Summer is done, time for some quilting fun!

Well, it's September already!  The grands are back in school, Camp Nana is officially closed until next year, the pool at the cabin is closed for the season and the stream of summer visitors to the mountains has slowed to a crawl.  The major projects at the cabin have been completed including a new kitchen sink (my personal favorite).  With a full summer schedule which included boating on the bay or fishing on the lake, time to quilt was just about non-existent.  I did read my favorite quilting magazines though and managed to organize my list of quilting projects by priority and status so could hit the ground running when quilting time became more plentiful.

I did sneak some quilty activities in here and there which were fun.  I am a participant in a "baseball" swap with an online group.  I have been a member in this group for many years and this is the third time I am participating in this swap which is based on how the various baseball teams do midway through the season and at the end of the season.  You either get or give 6.5" squares depending on how your team did.  I need to cut 109 squares to deliver to others in the swap.  I am getting back more than that so my teams did pretty good so far. 

Also, I finished the cover for the electrical box in our family room at the cabin.  You can see the box in my March 16 post.  Here is the finished project:

 

The cover will be hung using a swing-arm curtain rod so the box can be accessed when needed.  The quilting lines on the cover match the pattern on the paneling behind the electrical box. 

 

 

A new project that I started is quilt related but contains no fabric, thread or sewing.  I have long been a fan of barn quilts.  I hope to follow the American Quilt Trail one these days.  My project is to create a painted barn quilt to hang on the outside of our cabin in the peak of the roof overhanging the front deck.  This is also a great project to do together with my husband who is much better with the circular saw :-)  So far, we (meaning my husband) have cut the base of the quilt from really nice wood based on the location we have chosen.  I have drawn the lines for the block to be used on the quilt - it is a log cabin block, of course!  Now, the board will be sealed to protect it from the weather and then the painting will begin.  We will see how well this "frog" tape really works.  Once the painting is done, another coat of sealer will be applied to protect the block from the mountain weather.   After a suitable drying time, it will be hung on our cabin.  Here is what we have done so far:

 

Square block with countersunk screw holes.

Pencil lines have been added for the "logs" of the quilt.

 

 

Here are the paints that will be used.  Sixteen different colors will be used for the light and dark logs.  Other paints will also be used for the background and edges of the board.  Red will be used for the center of the block as is traditional in log cabin quilts.   

 

If you would like see more information on barn quilts, you can use Google or other search engine or go to www.americanquilttrail.com to read about the history of barn quilts as well as see pictures of some of these works of art.  There are approximately 3200 of these gems spread over 30 states.  To read about the barn quilts in NJ, go to www.njbarnquilts.com where you can also download a brochure for traveling a trail to see all the NJ quilts.