While on my annual quilting retreat this weekend,  I realized just how much I actually rely on my design wall. While putting together a quilt top  set on point,  I soon found  just how hard assembly is.   I normally place blocks on my design wall as they are completed.  But of course can’t when on a retreat .   And it goes without saying that it would be impossible to carry a large design wall when traveling anyway.

Lisa came up with the obvious solution in this case:

Lay the blocks out  on the floor     

Voila!  Perfect block placement.

When I got home however, I just couldn’t resist displaying it on the design wall to get a good look at it.

I also went online and found a few other suggestions for portable design walls at Quilters Diary.

“Portable Design Walls”

‘These design walls are great because you can lay out your blocks, then roll them up with the blocks in place and take everything with you.

• Flannel fabric. You can find these very cheaply at a thrift store, or buy some flannel yardage on sale at a fabric store.
• Vinyl tablecloth. Get one with soft white cottony backing that will cling to your fabric pieces.
• Quilt batting. Use a thin cotton or bamboo batting in a neutral color.
• Acrylic or wool felt fabric.
• Grid-quilted design wall. You make this just like a regular quilt, with a layer of flannel on top and a layer of batting behind. To create the gridlines for placing your blocks, mark the fabric every two inches vertically and horizontally, then stitch along the grid lines to make a square grid that covers the design wall surface.
• Large pull-down roller shade. Give the shade a clingy surface by covering it with flannel or batting. Unroll the shade when you want to lay out blocks, then roll it up with fabrics in place when you want to put the quilt away.’

Well almost anyway.  I do have my projects organized, with the right threads and necessary tools.

Can’t believe it’s almost time for our annual quilters’ retreat at the Watson Homestead in Painted Post NY.  Next Thursday is ‘D’ Day.

There is no way I’ll be able to finish all the projects I have packed.  I have 4 to work on during our 3 and 1/2 day retreat.  But what a tragedy it would be if I ran out of something to do!

We quilters focus mainly on one thing when we are getting ready for a quilt outing.  One summer at quilt camp, while unloading our cars, I heard a fellow quilter, cry out in disbelief, “Oh I couldn’t have.  I left my suitcase full of clothes in the entryway. ” It just really hit home.  We spend so much time making sure that we not only have multiple projects to work on, not to mention the right tools, thread, etc when preparing for  a retreat that clothes become secondary in our mind.  That is until we are the one who actually forgets them.

This year the weather looks to be just about perfect.  I’m hoping that the autumn leaves will put on a good show for us unlike the picture we woke up to one morning during our retreat in 2009.    October is too early for snow even in this part of New York State.

What a wonderful weekend!  I’m back from the annual retreat at Watson Homestead.  Of course I didn’t get half the projects completed that I took with me – but had a great time trying.

• Baby quilt -  pieced, but I needed to put it up on the design wall before sewing the blocks.  I did that when I got home and finished the top today.
• Bluework quilt -  All the pieced blocks are finished along with two of four embroidered blocks.  I couldn’t resist putting one row together to get a preview. I had originally planned on piecing this block with blue fabrics on the green/beige background.  The green rectangles however picked up the green in the blue ‘wheat’ fabric so well that I had to use it instead.  (It’s great to have the input of fellow quilters.)  I have more than half of the third embroidered block complete.  Just one more to go.
• Autumn Leaves wall hanging -  All the leaves have been fused with Heat and Bond Lite and trimmed to size.  I came back with some good tips for machine applique also.  Now to decide on the final placement.
• Spring Wall-hanging and pillow shams – not touched.  The wall-hanging will be one of the projects that I’ll work on while on our winter vacation in Texas next year. – And don’t worry Tom – the pillow shams will be finished by the time we visit you during the holidays.
• Memory bags – Our guild is making these bags for area hospitals.  They are given to family members to hold the clothes of a  loved one who dies while in the hospital.  (So much better that the clear bags that are normally used.)  Eight bags were made on our quilters weekend and I have been promised four more by our membership meeting on Tuesday. 

Handmade or quilt related gifts are exchanged each year.  This year I made a tote with a woven handle.  It was featured in the April 2008 of McCalls Quilting. 

In return I received a great table runner.  The colors are just right in my family room.And 5 of us topped off the weekend with a “Friendly’s Crowd Pleaser Sunday” accompanied by more and more laughter.

Tomorrow’s ‘D’ Day – We’re on the way to our annual quilting retreat at Watson Homestead.  I’ve checked the weather report for the area.  It should be in the high 50′s but with showers and cloudy skies.  (Perfect quilting weather though.)

Most of the time, the leaves are at peak color while we are there.  However with the rain, it looks as though we won’t be able to enjoy them much this year.  In contrast, last year we were surprised by an overnight snowfall. It was a bit early in the season for that much snow and it was gone by the end of the day.  But – what a beautiful sight to wake up to.

View from Watson Homestead

I couldn’t resist going for a walk and taking some pictures of a stream that runs through the property.  After my walk, I was able to spend the rest of the day quilting!  Does life get any better than that?

Winter at Wason 2009

All my projects are ready to go and  have been waiting by the door for the past two days.  I feel like a kid going to summer camp.

Workshop/Retreat tip:  I label everything I take on a retreat with address labels, using just the name from the label.  So many of us use the same tools (rules, mats, etc.) that its easy to pick up something by mistake that belongs to someone else.

Hard to believe that Fall is here already. But that means that it’s time to get things ready for our annual quilt retreat at Watson Homestead.  Luckily Monday was our monthly sew-in  at the Marcellus Library.  The perfect  opportunity to do some fussy cutting for a baby quilt that I plan on making at Watson.

I’ve decided to take 5 projects with me. There’s no way I’ll be able to finish them – but it would be disastrous if  I didn’t have a variety to choose from.

• Project 1 – fussy cut baby quilt
• Project 2 -  pieced blocks for the Bluework  class recently taken with Linda Hunter at our Guild
• Project 3 – Spring wall hanging kit bought earlier this year.  There are three more kits in the series:  Fall, Summer and Winter – but they will have to wait for another time.
• Project 4 – Pillow shams to go with the quilt I made my son last Christmas.  (He’s been asking me about them for almost a year now – I’d better have them finished by this Christmas.)
• Project 5 – Fall wall hanging: a machine applique project  This is a new technique for me.  I normally applique by hand.

Can you believe that we’re going to be a the quilt retreat for 3 days.

I probably have enough projects to keep me busy for at least a month!