I Tumble For You

I'm so happy to report that after about 12 years, I have finished my hand pieced tumbling block doll quilt.

I had a little photo shoot with my AG doll, Annie, by the fireplace.

I made this little pillowcase to go with the new quilt.

The back is just a fabric that I thought looked old and humble.   I hand quilted the horizontal lines.  I will put a label on it this week.

Here are the steps I use to make a single binding, which I think really looks good on these little quilts.  It helps keep the scale of them correct, I think.

I cut fabric strips 1 1/2" wide by the length needed.
I pin then sew the strips to each of sides of the quilt.

After sewing I trim away the top and the batting 1/4 from sewing line.  I then press it about half way (a little less) to the raw edges.

I fold it over the edge and give it a really good press.

I pin the side bindings down on back side, then line up the bottom and top binding strips.

I pin, then sew these strips on.  Trim and press as for sides.

For the corners, I fold in to line up with the edge and press.  

Then I turn down the top and press again and pin into place.

As you can see, this is for a 4-piece single binding, which is in keeping with the age period I was going for.  You can also do mitered corners with a single binding and I'll show that the next time I use it.

The Jubilee Quilt Project Blog is up and running and you can visit us here.  There are about 20 of us and we'll be adding to and refining the blog as we go along.  I'll be posting later this week, I've hit a speed bump on my project and I'm trying to find the right muslin.....again :(

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.

Sailing away with my Sailor

Happy Friday Everyone!

I finished the first of the four princess feather blocks for my Jubilee Quilt.  There are 69 stuffed berries.  I've gotten the hang of them now and they are going much faster.

Part of my Jubilee year, includes celebrating 25 wonderful years with my husband.  We were married at the Chicago Yacht Club on a blustery, stormy night.

February 14, 1987 (yep, Valentine's Day)

February 14, 1997 - vow renewal

Andrew (10) and Hanna (4).  It was so fun to have them be part of it.

July 21, 2011 - Greek Island Cruise

We're going on a one week cruise - alone.  It's our first week long trip without our children since our honeymoon!

Here's what I'm taking to work on.   Berries, lots of berries...

I'm going to force myself to finish this on this cruise.  I only have 2 rows to go for heaven's sake!

Let's try it again.  Last summer I took my machine in while I was away and it was there 6 weeks and wasn't cleaned or fixed.  I took it to a different shop and have all the confidence that it will be.

And last but, never least, coco finally had some snow last Saturday to play in!

I'm gong where colorful umbrellas adorn the beaches and the drinks ;)

Hope you all have a fun week!

2012 UFO Challenge

Giants Win In Overtime - Superbowl XLVI
just had to get that out.

I met last week with Jill and Susan and instead of starting a new challenge project, we've decided to finish some UFOs this year.

We are also going to swap flying geese units every month.  We've decided to use bright, fresh fabrics and solids for fun.  I'll post when I've made my first sets.

Here in her own words is Jill's UFO project:

After Barb introduced me to English paper piecing, I have fallen in love with it, the accuracy which I could never attain otherwise and the relaxation of whip stitching together the prepared pieces.   Of course it is additional steps, with the basting and paper removal, but I enjoy the results very much.

I started this "star" project some time ago and picked this as my UFO for this Barb/Susan/Jill quilt-finishing deadline!   I have yet to come up with a nice setting design, so I am not sure how many star blocks I need.  I am thinking maybe six and as you can see,  I only have two finished, almost three.   I had better "put a fire under it"...lol.

 I also want to do a setting where the multi-colored stars seem to "float" on the black background and I also hope to come up with an appliqué design to add to either the center of the quilt and/or the border.   I love the combo of pieced and appliqué...my favorite.

Barb thinks perhaps the appliqué will be too busy, as it is already pretty colorful.   So I am rethinking that.  Right now I want to finish the six blocks,  put them on my design wall and try to finalize a plan.

Here in her own words is Susan's UFO project-

It was easy for me to pick my UFO challenge.  This quilt has been on my design wall for months....and months....waiting for the border.

"POTUS 1789-1901" is a quilt I designed with the quilting in mind.  It is a two block quilt.  The president block looks odd, silly really but placing a wreath stencil on top to show what the quilting will look like gives a better idea of where I am going.

The president images are from an old Windham line.  I thought there was a misprint at first because one president had two images.  A check of the facts showed that the printing was correct.  One president served two terms but not consecutively.  I love making quilts that include little bits of history.

And here is mine -

I started this quilt in 2009 to commemorate (again) the 2008 Summer Olympics.  I loved that the opening ceremony was on 8-8-08.  It would be great to finish this one before the 2012 games open in London!

I put this away when I started working on my Mother's Garden quilt and other projects for the quilt show last November.  I have posted on this quilt before and you can find them by typing "olympic star" in the search box.

I have the quilting area you see on the upper left hand side, then binding and labeling.

I will reporting back on these projects.  Our deadline is set for mid-April.

Are you currently finishing last years (or the last 5 years) projects?  It seems every year we quilters try to finish our UFOs.  Why is it so much more fun to start them?