The Lincoln Memorial

Hello everyone! In honor of Presidents' Day this year, I'm sharing a special birthday quilt made by my friend, Barb Vedder. It's a tribute to Abraham Lincoln that I call "The Lincoln Memorial." Sure, it's a "monumental" name for a miniature quilt, but I like a good play on words.

Hyperbole aside, the 10” x 11” medallion-style quilt features Abe at the center surrounded by three deceptively simple borders. According to Barb, "Fabric choices really matter in small projects like this. When only a few are used, it can be challenging to pick just the right ones."

After trying a "gazillion" options, Barb's persistence finally paid off. Her savvy fabric choices add depth, complexity and gravitas to an otherwise simple design.

I wonder if Barb had Ford's Theatre in mind as she auditioned fabrics, or was it happenstance how closely they resemble the scene of Lincoln’s demise?

From the rich red carpet 

and brocade upholstery...

to the heavy swag draperies of the Presidential Box, the similarities are striking!

Even the riverboat scene on the back is accurate to the era.

Of course, this is just one of many patriotic quilts inspired by Barb’s love of U.S. history. Her quilts and collections are on display throughout her lovely home. Check them out!

Incidentally, there's even a connection between Mary Todd Lincoln and our little town of Batavia, Illinois. Ten years after President Lincoln's assassination, Mary was deemed mentally unstable and committed to Bellevue Place, a rest home and sanitarium just blocks from our house. Her stay was brief, a mere four months, but long enough for her to earn a prominent place in local lore. To this day, the Batavia Historical Society has an exhibit devoted to Mary Todd Lincoln, including the very bed she slept in while staying here.

Originally posted 2/16/2016.

   

Midwinter Blues

Hello everyone! I had a birthday recently and with it came this marvelous quilt from Barb Vedder. You may recognize it as Midwinter Blues, a pattern designed by Lori DeJarnatt for her 2014 Humble Quilts sew-along. Double-click photos for more detail.

Aren't Barb's fabrics exquisite? I've never seen such deep, saturated blues or bold cheddar prints. Of course, those patchwork points and angles make for a "lively" quilt, especially when high contrast fabrics like these are used. Barb managed to tame all that energy with a couple clever tricks.

First, she chose a quilting design with gentle, flowing curves to draw the focus away from the angular patchwork itself.

Second, by swapping her standard cotton thread with fine silk thread in a neutral color, Barb reduced the impact of the machine quilting itself. Look closely and you'll see how the stitches practically melt into the background leaving just a hint of texture behind. 

On the back is a patriotic print with the phrase "E pluribus unum" or "Out of many, one," or as I prefer to interpret it, "Out of many pieces came one fantastic quilt!"

Barb originally made it for our dear friend, Mary Borst. After Mary passed away, Barb thought I might enjoy having it since Mary and I had been college classmates and good quilt friends as well. Thanks, Barb. You bet I will! XO

 

Instructions for the Midwinter Blues quilt are still available on Lori's Humble Quilts blog: 

Part 1,  Part 2,  Part 3,  Finale.

Another Year Older

                                      23 February 2017

Dear Barb,

My birthday quilt arrived and I wish you could see the ear to ear grin on my face. What a happy piece of patchwork to open on a gray February day.

Your little Log Cabin quilt is charming! Could anything be sweeter than pink and blue sitting side by side like this? 

As for sharing your last bit of bird toile for the back, it makes an elegant foil for those quirky conversation prints on the front of the quilt. Baseball players and baby faces -- What fun! 

    

Thank you for your beautiful birthday quilts, Barb. They always take the edge off turning another year older!

Scrappy Birthday

I'ii never forget a visit to my friend, Barb's, sewing room where she revealed the secret behind much of her design process. It was a drawer full of miscellaneous quilt blocks leftover from previous projects. Wouldn't it be fun, I thought, to arrange them like puzzle pieces into various quilt designs?

It turns out that's precisely what Barb did when she made this year's birthday quilt for me. All the elements were "pieces and parts" of other projects made to fit by adding on or trimming down as need be.

I’m guessing Barb started her layout with the vintage Shoo Fly block, then added Broken Dishes to continue the classic blue and brown color scheme. When her strip of Flying Geese was too long to fit, Barb simply lopped it off leaving a quirky little partial block behind.

Adding to the "make do" charm is a backing pieced from three strips of beautiful bird chintz fabric. It takes a keen eye to spot the seams. Can you find them? Barb also varied her binding strips just as a frugal seamstress might had she run out of her intended fabric.

Finally, a gentle tea bath gave the quilt its aged appearance. Don’t you love Barb's attention to detail?

Weeks before my birthday, I spotted a vintage blue bowl on Etsy. "That's just what I need," I told myself. "Wouldn't it look great filled with old buttons sitting atop a scrappy quilt?"

When just such a quilt arrived, I raced right back to Etsy and bought the bowl. Happy birthday to me!

By the way, here are photos of Barb's miscellaneous block drawers. Do you see the allure of designing this way?

