NEW VRD Quilt Tutorial – Fondue

August 7, 2026 rosecards2 Comments

Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

Whoah!?! Hard to believe it’s August! YIKES! Right now I feel like I’ve lost the whole summer, so I guess I have A LOT of summer to cram into August, don’t I?

Here are some things I want to do this month:

Go to the Baldwin Reynolds Museum and see the 250th Anniversary Quilt Display
Visit some Quilt Shops with my quilty pals (FART)
Play Mini golf with my Dad
Go bowling!
Thrifting with my Mom
Do some decluttering (yeah – this always needs done)
Make a fun project just because
Keep working on my latest art and design projects (and actually finish a few of the ones I have in progress right now)
Finish my 2nd Feedsack book (this one has been waiting a really long long time)
Read a good book
Just sit on the back porch with my dog and do absolutely nothing

Let’s see if by writing them down, I will get more of them accomplished this month. What’s on your August to-do list?

Small Project Summer Challenge Update

Well, the final numbers are in! All together we participants created 108 completed projects during our 6 week Challenge. WOOHOO! I hope each of you who participated pats yourself on the back for a job well done. Did you find a new favorite small project pattern? How many of you made something for Christmas? Any other thoughts about the Challenge? Please let me know in the comments.

I am still waiting to hear back from our Week 6 winner, so I will have that info for you next week.

I also want to congratulate

Dana S. from TX

as a co-winner for Week 5.

Awesome Applesauce, Dana! Yay you!

Now let’s check out the latest VRD tutorial, Fondue!

VRD Quilt Tutorial – Fondue

I was sifting through my stack of “quilt kits” and came across one for Fondue and I thought this would be a great one for the blog because I know people are already starting to think about autumn.

Fondue is a terrific pattern for 24″ panels along with coordinating fabrics. It finishes at a nice 49″ x 63″ and goes together quickly and easily. Fondue is beginner friendly and it’s flexible – you can add an outer border (or borders) to make your quilt larger if desired.

Cover design for a quilt pattern titled 'Fondue' featuring scenic nature imagery with eagles, mountains, and water elements. Designed by Heidi Cook for Villa Rosa Designs.

Get your digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

Of course, the first thing we need to do is gather up our fabrics. Today I’m working with a Hoffman Fabrics collection called Stag & Stone. Deer fabrics aren’t my norm, but I was really drawn to the colors in this collection and I find the deer to be quite elegant. And hey – it never hurts to have a great guy quilt handy for when you might need one. I think panels are a fabulous option for guy quilts because you can find wonderful panels with coordinating fabrics and a lot of guys aren’t necessarily into a quilt with a bunch of fussy pieces.

Here are my fabrics:

A collection of fabric pieces featuring nature-themed designs, including animals such as deer and wolves, and textured patterns in various colors.

Next up, time to cut all my pieces out. I go back and forth between cutting everything out first or cutting as I go. I guess it depends on each project as well as what I’m in the mood for. Which do you prefer?

A rotary cutter is positioned on a green cutting mat that features a grid pattern and fabric pieces overlaid on top.

A rotary cutter resting on a cutting mat with a patchwork fabric and a transparent ruler marked with grid lines for precise measurements.

Depending on the dimensions of your panel, you might need to trim it to the right size for the pattern or even add some spacer strips to make it a little bit bigger if needed.

I needed to trim my panel to the right size. When you do this, you really need to be careful lest you trim off too much. So do your math carefully. You know the old saying – measure twice and cut once? Words to live by!

Have you ever cut too much off your panel? I have and do know what I do? I sew that piece right back on and re-cut the panel correctly. It’s not perfect, but it works.

A quilting ruler with green grid markings placed over fabric, showcasing a workspace with cutting mat and fabric textures.

My fabrics are cut and the panel is the right size, so now I’m going to sew the inner border to the sides of the panel and press the seams towards the border. Then I’m going to sew the borders to the top and bottom. Again, I’ll press the seams towards the border. So far so good.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching two pieces of fabric together, one with a leaf design and the other in a dark, textured fabric, with green fabric clips holding them in place.

A framed textile print depicting a male and female deer standing among trees in a misty forest setting.

