton residents. Forty-two 12 inch blocks depict scenes of the North Country. The project was undertaken to raise money to purchase a portable defibrillator for the Canton Rescue Squad Cardiac Unit. 

The pattern for this quilt is from the cover of American Patchwork & Quilting - Issue 186. My goal when making this quilt was to make use of leftover nine patches and strips from an earlier quilt using scraps. I seem to prefer doing scrappy quilts using a variety of patterns.

I saw this quilt on the cover of a magazine and knew I had enough pockets to do it—but my husband Denny’s pockets had a lot more wear to them. Their journey is hundreds of mile. Some of our journey is on the back of the quilt. We both are part Canadian—the maple leaf, but we grew up on the St. Louis River in different towns. We got married in Vegas—the beehive block—Denny calls me “honey.” Two of our favorite spots to visit Clayton and Saratoga. The kitties are two of our boys “Tommy Boy” and “Max.” Every block has a meaning to us. Life is good—it’s all good—and many more journeys to come….

In 1982, a group of Clifton-Fine quilters and their friends came together to create a quilt celebrating this community. The quilt was originally used as a fundraiser for the Clifton-Fine Hospital Auxiliary. The  project was spearheaded by Carol Coufal, and many local quilters joined in creating quilt blocks beautifully celebrating the unique features of our Clifton-Fine Community.

Twenty quilt squares were made by: Laurie Murray, Carol Coufal, Susan Brown, Elizabeth Reynolds, Marcelle Kraszeski, Maisie Maybee, Ronnie Peterson, Vaughn Gruneisen, Hiroko Carthy, Kathy Kelly, Helene Jarvis (and “Dot”), Helen Witters, Jean Climeson, Penny Giraud, Cathy Curtis, Joanna Derby, and Grace Plumley. Non-quilters joined the celebration by providing a cash gift and having their names embroidered in the quilt sashing. All squares were painstakingly assembled by Marcelle Kraszeski.

The quilt was raffled off with a profit of $1300 and it was won by Carol Coufal’s mother, who had purchased a few tickets in hopes of winning her daughter’s “project”. The Coufal’s left Cranberry Lake and thought that the quilt belonged here. They donated it to the Clifton Community Library and it hangs here for all to enjoy.

In the Spring of 2000, our family camp on Matilda Point burned to the ground. We lost all of the belongings the family had cherished since they bought the camp in 1956- photos, old LPs, toys, canvas canoe, ancient ragged taxidermied fox, hand-built sailboat...all gone.

We rebuilt the cabin in 2002 and restored the living room window with a view looking toward Union Point. This quilt shows that view up the lake, with Bear Mountain on the left.

Why make this quilt? It turns out that opposite this window was a new large blank wall just begging for something big and colorful - something just like a quilt. The problem was, I had never made a quilt. I

took a class at a local sewing store, bought a book on watercolor quilts, and went to work. It took a year to complete. I tried to capture details such as the wild blueberry patch under the tree (which we thought was destroyed by the fire but has since sprung back to life) and my kids tubing and sailing in the lake out front. In remembrance of the old camp, I constructed the dock by using fabric printed with

photos stretching from 1956 to 2008 including Cat Mountain Fire Tower, the old mailboat, Sliding Rock Falls, family, friends, and, of course, that ragged old fox.

Each Spring, when I rehang the quilt, I'm glad to be honoring the history of the family and the incredible beauty of the Lake.

Every fall when I lived in Portland, Oregon, I would go to the Vernona Quilt Show with a group of quilting friends. This is a lovely little small town show and they always have a Quilter’s Rummage Sale. This is a place where quilters can get rid of things they no longer want/need. I like to browse the orphan block (i.e. blocks left over from other quilts/projects) section of this sale. That is where I found the center section of this quilt—the rectangle of blue and green brightly colored wonky looking pinwheels on a dark brown background. I loved it, but my friends thought it was ugly. They challenged me to make something attractive out of it, and I took the bait. In addition, I upped the challenge by telling them I’d do it using only fabric in my stash. The result is the quilt you see now.

I used both colors and shapes in the “orphan” center block to inspire the design elements I selected to make the quilt. I also appliquéd fabric used in the outer portion of the quilt onto, and overlapping with, the original center block to connect the orphan and new section of the developing quilt. When I finished the quilt, I put it away for a year or so. When I took it out and showed it to my friends, along with some other recent quilts I’d made, they raved over it. They didn’t recognize the ugly orphan block that inspired it.

This quilt was made for the 50th anniversary of David T & Phyllis L Smith on November 30, 1997. Their three daughters, Leah Robinson, Marsha Smith and Kathryn Smith started about a year ahead of time to plan and sew the quilt. The idea came from a quilting book, Our Pieceful Village by Lynn Rice. We used our memories to make our village from the many homes my parents lived in over the years.

