Needing to make my latest bed quilt larger I’ve added some extra borders and decided to make pieced rather than solid borders. Naturally Seminole Patchwork is one of these  extra borders.

I added a half 4-block at either end of the side strips to make them the correct length. And after attaching the top border I didn’t like the finished look.

So I had to come up with a better idea and I’ve settled on a single block at either end of the strip.

- Thus a design element was born! (At least that what Ive deceided to call it when Pland ‘A’ doesnt work and I have to come up with a Plan ‘B’).

Can’t believe that it’s Fall again and I’m getting ready for our annual quilter’s retreat at the Watson Homestead in Painted Post. Located in the Southern Tier of New York State, the homestead was the boyhood home of Thomas Watson, Sr., founder of IBM. The 500+ acres is the perfect place for a quilters’ retreat.

In addition to 3 days of quilting, visiting quilt shops and socializing with fellow quilter’s, there are no meals to plan and cook, no housework or errands, etc., etc. The Homestead also is the perfect place to enjoy my favorite time of year – Fall. We often take a break after lunch and walk one of the trails. I especially enjoy the Fall temperatures and the colors of leaves. This time of year they are changing from the bright greens of summer to the brilliant hues of Fall (red, yellow, orange) and are at, or almost at, peak color.

Right now I’m trying to decide just which projects to take with me. I always bring more than I can possibly finish. This year is no different. I’ve narrowed it down to:

• Operation Kid Comfort Quilt This quilt incorporates pictures of deployed service men and women, alone and interacting with their family, and some quick piecing. We hope the quilts provide some comfort to the children left at home.

Our guild has made a number of these quilts over the past few years. The first quilt that I made for this project brought back quite a few memories for me. (The pictures were of two children: a girl about 3 and a boy about 1). When my husband left for his tour of duty in Thailand during the Vietnam conflict, my daughter was almost 3 and my son 10 months old. Talk about déjà vu!

I can only hope that the quilt helped the children through the time that their father was away.

• The second project is a double bed quilt, Sprigs n’ Twigs (Gathering Friends), that I started at Watson two years ago but haven’t worked on since. The brilliant colors remind me of autumn. After putting it up on my design wall today, I can hardly wait to finish it. – and -

• A wool appliqué table runner, Basket of Sunflowers (The Woolen Willow, Quilt Sampler Fall/Winter 2007 issue of the 10 top stores). I pieced the center last year and now have the wool appliqué to finish.

These projects would probably keep me busy for more than a month – but I’ll bring them along and see if I can make a dent. I have to be prepared. No telling what I might want to work on at the retreat!

Hopefully I’ll make some progress on my stack of UFO’s that seem to multiply overnight.

There's always time to quilt!

My computer is sick and has had to go to the hospital. Not sure exactly what I did – but my hard drive has been ‘fried’ and I’ve had to send it to be fixed. Talk about withdrawal! I feel as though I have been out of touch with everyone this past week. No email or IM. Do I really have to use the phone or snail mail to keep in touch? Finally I came upon a solution – I ‘fired up’ an old laptop. It’s a bit slow – but beats the alternative.

So now I can also post on my blog again. We spent the weekend at Thompson Lake State Park (near Albany, NY). After the art fair in Albany on Saturday, we were able to spend some time camping, kayaking and hiking in the area.

Of course I made sure that I spent time quilting. Working on the Redwork Beauty applique by Betty Alderman Designs.

Work in Progress

I like the portability of needle turn and redwork. I guess I was lucky in that my first quilting instructor got me hooked on needle turn with her “easy” method. It is a great way to relax and accomplish something at the same time. And it’s so portable. I can easily work on the piece as we tow our camper or at the campground itself.

This time of the year is especially beautiful in upstate New York. The leaves are just beginning to show their Fall beauty and the weather is still warm enough to be able to sit outside the camper and quilt!

The greatest use of a life is to spend it on something that will outlast it. William James

We all like to receive gifts, especially from those who share the same interests that we do.  I am always on the lookout for gift exchange items for fellow quilters.   I like to make things that are useful, easy to make and of course it has to be something that I’d like to have myself.

Participating in the Angel Swap is giving me some quick and easy patterns that may also be used as exchange gifts. So far the pieces are embroidered so they make good take-along projects that can be picked up when we decide to make an impromptu road trip.

One of the things we did this ‘official last weekend of summer’, was to take a short drive south of Syracuse.  (My husband is always looking for an excuse to take some pictures.) The countryside is very lush this year, probably because weve had a lot of rain during the summer.  It was such a relaxing way to spend the afternoon and also gave me the opportunity to work on a few projects.

I brought along the second and third projects for the Angel Swap:  inserts for the journal covers and needle cases.  The embroidery is so simple that I thought I’d make more than one.    I’m thinking of putting together my own journals by covering loose leaf binders.

On Tuesday a group of us got together to a day of sewing at the local library.  I brought along these projects and so far have finished one and a half inserts for the needle cases and three inserts for the journal covers.

I’m always on the lookout for a new tool or gadget that makes quilting more accurate, easier and a bit more fun.  At the recent Scrap Therapy class at Calico Gals Quilt Shop,  Joan Ford, demonstrated Cutting Edge (the repositionable vinyl strip).  It simply is a strip of static cling vinyl that adheres to the quilt ruler.  It’s so simple to use:

• place the vinyl strips on the underside of the ruler
  

  adhere vinyl strips to ruler

• align the cutting edge of the ruler next to the straightened edge of fabric
  

  Slide vinyl stripped ruler to straightened edge of fabric

• slide ruler toward fabric and the cutting edge of the ruler will stop at the edge of the fabric in the right position for cutting.

It’s also a serves as a reminder of the measurement you are cutting.  Great idea.  We are often multi-tasking as we quilt and it is easy to cut the wrong measurement.  What a disaster! (I hate to admit how many times I’ve done that!)