Thursday, March 15, 2018

Barb the Builder

Hello!  Thank you Ocean Waves Quilt Guild for inviting me to present a lecture and lead a Workshop.  I had a great time and you did too.
Helen and Denise came from Cape May on a very bumpy ferry - thanks ladies! 

We had a very busy day of liberated home construction. 
 There were 25 women in the workshop and they all built great houses.
 Wow - what an amazing collection of houses!  We had a piece of Elmo fabric and he featured in many of the houses.
 I love the variety.  Each house is different and has its own personality.
If you would like me to visit your group or quilt shop to teach this fun workshop send me an email barb.vedder@gmail.com  I still have booking openings in 2018 and 2019.

Thank you Wendy for hosting me in your beautiful home.  I'll be sharing some of her amazing garden and collections soon.  We were guild friends in NJ and had such a great visit.
I was billeted in NJ to wait out the Nor'easter that hit Wednesday.  Here is how it looked on Thursday.  Still think it's "beautiful" Pauline?  ha ha 
Coco and I surveyed the damage at our local State Park; Chatfield Hollow.  It was sad to see so many trees and branches down.
Tuesday, we woke up to this.....again......
The (2nd) nor'easter provided a good day for me to do the Repro Block Swap. 
Here are the sets of 22 blocks before they were swapped.
Today I'm going to tackle the 1944 Modern Churn Dash Blocks from 36 swappers.
Guess what?  we have another winter snow storm coming next week!  wee.

I leave you with my Christmas plants which are blooming again.
Have a super week!
xo

p.s. did anyone in the workshop find my pearl bracelet?  :(  

25 comments:

Wendy Caton Reed said...

Looks like you had another great time with your adorable houses. I would LOVE to get you to Maine! Hope you find your bracelet. Maybe after all this snow melts - if it ever does!

CecileD said...

Oh what fun !! All these houses are gorgeous and your students are very talented ! Congratulations ladies ! But you have had a wonderful teacher ah ah !!
I'm so sorry for your bracelet and sincerely hope you will find it quickly !
Thank you again for hosting the swap ! I can't wait to received the blocks !!

Lori said...

Your cactus is blooming again because the late winter has it totally confused! LOL WE had snow in our forecast for today, but I'm thankful to say, "poof" no snow!
Your workshop look awesome!

Vickie said...

It's been pretty dry here this winter in WY. Good thing you have quilting to keep you busy inside! Happy Quilting!

Karen said...

All that snow must have made your plants think it was the Christmas holiday season all over.
The house blocks look like such fun construction. I can imagine the quilters enjoyed their day.

Janet O. said...

Oh, now I want to make a house quilt for my grandson with "I SPY" doorways and windows that would feature his favorite PBS Kids characters!! Elmo is one of his all-time favs. :)
You guys are getting hit repeatedly with the big storms! Every time I hear you have another coming, I cringe. My daughter is so glad she moved to the west coast before this winter. However, the year they moved to Oregon, there were two ice storms in their area that first winter, and that is rare.
Wow, what a challenge to get all of those blocks sorted out, packaged up, and sent on their way!
Looks like you should put the tree back up, and set up the village again. You can't fight Mother Nature! LOL

Pinkadot Quilts said...

While the snow in March melts fast, for some reason it feels very wrong to be getting it at all! My swap house blocks is one of my favorite quilts! Helen and Denise are so fun, glad you got to spend time with them!

Kyle said...

With all your snow your cactus thinks it's the holidays. Teaching a class is so much fun especially when everyone is enthused. Barb, the Builder, could be on "This Old House".

Sherrill said...

EW! So glad that white stuff is where you live and not where I live!! HA I HATE the cold and fortunately I think we're done with it. The Elmo in the houses made me think what a cute child's donation quilt that would be with different characters, animals, etc. in the houses. Might have to do something like that. Bunch of wonderful abodes were featured.

Chantal said...

I prefer Barb, the Builder to Bob the Builder. I never saw him build so many beautiful houses in one day, ha! I had fun looking at all the different houses. Love the car in the garage and the moose in the barn. Too cute! And yes, I still think it is pretty, all that snow, even if we are still getting the Winter Wonderland Treatment every second day or so. I'm sadden to see that big tree down, though. That's is just sad.
To have all the Churn Dash on the table AND hutch shows how much work goes into the organization of such a project. Thank you so much for doing this for us. Again, let me say: I appreciate it. ♥ And now I am all excited to receive mine in the mail. Whoohoo!! (I too hope you will find your bracelet. That too is sad.) ;^)

The Joyful Quilter said...

LOVE that block with the tow truck in the garage!! Crazy late snow(s) and crazy Christmas plants!!!

Ann said...

A great collection of houses. What a fun day you all had building them. It's cold here, too, but fortunately no snow.

christine said...

I’m driving up to CT next week to play Nana to new granddaughter and her 2 1/2 year old sister. Planning to arrive before the storm and hoping it is gone by time to return. Nice post!

Barbara said...

Wow, what fun it must have been building houses with you! Lots of trees down near us, too. Hoping next week's storm is rain not snow :) Thanks again for your amazing effort to coordinate this great swap! Love, love, love the blocks! I got them today :) Your plants look good and healthy--even if it is the 2nd time around.

Janet said...

What a fun collection of houses. It's looking pretty snowy here too . How exciting it will be for the swappers to open their packages of churn dashes :0)

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

having watched numerous episode of "BOB the BUILDER" with my grandson in years past I want to thank you for having that song go through my mind again LOL!

Looks like such a fun workshop and the last time I checked the weather there's another possible nor'easter building up for some areas / crazy!!

Nann said...

Love the house blocks. Excited about the churn dash swap (and hoping that my entries are up to snuff). What is the china pattern of the dishes displayed on your Welsh dresser? (My winter pattern is Fair Winds by Meakin.)

QuiltGranma said...

When I did a block exchange, I got two each of two different quilters blocks back... hard to separate them far enough apart. Hope that didn't happen with you, being more organized, doing it. These were 12" finished size improvisational basket blocks. Looks like a GREAT class!

Diane said...

I have been thinking about you and all that snowy weather in your area. I do hope the worst is over and that you are staying warm and safe. Love all those fun houses and big smiles! Looks like it was a great workshop. Good luck with the swap. That's no small task for sure. Hugs to Coco too.

Angie said...

I surely hope winter is about over for you! Your home-building workshop looked like fun - loved the couple of mid-century looking houses that crept in there! I just noticed all the carving on your china hutch - very cool!

Beth said...

Your class looks like a really fun class. I would love to try liberated houses. Actually a lot of what I do ends up looking "liberated", but not on purpose. LOL
I hope all that weather is over for this season.

Thimbleanna said...

You guys have all the winter luck LOL! Our snow count has been just plain boring this year. {Sigh}. Looks like you've been having a great time - cruising, speaking, drinking ... LOLOL. LOVE LOVE your new applique project -- can't wait to watch it develop!

Aunt 'Reen said...

Looks like it was a fun and fabulous workshop!
What an amazing amount of Churn Dash blocks to sort - you certainly had your work cut out.
Thank you for all the time & effort... I LOVED this swap!
Hope you fair well with tonight's latest storm. It will effect VA this time too. Happy Spring...yikes! lol

Quilter Kathy said...

The photos from the swap give quite a visual perspective on how big the coordinating job is... my goodness!
I could never organize all that! Wowzer!

rondiquilts said...

I love all those houses! I know the guild enjoyed having you visit. We've had a lot of late snow here too in KY, fortunately I've been gone on vacation during it! I've received my blocks and many thanks to you Barb and all those that participated.
Rondi