Now let’s work on the side pieced borders. The borders are quick to sew together because the pieces are so big. Once I get the pieces sewn together, then I’ll press them. I am going to press my seams towards the sashing strips.

One thing I really LOVE about the Fondue pattern is that you can use directional fabric because of the way the pieces for the side borders are cut. This is a great thing because it’s not unusual to have directional companion fabrics for panels.

Close-up of a sewing machine with two fabric pieces being sewn together, one featuring a nature-inspired pattern and the other a solid dark color.

An iron placed on a piece of fabric featuring a winter forest design, with additional dark fabric nearby, set on a flat, textured surface.

Let’s sew the side borders onto the framed panel! I like to match the center of the border to the center of the panel and pin. Then I match up the outside edges and pin, including an extra pin at the bottom edge of the border to help keep everything square. This was a little tip given to me by an experienced quilter named Pat when I was a newbie. It really does make a difference in keeping your border strips square instead of ripply.

Finally, I add a few pins in between the middle pin and the outside pins to keep everything lined up. I must admit that I will probably go to quilt jail someday because I tend to sew over my pins instead of removing them……..

A piece of fabric being prepared for sewing, featuring two light-colored sections on either side of a darker middle section, with green sewing pins holding them in place.

A close-up of a sewing machine with a large piece of fabric underneath, featuring a green sewing pin on the fabric.

Now let’s add the left side border onto the panel. SHEESH! I sewed my border upside down to the left side of the panel. How did I miss that????

Gee whiz!

Well, directional fabric is awesome as long as you sew everything right side up. LOL!

A decorative quilt featuring a serene forest scene with a stag and a doe among birch trees, surrounded by patterned fabric on the edges.

You know what’s next, don’t you?!? Rip, rip, rip!

A close-up of a sewing project featuring dark patterned fabric and a light blue sewing tool resembling a foot, positioned on a patchwork quilt.

You can find my Clover Grip Fit seam ripper HERE

Now to re-sew the left side border on, right side up this time. Silly me. I bet that’s never happened to you before, right?!? LOL!

A close-up view of a sewing machine in action, stitching fabric with a bright green sewing clip on the beige fabric.

A decorative quilt featuring a central image of two deer in a forest setting, surrounded by various wildlife patterns on the borders, including bears and other deer.

Now that the trees and animals are no longer standing on their heads, I’m going to press the side borders towards my dark fabric, which is the inner border/sashing fabric.

A close-up of an iron on a piece of fabric, with various patterned materials and a textured background.

On to the top and bottom borders….finally. Again, these are quick to stitch together because the pieces are large. After I get them sewn into strips, I’m going to press the seams towards the dark sashing pieces. Easy peasy.

A sewing machine working on layered fabrics with various patterns and colors, including textures of black and muted earth tones.

An iron next to several pieces of fabric in various colors and patterns, laid out on a work surface.

Next I’m going to pin the top border to the top of the panel. Again, I will match my centers and outside corners, adding that extra pin to keep things square. That extra pin is like magic!

Then on to the sewing machine to stitch the top border to panel. After that, I need to press my top border seam towards the dark inner border/sashing fabric.

A piece of fabric pinned with bright green clips on a gray felt surface, with another patterned fabric corner visible.

A partially assembled quilt featuring a central image of a forest scene, surrounded by various fabric panels in earthy tones and textures.

All right! The bottom border is next!

A decorative quilt featuring a central image of a deer and an elk, surrounded by various wildlife patterns including wolves, bears, and birds in natural settings.

WHEW! Here is the completed Fondue top.

A large quilt hanging on a wall, featuring a central image of two deer in a serene forest setting, surrounded by various nature-themed fabric panels depicting wildlife.

I took a chance and ran outside to see if I could get a decent photo, but it was a bit breezy, it was lightly raining, and there was still a rumble of thunder in the air. So, I kind of high-tailed it back inside instead of waiting for the perfect shot. Oh well. What can you do – Pennsylvania weather can sometimes be a little unpredictable.

A hanging quilt featuring a central image of two deer in a forest setting, bordered by various fabric patterns in earthy tones.

I really like how this quilt turned out! The colors are really very soft and meditative. And it went together easily, except for me flipping the left border upside down. LOL! I totally recommend you try the Fondue pattern to showcase your favorite 24″ panels!

