Red, White, and Sometimes Blue

Martingale & Company has gathered a stunning group of red-and-white, blue-and-white, and red-white-and-blue quilts to create this book. There’s something in it for everybody; from a quick to piece wall quilt to a large bed quilt.

The “Heart’s Desire” wall hanging above (pg. 30) finishes at 25 1/2″ x 25 1/2″. There is a special energy created by using one or two bold colors plus white in a quilt. The combination is clean and direct, with a fabulous graphic punch. This book has great instructions and beautiful pictures to inspire your next quilting project!

Find this great book at your local independent quilt and fabric retailer.

Needle Me This – Quilt for Charity

The gals and customers at Needle Me This Quilt Shop in rural Yancey County, North Carolina, contributed red and white blocks to make this queen-sized quilt they have named “And Red All Over…”. It will be raffled off on Dec. 21. Tickets are 1 for $2.00 and 3 for $5.00. The proceeds will help support a local charity “Operation Feed A Child Bags” sponsored by a local church group in their county. The intention is to provide food for a child over the weekend, until they can get back to school for nutritional meals during the week.

Needle Me This Quilt Shop provided the Moda white tone-on-tone for the backing.
“And Red All Over…” is as beautiful on the back side as it is on the front.

Cup of Blossoms Quilt Pattern by Laurie at Rose Cottage

The quilt hanging on the wall with the inner border framed in red is called ‘Cup of Blossoms”. Laurie Bird, who owns the quilt pattern company – Rose Cottage is seated in her booth at 2011 Spring Quilt Market in Salt Lake City, UT . The quilt on the table is called ‘Lattice Garden’. Cup of Blossoms is a lovely red and white quilt with a few other colors sprinkled in for good measure. Ask for this pattern at your local independent quilt and fabric retailer.

Quilting Gives You A Sense of Wellbeing

We’ve known it all the time. We feel good when we quilt! But now it’s official – Quilting give you a sense of wellbeing. “The Relationship Between Quilting and Wellbeing,’ a study recently published in the Journal of Public Health  found that creative carft hobbies such as quilting can be a meaningful vehicle for enhancing wellbeing. Participants found quilting to be a productive use of time and a meaningful activity. Quilting is challenging and demands concentration.  “Quilting improves your health in ways even exercise can’t manage.” according to the Daily Mail. The newpaper said quilting was uniquely good for you.  The study found quilting helped cognitive, creative and emotional well-being particularly among older people.

Dragonfly Garden by Benartex

For touch of nature and a somewhat Asian feel, use this cool dragonfly batik in a QuiltRed quilt . Pictured is Dragonflies magenta #0195722B by Benartex. Find Benartex fabrics at your local independent quilt and fabric retailer.