More About Button Weeds
 

Afton, Iowa farm wife Kris Kerrigan has been dreaming up designs since her early 4-H and Girl Scout days and continued with both programs as a leader for 16 years, helping youth with their projects.

She was an elementary school teacher for 12 years and also worked with home fashions, fabrics, gifts, and as a craft class teacher at two local shops until good friend and neighbor, Liz Porter designed her first line of fabrics in 1993 and asked Kris to showcase those fabrics in an original wall quilt to display at International Quilt Market.
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Beyond Button Weeds

Not only does Kris now sell her own line of Button Weeds patterns, but also designs projects for Simplicity Patterns, American Patchwork and Quilting magazine, Chilton's Best Loved Designers' Quick-Sew Quilt Book, That Patchwork Places, Best-Loved Designers' Quick-Sew Celebrations book, Leisure Arts and Current Calendars, and "For the Love of Quilting" magazine.
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Family
  Kris and husband Bob have five granddaughters, Eileen, Julia, Flannery, Georgia, and Amelie and one grandson, Finnegan; and four children; Wade Kerrigan, a lawyer (wife, Jessica, freelance writer/editor); Angee Simmons, KCPT -TV producer (husband, Dave, video producer/editor); Alex Kerrigan, a project appraiser for a construction company (wife Missy, cardiac nurse), and Rachel, Assistant Designer for a sports clothing design company, Gear for Sports.
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Button Weed Lore

Now a word about button weeds. A button weed is a pesky plant that defies the farmer's cultivator, popping up unwanted in soybean fields throughout the Midwest. To rid one's fields of this annoying plant, we used to do what is called "walking the beans." You think the beans needed exercise? No. It's row after row of walking the fields, back and forth, chopping out the weeds with this huge corn knife. Blisters, sore feet, sweat, boredom.

This scenario has recently changed due to no-till planting of soybeans. Thank goodness, now, I can spend my time creating my Button Weeds patterns.

My husband, Bob, originated button weeds as you see them here, nearly 20 years ago in a drawing to entertain our then toddler children at a bank meeting. Thank you too, Bob.