Adirondack Vacation Day 1

We have limited internet access so I’ll be posting 2 or 3 days at one time on this trip.

We’re traveling again.

It seems like quite a long time since our last trip with the RV. We came back from a two-month stay in Florida at the end of February. In May and June we took two trips to Albany NY to participate in art fairs. (So I won’t count them because they were work related.)

We are now at Forked (pronounced fork ed’) Lake in the Adirondacks in northern New York. – One of our favorite places to camp in the Adirondacks. While this is actually a working vacation – Tom will be taking pictures at the Adirondack Museum on Saturday- we still have 5 days to relax and unwind. I plan to do a bit of quilting also – then some kayaking, quilting, hiking quilting, relaxing and quilting.

I’ve brought along a number of projects but will concentrate on three: my Celtic quilt (I have one side of the binding and the label to attach) , a wool appliqué project that I started last year at our quilters’ retreat at Watson Homestead. The project, Basket of Sunflowers was featured in the Fall/Winter 2007 edition of Quilt Sampler.

And the Third – my scrap stash. I have cut most of my blue stash into squares. It really is therapeutic to finally get some organization done

Right now Tom is down at the lake setting up for some sunset pictures. I’ll join him in a bit – Hope the sunset is good tonight.

Life sure is good!

There’s always time to quilt!

Day 2

Another Day in Paradise

What a way to spend a vacation! Tom decided to be chief and bottle washer today. A nice treat for me. When he prepared and did clean up for breakfast and lunch I was hoping that he would do the same for dinner. Now I’ll never know.

As we were preparing to have a glass of wine with a light snack before dinner, our neighbors in the next campsite invited us to share a drink with them. We ended up in our campsite however since we were all set up for “Happy Hour”. By the time we were finished visiting – it was nearly 7:30 so we decided on a quick dinner.   Tom wanted to go down to the lake again for some sunset pictures. The sunset has been really nice – not outstanding – but I don’t think you can get a bad sunset in the Adirondacks.

Today – the weather was perfect – in the 70′s. We spent most of the afternoon kayaking and exploring one of the streams that feeds Forked Lake.

And yes, I did get some quilting in – I’m still working on the binding for my Celtic quilt. I have about half of the final side to sew – and then the label.

There’s always time to quilt!

Day 3

We’re at the Adirondack Museum and I am enjoying the new quilt display, Common Threads Quilt Trail.  The collection consists of quilts from the 1800′s to present.  There are also quilts on display at various exhibits throughout the Museum grounds.

Touring the display is really worth the stop.

There’s always time to quilt!

Well our first trip in the RV for an extended period of time (53 days) is over. We consider this our trial run – and things have gone pretty well. We not only enjoyed January and February Florida temperatures, but I was able to finish two quilt tops; a wool candle mat and begin a wool wall hanging. I also used my design wall, set up my sewing area at the booth table inside the camper and outside the camper on a folding table; as well as converting the kitchen counter top into the ironing and cutting area. The only thing I haven’t tried is cutting yardage in the RV.

I found the solution to the limited RV space when Tom and I were checking out some campgrounds for future visits to this area. Walking into the campground’s activity center, we met a woman who was cutting fabric on one of the 6-foot tables in the center.

Of course curiosity got the better of me and I had to ask her what she was doing. She was in the process of making a king-size quilt for her son who is getting married in June. The quilt, batiks framed with black sashing, will be hand-pieced and hand-quilted. She had made a test block with cream sashing – the block had no interest. It wasn’t until she framed the block with black fabric, that the colors began to “pop”.

This reminded me of a recent meeting of the Thumbstall Guild in Marcellus, NY with  Genie Barnes, who demonstrated this same concept. Working in groups, we choose four fabrics that we thought would go together in a quilt. For accent we put cream, white and black fabrics on top of the groupings. It was easy to see that black fabric was very often the choice to make the main colors pop!

This resourceful quilter was also painstakingly marking the black sashing with chalk and a ruler because she had forgotten to bring her rotary cutter. She planned on cutting the strips the old fashioned way – with a scissors! If it had been me, I probably would have had to go to the quilt store to buy a new cutter. (As though I really need an excuse to go to the quilt store!)   In addition, she told me that she normally likes to have 18-months to make a quilt.   She needs 18-months because she and her husband are full-time RV’ers – My hat to her! I can’t imagine finishing a quilt done entirely by hand in that short a time.

Unlike her, I normally cut fabric as I assemble the quilt blocks; rather than cutting all the fabric at once. Bringing kits and/or cutting fabric for a large quilt before leaving home seems to be the most convenient way for me to quilt as I travel in the RV.

Looking forward to our next RV trip!

We’re headed back to snow country tomorrow. We left Florida on Friday, spent Saturday in Savannah, GA where we enjoyed a Valentine dinner at a local pub. On Sunday morning we headed for North Carolina to spend a couple of days with my son and granddaughters.

At a gas stop, another truck pulled along side us and as the woman in the passenger seat got out, my husband noticed her folding up quit. Of course I had to introduce myself and look at her project. She was hand stitching the binding to the back of the quilt. We agreed that this is a great way to pass the time while traveling.

We quilters seem to think alike on so many things – and quilters are so friendly.   I’ve found that having  quilting in common is  a quick and easy way to begin a conversation with a fellow traveler.

Lucia, Quilting from the Road!

I had a full day to spend on quilting yesterday. Since it was a warm and sunny Florida day, I set up my sewing machine outside the camper. While my husband was kayaking and taking pictures on the Turner River, I completed two quilt tops.

The  Autumn Pennies table topper last week was completed last week.(January 28 post).  From Kim Diehl’s book Simple Seasons, the pattern suggested black fabric for the borders.  Instead I chose a rust and gold leaf print on a black background.   I think that the print accentuates Fall even more.  (My favorite season!

Since we’ve been camping in Big Cypress , I’ve added Churn and Dash borders to the 12 monthly and center embroidered blocks of the Seasons sampler (February 1 post) . After auditioning two different border fabrics on my portable design wall, I chose the fabric on the right and added borders and embroidered corner squares. Now I’m not sure how to quilt it. Any ideas?

What a great day!

Lucia, Quilting from the Road!

On a recent trip to the Seminole Museum, Ah-Tha-Ti-Ki (A Place to Remember), I saw examples of Seminole patchwork on display. Wanting to learn more about it’s origins, I accessed the museum’s website. The Seminole Quilting Style is very unique.  In the early 1900′s the  Seminole began making clothing from cotton fabric rather than traditional animal hides and skins.  Going once a year to a trading post such as Ted Smallwood’s Store and Trading Post in Chokoloskee Florida,  they would trade alligator hides, egret plumes, etc.  for supplies including bolts of cotton cloth. This trip took several days.

Needing to be frugal, women would sew the small strips of leftover fabric into larger pieces to be used as decoration (strip clothing).  In the early 1900′s hand-cranked sewing machines were used to make clothing. (left).  The craft was also used to make doll clothing.  (See end of post).   Necessity turned into wearable art.!

At the quilt store, Sew Studio in Naples, FL, I found fabric to make a quilt reminiscent of our trip here.  The staff was extremely helpful and I came out with a collection of fabric that is colorful and earthy at the same time.

I was able to find some Seminole patterns on-line.  The designs are actually very simple and should be easy to work into the pattern, Meadowsweet, from the Jan/Feb 2009 issue of Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting. I plan on adding Seminole strips on the top and bottom of the quilt. I can’t wait to get started!

Lucia, Quilting on the Road!

There's always time to quilt!