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.

   

Strawberry Preserves

Hello everyone! Can you believe it's September already? I've been so focussed on this summer's project that I feel like it's still July! Some of you may remember this mid-century inspired doll quilt embellished with a vintage strawberry. I first posted about it here.

Motifs like this are typical of the 1940s-50s when they adorned household linens such as tea towels, tablecloths, and napkins. I added calicos, polka dots, and gingham checks for vintage charm and bordered the quilt with a whimsical retro-style daisy print from American Jane. 

                        

The top itself was finished years ago but got set aside when I gave up doing handwork. That was that, or so I thought until I pulled it out this spring to show to my friend Ruth. She not only deemed it worth finishing, Ruth offered to do it for me! How could I refuse?

As you can see, she's quite an accomplished needlewoman! Ruth suggested using perle cotton for the quilting which was something new to me. I like the subtle luster it adds to the design.

 

What started as a means of preserving a bit stitchery ended up capturing the essence of summer itself. I couldn't be happier with the result. Thank you to Vicki Haninger for her inspiration and to Ruth, of course, for seeing the project to fruition. 

Strawberry Preserves

15” x 17”

2019

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! ❤️

At Times Like These

Hello everyone. Where were we when I last posted? Oh yeah, smack dab in the middle of the worst year ever! Twenty-sixteen brought an unrelenting onslaught of disasters--everything from wildfires, hurricanes and floods to mass shootings, civil unrest and unprecedented political farce. In the midst of it all, a sudden death in the family left me paralyzed with grief.

It's only been nine months, but I'm ready to start dealing with things instead of just wallowing in sadness. Creative endeavors have helped in the past (here and here), and to that end, we did a deep dive in my sewing room. 

ooking for something to pique my interest. Well, something finally did--an assortment of homespun plaids all cut and ready to sew. Kathie Holland, do you remember sending this kit to me years ago?

Blocks are pieced using Mary Ellen Hopkins' “connector corners” technique. Stars cleverly appear as the blocks are sewn together. Wanda Hanson assembled the quilt and added plaids of her own to make it a more functional table runner size.

Wanda chose a lovely striped backing and binding in my favorite colors. I like how her diagonal machine quilting echoes the linear theme.

Plaid Fancy

18" x 27"

Some of the comfort a quilt provides comes from the soul of its maker. This one's imbued with the love and kindness of compassionate friends, who in bringing it to life, restored a bit of my own!

Welcome Spring

Hello everyone! Today was perfect for a visit from my friend, Terri. The first thing she did after walking through the door.warm and sunny today -- just right for opening the windows to the  air. In fact, that was 

Sunshine settled on our faces as we basked in the warm breeze. No words necessary; our smiles say it all!

Over lunch, we talked nonstop barely getting a bite in edgewise for all the catching up we had to do.

Before leaving, Terri offered to do a little something around the house. I knew she meant cleaning, but dust can wait! Instead, I asked if she'd arrange a little tableau with the tulips she brought and a little quilt from my stash.

As you can see, it's nothing special -- just a few random nine patches swapped with friends. Even so, a humble quilt like this deserves its day in the sun. 

Thanks again, Terri. Your arrangement will keep me smiling all week!

 

Garden Maze

It finally feels like Spring here. Time to celebrate with something fresh and new! Aussie quilter Marian Edwards posted this little quilt on her beautiful blog, a must read for anyone interested in antique and reproduction quilts, especially of the small variety.

Marian designed her quilt with bits and pieces leftover from previous projects. Hmm... I had some of the very same bits lying around my own sewing room!

A single Dresden Plate block,

a couple of appliquéd flowers,
embellished with buttonhole
stitch embroidery,

and precut strips of 1930s repro fabric.

These particular bits were leftover from various classes I'd taught. By making class samples and demo blocks from the same style of fabric,  it was easy to incorporate them into another project later on.

Kathy Smith used my pieces to create a miniature sampler style quilt. She brought new life to what certainly would have remained scraps if left in my care.

Kathy hand quilted simple designs, reminiscent of 1930s quilts.

I've named it "Garden Maze," for the labyrinth pattern created by the strip pieced blocks. The quilt measures 27” square and is backed with a sweet jonquil print.

Our grand kitty, Gandalf, laid claim to it just as we tried taking pictures. I love the way his tippy toes rest right at the edge of the quilt.