It seems that I’m not the only one who has reaped the benefits of quilting with friends. In a recent post on the designwall in the Feb/Mar 2011 issue of Quilters Newsletter, Helen Kelly was quoted  as saying that in the early 1970′s she spent most of her quilting time in her studio alone. She soon realized that she was missing the many benefits of working and learning techniques from other quilters.

After my first quilting class, I knew that if I wanted to continue on this journey, I needed to be in the company of others who knew how to quilt. I asked the staff at Patchwork Plus, where I had taken that first quilting class, if they knew of a local quilt guild  I could join. Not only did they tell me about the Thumbstall Quilt Guild that meets in the western suburbs of Syracuse, where I live, but most of the staff at Patchwork are also members. In addition the shop owner, Judi West, is a founding member of the guild.  It didn’t take me long to realize the benefits of becoming a guild member.  It was definitely the best decision I ever made.

Not only have I profited from their combined years in quilting, but I’ve made some of the best friends I’ve ever known!    The members have a variety of quilting experience, from novices to award winning quilters.  Someone is always willing to give hints and help when needed.  They are an invaluable resource to help you improve your own quilting techniques.  We all know that quilting techniques, with the exception of the 1/4-inch seam, are not an exact science! Many quilters have developed ‘a better, or easy solutions to common quilting pitfalls.

In addition, I have found unequal camaraderie with members of the guild.  I have gone on quilting retreats, shop hops, bus trips, etc.  and never fail to have a great time, come home with new quilting knowledge and stronger friendships.  I treasure the experience of being part of such an creative group!

Today turned out to be a very rainy, drizzly end of summer day.  I was looking forward to an ‘indoor’ day so that I could start planning our Winter Trip in January to Texas.  It’s always easier to be inside on a day like this rather that one that is sunny and warm.

I wasn’t prepared for an extra bonus though.  Tom took advantage of the dreary weather to do some ‘honey-do’ chores – all to my benefit.  We found the perfect quilt hanger for my seasons quilt – a drapery rod with decorative  ‘leaves’ (what else!) on the ends.  I’ve been waiting for him to hang it – today was the day.

Seasons Wall Hanging

In addition he bought me a task light to go above my design wall some time ago. My studio is in our basement so there’s not much natural light that  I can count on.  I’m always struggling whenever I have to choose fabrics.

Last night I decided to work on one of my UFO’s.  (They do seem to multiply in my storeroom.)

I’ve put the blocks into rows.  Now just have t sew the rows together and add the borders.  I want to make this twin pattern into a full size bed quilt so I’ll have to add extra borders.  I was auditioning fabrics from my stash last nigt to see if I had anything I could use – and was really struggling to find the right match.  Guess that’s all it took  because now I have my task lighting installed.

Design Wall before Task Lighting

What a difference a day makes!

Design Wall with Task Lighting

Well it’s a bit late – but I wanted to share my birthday happenings.  My birthday was actually last month and I  spent it doing my favorite thing – quilting – what else.

I mentioned in an earlier post that Kim Einmo was teaching a class on Keukenhof Tulips from her book Quilt a Travel Souvenir and presenting a lecture to our guild on May 18.  I was so glad that we had delayed our annual camping trip.  Not only did we finish two blocks of the quilt:  April Tulip made with flying geese (that were easy to assemble) and corner-square triangles;  and set-in seams for the pieced Tulip Block, but we had a great time doing it.

We had so much fun!

For more photos check out Kim’s blog

Mae and Lisa surprised us with a birthday cake.  Diana and I were delighted to spend our birthday this way.  We were going to cut the cake with rotary cutters -

but……

We showed off our blocks at the lecture later that night.

Well it’s that time of the year again – and I hope I do better this year than last.

I retired last December 31 and was sure that I would be able to make a significant dent in my UFO’s will all the extra time that I would have – Wrong!  I also vowed that I would not start anything new until I had made a good dent in the collection.

I didn’t even get through New Year’s eve before my resolve vanished with a call from my daughter with great news.  She and her boyfriend would tie the knot in 2009.  We couldn’t have been happier.  That was all it took for me to focus on looking for planning a quilt for them.  I bought the fabric while we were wintering in Florida, got together with a couple of friends to start the quilt in March and finished it in plenty of time for the wedding in July.  They were ecstatic – and I was pleased that they liked it so much.

I did get to finish a few projects along with a few new ones also.  Two table runners (Rainforest  Rings and Red & Green) have been quilted and are in the finishing stages of being bound.  I completed my son’s king-size Adirondack Quilt in time for giving this Christmas.  New projects included two octagon table toppers from the mystery challenge at Watson Homestead.  I finished one and gave it to my daughter for Christmas and have one for myself that only needs binding.  In addition there were two Operation Kid Comfort quilts for children of newly deployed servicemen and women.

UFO projects slated to be completed this year are:

• Watson mystery 2007 and 2009 quilts- binding
• Seasons wall hanging
• Autumn Pennies table topper from a class by Kim Diehl
• and probably the most important project of all – organize my stash!

I plan to learn one or two new techniques this year also and I’ll probably sign up for an online classes and take at least one or two classes at our local quilt shops.  I took a Scrap Therapy from Joan Ford last year and would really like to finish a quilt using the technique.  Also I’ve checked out the Fons and Porter Master Class series and am planning on trying out one of the classes online.

I know that I will not be able to limit myself to “just” completing UFO’s and organizing, but I’ hoping that I can at least get these completed along with the normal shop hops,  guild activities including our biennial quilt show and raffle quilt for 2011 and at least one or two new projects that I just can’t resist!

Who says that quilters are not well rounded individuals?  At a recent guild meeting many of us were introduced to beading by our guild president.  She is a teacher by day and has fashioned many beaded treasures.  Her students think that she must have enough necklaces that she can wear a different one each day of the year.

This attractive amulet took only a couple of hours to make and was very easy once you got the hang of the technique.

Yes I do really need another outlet for my creative ability!

The only problem is that I’ll probably have to move to a bigger house.

Ten years ago we downsized and moved from a 2,000 square foot house to our present home of 1,100 square feet.  It seemed like a good  idea at the time:  the kids have moved away taking the grand-kids with them and we wanted to spend more time traveling in our RV rather than house upkeep.

So much for advance planning.  I didn’t start quilting until after we had moved.  Now my ‘stash’ is taking over our storage room.  Not a problem as far as I’m concerned, but my husband is finding it increasingly difficult to do things like fix the hot water heater or add salt to our softener system.

Now that I’ve found out how much fun beading can be – I have to find some room to store the supplies.  Guess it’ll give me a good excuse to organize my stash.  It seems to give me quite a bit of pleasure to go in and just stroke the fabric and imagine what I could create.  What a delightful problem to have.

In her book  Loose Threads, quilter and author Helen Kelly describes  the “…unfettered pleasure I experience when I am feeling fabric, letting it slide through my fingers, watching it change colors in the clear light and discovering grand new ways to stitch it together in fanciful gardens or geometric puzzles.”  I can really relate to that!