Red & Green Forever

Who can resist a red and green quilt?  Seriously they are the best.

 My favorite feature on this quilt is the simplicity and the different greens.  I feel they add so much!

 The quilting is swoon worthy.

 I met this quilt white visiting our farm last summer.  The owner is our partner farmer.  Lucky him!  He has quite collection.

I also used 2 different greens on my holly quilt.  My pattern was published in Quilt Mania Moderne Nov. 2017

Here is my ceramic tree at night.  I have it on a timer so it will be lit when I go bed for a while.

I set up another little ceramic tree in my sewing room.  I grouped a few of my favorite things around it.  You are never too old to play, right?

This year my "major award" leg lamp is on my dresser. I think it is fun to move things around year to year.

Since I didn't use all the fresh rosemary on Thanksgiving I dried it and added it to my spice jar.  The key is not to leave it in the fridge, put it out at room temp while it is still fresh and green.

 All I can say is "YASS"  90 calories and 5 grams of protein. 

 Have you tried this yet?  I know I could mix it myself, but would I?  If only it was Miracle Whip and Ketchup.   Ooops, I'm letting my Midwest upbringing show  :)

Mr. Fun will not be having fun tomorrow.  He's getting a new hip for Christmas.  Wish us all luck.  Let me know if you have any hints or suggestions.

I end this post with a little dolly quilt.  This is a personal favorite of mine.  They are 2" finished four patches.

I made it in 2001 for Hanna.

Have a great week - Advent Starts on Saturday! 
xo

Red & White - Sweet Dreams

Happy Tuesday!

I've always wanted a red and white guest bedroom and now I have one!

The embroidered penny square quilt is an antique I bought in Pennsylvania.  I made the red work pillow of our cat, Starbuck.  The other 2 quilts are signature quilts.

On the night stand is a quilt from Janet of Quiltsalott from doll quilt swap and some darning eggs in case guests or Andrew and Sig (who use this room the most) want to darn some socks.

In the corner on a red high chair sits our beloved Fred T. Bear (T stands for the "the").  He is a puppet bear.  The window toppers and bedskirt I found on ebay - hooray.

On the other night stand is a quilt I bought on the AAQI website and was made by my friend Lori of Humble Quilts.

I'm really happy with the way it turned out and just may have to sleep in there soon to try it all out.

Last week I went to my guild in NJ, The Brownstone Quilters.  They had a Red & White Challenge last year and here are some of the quilts.

Aren't they terrific?

This is my friend, Pauline's -

There will be a special exhibit and will include my School House quilt at the Quilt Show in
 October.

Hope you are having a great week!

Put a Pin in It

Hello!

Last week I marked and pinned my daughters School house quilt and I've been busy machine quilting it.

I usually do cross hatching quilting when looking for a simple overall pattern.  This time I did 60 degree diamonds.

In this photo you can see my "eraser".  I use a Q-tip and a little water to erase any lines that are a little off.  I remove most of the cotton tip.  This works great.

My tried and true and favorite border design.  I'm extending the diamonds all the way to the cable just for fun and added interest.

If you think this looks like a lot of pins, you are right!

I'm using a lot this time because I didn't want to do any anchoring straight lines and all the quilting is on the bias.

So, what do we think of Donald Draper's new wifey?  I put a poll up on the right hand side just for fun and it's not even Friday.

Happy Pinning and Stitching everyone!

Join the Jubilee!

After posting about my new project here, several friends and readers have shown an interest in making their own Jubilee quilts!  How wonderful!

Lori, of Humble Quilts, and Regan, of Floating on a Quilted Cloud, are also turning 50 this year and will be starting their own Jubilee Quilts.

We are planning to have a Jubilee Quilt Project blog and letting anyone working on this project  post updates of their work.  Lori already has several readers interested in joining the fun.

The main idea of the project is to make a quilt by you and for you.  You don't have to be having a big birthday this year, you can be jubilant about any milestone in your life, past or present.

Email me at barb.vedder@gmail.com or leave a comment.  Even if you responded to Lori, let me know too.  The more the merrier!


This is a test, this only a test........

I recently purchased 2 bolts of moda bella solids from Thimbleanna for an upcoming red & white project for my daughter.

I did a pre-wash test and here is how it went:

don't be alarmed, I always wash my quilts in regular detergent.

I used warm/cold, as you never know who will wash it one day.

I used 3 of these.  They seem the same as color catcher.

All together now...

I like to buy a cyclamen every year about this time at the grocery store.  The best $10. value.  They bloom for weeks.

I purposely let it sit for a while overlapping each other.  I was really testing it here....

I pulled it out and it looked good!  the color grabbers grabbed a little of the red, but not much.

Into the dryer with 1 sheet of bounce and set on medium.

and Viola'!  After pressing, it look exactly the same as the fabric on the bolt.

Great news for me, as I would much prefer to piece with unwashed fabric!  Hoooray for Moda Bella Solids!!!  I give you an A+.

Think about a Jubilee Project, there isn't a deadline to join us and you don't have to have a blog either.  Just drop me a line.

Land Ho

Most of me is back from my Caribbean vacation, but it's going to take a few days to stop looking for the Lido deck.....

Before I went away, I sent this Birthday gift to my friend, Sheila in Illinois.

It was one of those "big" Birthday's so I decided to make a red and white in remembrance of her visit to the exhibit, just about a year ago.

Here you can see the scale better.  The blocks are 4" finished and there are 70, hhhmmmm, coincidence?  

I used this red and white toile' on the backing and apparently it goes with Sheila's dining room.

My favorite home away from home:  Holland America Line.
We were aboard the newest ship:  The Nieuw Amsterdam.
It was beautiful.

Top picks from the trip:

The Crow's Nest, we came everyday after breakfast, and then for team trivia.  The views are beautiful.

On Grand Cayman we took a submarine tour - it was incredible.  We went 115 ft. down, and hey, I didn't even have to get wet :)

There are some bright blue fishes near the bottom of the shot.

Here is a hut that we "owned" for a day at Mahogany Beach, Honduras.

One of our favorite activities on board is sitting on Deck 3, Promenade deck, and watching the ocean go by....

And now there are dishes to do, laundry to fold and a dog to be walked.  I guess I'm back in Jersey all right!

Hope you all had a great week and I look forward to catching up on my blog reading.