The story starts in the upper right corner with the barn that represents the farm where our parents  lived on the Ridge Road in Horseheads, NY. The next two homes across the top are in Cooperstown, NY. Going down the left side are homes in Fairport and Dryden.

In the center is our beloved camp, Sodbusters Lodge, in Wanakena, where we spent precious time in the summers from 1956 until 1992. So many wonderful memories were made there! We learned to swim, fish, row and paddle, water ski, hike, play lots of cards and games, eat smallmouth bass, plenty of s'mores and blueberry pancakes and read many books on rainy days. We often slept on the porch or in tents and sometimes on Joe Indian Island or Hawks Nest.

Church has always played an important role in our lives and this quilt shows the church in Cooperstown where the youngest four of us six kids were baptized and all joined the church. Our eldest sister was married there shortly before our move to Fairport.

Each of the little details have a special meaning to us: kids playing in the yards, the dogs that lived in each house, a quilt hanging on the clothesline, the red 1957 Chevy station wagon, the lovely stringer of bass that Dad caught on opening day in the late 60s, the bluebird nest boxes, Cat Mountain fire tower, the yellow canoe by the barge canal and the GLF sign that reminds us of Dad working for GLF and then Agway for many years.

Around the outer border, Mom and Dad signed their names in the upper middle stars. Each of their children and grandchildren signed their names in the other stars.

This quilt has been treasured by Mom and Dad for over 26 years and will be treasured by whoever becomes the custodian of it into the future.

I was pregnant with my third child. At this time, we did not have technology to determine the gender of the baby. Friends in Wanakena wanted to give me a baby shower. I already had two sons and all the baby supplies I needed. They decided to give me a quilt.

The amazing thing about the quilt they created was that only a few of the ladies had any quilting experience. Some of the women had only sewed on a button and maybe simple mending. Laura, the creator, worked with them. She had them choose an animal. She then made templates and provided the fabric. With her as mentor, the quilt was put together for my surprise baby shower.

At the shower, they told tales of trying to sew and complete each block. I love that they signed each block.

My daughter has the quilt. It hung on her bedroom wall for the first few years. We then moved it to her bed for warmth. When she married, she took the quilt with her in hopes her child could someday be warmed by it.

Charlotte, my granddaughter, has used the quilt in her first few years. Now, we store it for a potential great grandchild. When the quilt comes out, I smile at each block and name. I have fond memories of their love and friendship.

This quilt is part of the SLCHA quilt collection. The Carolina Lily pattern is typical of floral appliqué quilts from 1880s, which were commonly made of red and green on a white background with orange, yellow or pink accents. It was made by Mrs. Roxanna Swinning (1803-1897), the great grandmother of the donor.

The blocks in this quilt were pieced by members of the Calico club and given to Mildred Farley (see photo of her) as a hostess gift at one of the club’s monthly meetings. Members signed their names and gave the blocks as a token of their friendship to each month’s meeting hostess. Later the hostess would sew the blocks together, and quilt them herself or quilt them at a group tying/quilting bee.

SPECIAL NOTE: This quilt is the seed that inspired the idea for Common Thread Quilt Fest, and the group that made it, the Calico Club, inspired the formation of our quilt group, Common Thread Quilts.

The ladies of Geers Corner’s Church (in Harrisville, NY) made this quilt in 1899. To have your name sewn into it, it would cost 5 cents each! There are 547 names on the quilt and the total came to $27.35. The quilt was given to the Petrie family as a going away present when they moved to Oswego County from Geers Corner’s. The Petrie sister presented the quilt to the church in 1979 to be kept as a record of the community.

This quilt belonged to Dorthy Marotta. When she passed away, she left her house and belongings to St. Stephens Church in Amsterdam, NY. I helped the church clean out the house and they gave me the quilt. I would love to know when the quilt was made and who made it!

SPECIAL NOTE: Something that is particularly interesting about this quilt is the tobacco sack fabric that is used in some of the piecing. If you look close, you can still make out the logo of the tobacco company stamped on the fabric. This company, the R.A. Patterson Tobacco Company, based in Richmond, Virginia was founded in 1856. Patterson is famous for introducing the Lucky Strike brand plug tobacco, and later manufactured the popular Lucky Strike brand cigarettes. The Patterson Tobacco Company was purchased by the American Tobacco Company in 1905, so the fabric from the tobacco bags used in this quilt

I became the owner of this quilt when my husband and I purchased a log home at the Inlet (of Moore’s Landing). I still have a special attachment to this place at the Inlet, as we were the second owners and have been close friends with the present owners (1975) for 47 years. This home was built in 1911 of Georgia White Pine. The quilt was probably made after this date, but I really don’t know when.

If I could ask the quilter one question, I’d ask, ”Why did you not sign and date your quilt?”