Well, that’s it for me today. Have a wonderful week and I hope you get the chance to cross a few things off your August list.

Until next time –

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

Rose Cards · villa rosa designs

Revisiting the Recent Solar Eclipse and NEW April 2024 VRD Rose Card Quilt Patterns

April 11, 2024April 10, 2024 rosecards4 Comments

Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

How many of you had the chance to see Monday’s solar eclipse? Could you see it from your own area? Or did you travel somewhere to see it?

Our area was overrun with people coming from all over to see the Eclipse — hotels and restaurants were full and the highways were all backed up. I was lucky that I could hang out on the back porch to see it — there was no need to go anywhere. Believe me, I was very happy not to have to go anywhere else, too.

My Mom (Hi Mom!) was super excited about the eclipse and had been for days. She put The Weather Channel on early on Monday so that we wouldn’t miss a thing as the eclipse arced across the US until it reached us here in northwest Pennsylvania. I popped outside frequently to watch as the moon’s shadow was creeping across the sun. I couldn’t stay outside for long, though, because my dog, Bailly (who was safely inside), would scratch crazily at the glass sliding door every time I went outside. My Dad (Hi Dad!) got in the spirit and came out from time to time to check it out, too. And yes, we all wore our special eclipse glasses.

It was so fascinating to watch the moon’s shadow slowly covered up the sun until almost totality, but, much to our disappointment, clouds covered the sun just as the eclipse moved into totality. We saw glimpses of it through openings in the clouds off and on, but we never did get to see complete totality in our location. WHat a bummer.

Of course, we had seen it on TV in other locations, but it wasn’t quite the same as seeing it yourself. Luckily, my oldest niece, Meg (Hi Meg!) took a great video of totality in our area and she shared it on Facebook, so I did get to see secondhand what I had missed.

Did you make your version of the Eclipses quilt?

Did you even get your Eclipses pattern yet? You can find it HERE as a physical pattern OR you can find it HERE as a digital pattern.

Mine was not the only Eclipses quilt in my area to celebrate the total Eclipses! My friend Kristine (Hi Kris!) and my cousin, Robin (Hi Robin!), made their own Eclipses quilts, too.

Kristine even machine-embroidered the center strip of her quilt with the Eclipse information and her location. What a great idea!

Robin made a wall-sized version like me. We even used the same fabrics, so they look similar, but not exact because of our fabric placement.

What a fun project! I hope you will share your Eclipses projects on our VRD Facebook Group. Did you miss the Eclipses tutorial last week? You can find it HERE.

Now, guess what today is??? If you’re a new follower (Hey! Thanks for becoming a follower!), you probably have no idea why I’m so excited, do you? Let me explain —

This is the Thursday after the first Friday of the month and that means NEW Rose Card Patterns!

NEW VRD Rose Card Patterns for April 2024

Cue the trumpets and the confetti! Yay! Here they are!

Aren’t they great? What a lovely variety of patterns! I love that this group has new quilt patterns from multiple designers and you can see each designer’s own flavor. Which one do you want to make first?

You can get your own set of the 5 April patterns HERE for the low price of $8.95.

But wait……..there’s more! (Of course there is, did you even have a doubt?) Although there is no new table runner pattern this month (I’m sorry, the Blog Hop kept me hopping!), you are going to love the new Snack Mat — Bunny Ears!

Don’t you love it??? Yes, I know that Easter was actually at the end of March this year, but Easter is usually in April and bunnies are such a fun spring theme. You can get your own Bunny Ears pattern HERE.

Blog Hop Update

I just wanted to take a moment to let you know that all the winners have now been selected and contacted. Congratulations if you are one of them!

We did have a few folks who did not respond, so we had to randomly select new winners for those prizes. So the process takes longer than you’d expect it to. Now that everyone has responded, we will be starting to ship out prizes to the winners. Some of you will be receiving your prizes directly from some of our Sponsors. Thank you for your patience!

Next week’s post will be all about celebrating and announcing the winners of the Blog Hop — they are from all over the US and beyond.

Thanks for hopping with us! Here’s to more quilting adventures for us to share together in the future!

Until next Thursday —

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @VRD