Home again, home again

It is good to be home!  What is it about travelling that makes you appreciate your own home more? We arrived home to find that it no longer feels like July here. It's 60 degrees! Should be 85 or so. I'm liking it, but it sure is weird not to be sweating.

Perfect place to think up quilting ideas! (Presque Isle State Park in Pa.)

 While we were gone, I had a lot of time to consider possible patterns for those red and white 9 patches. I'm going to use Bonnie Hunter's Dancing Nines pattern (found HERE, free!). I think they'll make a good center, and then the 4 patches and other parts can be incorporated into a pieced border.

The problem has been finding a fabric to use with the red and white. The red is an older Jinny Beyer fabric in a real rose red, which is impossible to match. (She still has the same basic fabric print, but in very different colors.) I thought about green, but I don't want it to look Christmassy. Joy at the Calico Patch Quilt Shop in North East, Pa., was VERY helpful and we chose these great cherry prints:

Print A, more open

Print B, more packed

I can't decide which one to use! I like print A much better, because it is more open, but the sashing strips will finish at 1 inch, so the print may get lost. Print B is a little busy, but will probably cut better. (If you have an opinion, let me know!) Either way, I think it will turn out nicely. Thanks again Joy! Her shop was really nice, with a lot of fabrics and some original patterns and samples. It's not hard to find from Interstate 90, so stop by if you're passing through.

While we were travelling I convinced the Mister to stop at several other quilt shops, where I got some more  nice goodies:

Don't know why, but the oranges and corals really attracted me this time. I'm ready if the next RSC fabric is orange, that's for sure! And wait until you see that bird panel made up--it's very cute!

I also picked up some Row by Row patterns, and some shops had little giveaways with their patterns, like 4 2- inch squares or a button. I collected some of these patterns, but right now making them is definitely on the back burner.

Anyway, I feel like I made progress even though I haven't sewn a stitch, except for the bindings I stitched down while we were in the car. Hope you made some progress too!

Made some new friends on vacation!

 Happy sewing everyone! Linking to Linky Tuesday, Fabric Tuesday, and WIP Wednesday!