Thank you for another great birthday quilt, Barb. You always manage to surprise and delight me! ❤️

What Goes Around, Comes Around

Hello everyone! I've finally reached an age where all I want for my birthday is not to be reminded of it, unless of course, it’s with a birthday quilt from my friend, Barb Vedder. For that, I’ll own up to each and every one of my advancing years!

Imagine my surprise when I opened this year's package from Barb only to find a block I’d given her a few years ago. “Wait... What?” It took a moment for me to realize she’d transformed it into a stunning little quilt! 

I

The pattern is by Anita Shackelford from her book Applique with Folded Cutwork. I'd taken a workshop with her and thought I was ready to tackle something more advanced. Boy, was I wrong! My hands clenched up like vice grips when I attempted the appliqué. Our friend, Kathy Smith, was kind enough to complete the block in time for me to send it to Barb for her birthday.

Notice Barb's use of echo quilting, a traditional Hawaiian technique that outlines the appliqué with concentric rows of stitching. Machine quilting with silk thread also adds a subtle elegance to the overall design.

On the back is a tribute to Barb's former stomping ground, New York City.

Thank you for this tremendous surprise Barb! I imagine it was as hard for you to part with as it originally was for me. The best gifts always are! ❤️

Tickled Pink!

Hi everyone! What could be sweeter on a birthday than cake and ice cream? How about a pink and white confection like this one from my buddy Barb? It's the latest in a series of birthday quilts she's gifted me over the years. 

I'm "tickled pink" with this Courthouse Steps Log Cabin! Isn't it delightful? Barb's arrangement of double pinks and shirting prints reminds me of French pastries stacked in a patisserie window.

 

Et voilà!

Barb must have had the same idea because look what she put on the back -- a luscious toile depicting Parisienne advertising labels. Ooh la la!

But wait, that's not all... there were birthday treats from other friends as well. Terri baked a tray of mini cupcakes that were moist, chocolatey, and way too easy to pop into our mouths whole. Linda not only brought the perfect accompaniment, pink peppermint ice cream, she snapped these scrumptious photos too.

Thank you, dear friends, for the sweetest birthday ever! 🩷💕

Pulling Strings: A Civil War Selvage Quilt

Hello everyone! Have you noticed the new quilt-making trend on social media lately? I’m talking about the Selvage Quilt, a specific type of scrap quilt made exclusively from fabric selvages or what my 8th grade Home Economics teacher might refer to as "trash."

resourceful

https://funwithbarbandmary.blogspot.com/2011/01/progress-report.html

A selvage is the tightly woven edge of fabric as it comes off the bolt. It keeps the cloth from raveling, it serves as a manufacturer's label, listing the company, name of the fabric line, designer, and year of production. 

How did Barb guess which one was my favorite? Good friends just know!

These particular selvages came from reproductions of traditional fabrics spanning 1800-1900, also known as "Civil War Repros."

Who but Barb would have this fabric in her stash? It features Civil War battles and makes a perfect backing!

A big thanks to all who contributed selvages and to Barb, of course, for her inspired use of them. I'm thrilled to have been included as a recipiant in this string of friendship quilts. I adore mine!

Birthday Quilt

My birthday rolled around again, as they're wont to do. I stopped counting the years at 50, so I’m often startled when I actually do the math ~ 56 this year! How did that happen? One of the few good things about growing older is getting a commemorative birthday quilt from my friend Barb.

This year’s quilt is a sweet little Shoofly, adapted from the Pink Lemonade quilt at Humble Quilts.

Barb always selects a surprising fabric for the back, sometimes consistent with the style or theme of her little quilts, but more often than not, something bold, funny, or completely incongruous. This time, it's an exquisite china print.


The quilting is done in one of my favorite designs -- "teacup" or "wineglass" quilting, so named for the household implement used to trace the circular pattern (or your preferred beverage while doing so). Barb gives a good explanation of the proper way to approach this seemingly straightforward design. You might think it’s logical to stitch each circle, continuing one to the next where they intersect. But soon, you will reach a dead end, and have to stop stitching. Instead, follow the gentler curve that looks like elongated pumpkin seeds. This path will allow for longer, more continuous lines of stitching.

Barb, thanks again for the beautiful birthday quilt. I don’t know how long we’ll be able to keep up this tradition. After 50, the birthdays come pretty fast and furious!

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Another birthday, another doll quilt... believe me, it never gets old! Here’s the beauty my friend Barb at Fun with Barb surprised me with this year. It's a four patch variation made of reproduction prints in the chocolate browns I love.

Barb and I have swapped several little quilts over the years, but I never stopped to consider how many other friends she might also be trading with. I'll bet she's made well over a hundred doll quilts by now! 

Enjoy these photos from my personal collection. A few of them I've shown before, but they're even better when viewed en masse.

Barb likes to add surprises to the back of her quilts. Many feature novelty prints, like the fish on the back of the Lewis and Clark Medallion, or sock monkeys on the Puss in the Corner quilt. Kitchen prints grace the yellow and pink four patch quilt.

Aren't they fun? Each one is a treasure, just like Barb!