Day: April 27, 2012

Turkey Tracks: Quilting the Last of the Rectangles

Turkey Tracks:  April 27, 2008

Quilting the Last of the Rectangles

For those of you following The Scrappy Quilting Project progress, I’ve used up the last of the 2 by 3 1/2-inch rectangles I have been cutting for over 10 years.  I had BAGS of them–all ready to be used.

This quilt, as yet unnamed, is on Lucy, the longarm right now:

I really like this quilt.  I’ve always wanted to make a bar-type quilt, and I like the “Chinese Coin” bar arrangement.

I have another set of the rectangles in shades of cream that I’ve sewn into this same kind of barred formation.  Hmmmm.  They look good with browns:

I took the very last rectangles and made them into eight funky placemats, using fabrics from my stash for borders, backings, and bindings.  They turned out to be surprisingly cute.  And, given the experience of other placemats I’ve made, they will last forever and only get prettier as they get worn.

These placemats, I discovered, do best when they are NOT overquilted.  Here’s one that is overquilted, so you can see what I mean.  These placemats are reversible, so this one looks great on the other side!  Anyway, a simple meander works better, given all the color and scrappiness.

I paired the placemats with an array of different-colored napkins and some cute napkin rings (brass chickens) and sent them off to the four older grandchildren in Charleston.  There are six for the family and two for me and John–which was a nice way to signaling to the children that we are coming to visit soon.  Wilhelmina, the four-year old, got this concept right away.  My reward was a big belly laugh from her.

Here’s the picture I got back from Tami of the placemats on her table–as arranged by Talula:

I had told Talula that I was making something for her when I talked to her about the quilt she helped make for me.  And, I called and told her the “something” was in the mail.  She was so excited when the package arrived.  She called me right away, and we discussed who was to get which placemat, which one she liked best, and could I help her make some in the near future.  When she comes next, I’ll turn her loose with rectangles, some pins, and see what she designs on the design board in my quilting room.  Then we can sew some placemats together.  She will be old enough to operate the sewing machine before we know it.

She was so excited that the chicken napkin rings almost got lost.  They were at the bottom of the package in a plastic bag.  I can see from this picture Talula has used some of their napkin rings.

So, here’s what’s left of the rectangles at this point…

Except for some rectangles I put aside for another project…

And, except for the ones I’ve cut in the past few weeks…

Turkey Tracks: Giovanna’s Baby Blanket

Turkey Tracks:  April 27, 2012

Giovanna’s Baby Blanket

I ran into Giovanna McCarthy at the Camden post office a few days ago.  Meeting someone at the post office–or at the dump–is one of the many pleasures of living in a small town.

We were both mailing packages containing finished projects.  She was mailing off this baby quilt–which she has shared at our April Coastal Quilters’ meeting.  It’s made from sock yarn, so will be sturdy and washable.  Isn’t it luscious?

Giovanna excels at this kind of lacy knitting that I have still to master.

Lucky baby!

I was mailing a baby quilt for Owen Wallace Black, born April 17th, to my niece Lauren Howser Black and her husband David.  I’ll post those pics in a separate entry.

Giovanna and I shared a visit and a coffee at Zoot’s coffeehouse–which is another perk of living at a slower pace.  We have time for each other.

Interesting Information: Some Thoughts On Fast Food Hamburgers Not Spoiling

Interesting Information:  April 27, 2012

Some Thoughts On Fast Food Hamburgers Not Spoiling

Recap:  Willow Rheault Kreibich posted a piece on FB that featured a picture of various fast food hamburgers and french fries, on a tray, that had not spoiled in two years.

I posted the picture on this blog and commented to the effect of “do you really want to eat this food.”

“Burgerman” replied to my blog–with some interesting and welcome cautions about this story.

Willow received the following piece from “skeptical teacher”:  http://skepticalteacher.wordpress.com/2010/11/14/the-myth-of-the-non-decomposing-mcdonalds-hamburger/

Apparently, the issue is the amount of moisture involved in the molding process.  And, be aware that mold is the issue raised–not outright spoilage.

The counter argument goes that food needs moisture to mold.  Without moisture, such as might be found inside a plastic storage bag, mold does not occur.

Ok, I can buy that.

But, then I remembered the hotdog buns that got lost in my cupboard for about four months.  They were in a plastic bag.  When I opened the bag, they were like new–soft and spongy and looking quite edible.  I was shocked.  I can tell you that any organic, local bread I bring into the kitchen in a plastic bag spoils in a few days.  It grows truly radical mold, especially in the summer.  If I left a slice of this bread out, it would dry out and not spoil.  That’s true.  But those hot dog buns–which are probably akin to fast food hamburger buns–didn’t spoil inside a bag that would have trapped any moisture in them and caused mold.

Potatoes have a lot of moisture in them.  And, frying would trap that moisture inside.  I can see that some of the thin ones might dry out if left on the counter, but what about the fatter ones?  The fries in the picture look kind of like they just came out of the fryer.  What’s up with that?  What comes to mind for me is that commercial potatoes are sprayed with really strong chemicals–so strong that they often have to sit in piles outside until the worst of the chemicals dissipate–a process which can take up to six months, according to Michael Pollan.  These potatoes will not grow sprouts from their “eyes” if exposed to light.  Are the chemicals retarding mold and spoilage as well?  I want to know a lot more about why these French fries are not going bad.

As for the hamburger patties, I can see that if the meat is thin enough, it might dry out before molding.  Burgerman reminded me that we dry foods all the time, including meat.  But, we don’t dry meat on a counter.  We dry it under the sun, with the aid of air currents.  Or, in a dehydrator.  In other words, we use heat and air circulation to wick away moisture and to kill any pathogens that cause spoilage.  In addition, most commercial hamburgers are cooked well-done–so many of the pathogens are killed–as are the nutrients, by the way, which is why I eat meat that isn’t well done.  The grass-fed hamburgers I cook are medium rare or, even, for me, at least, rare.  There’s a TON of moisture in them.  They would spoil and mold if left on the counter.

Mold is one issue.  But what about other spoilage?   Would you eat one of these two-year old hamburgers and French fries that have, famously, not grown mold?

For the past 46 years, I have cooked multiple meals every day–unless I’m on an infrequent vacation somewhere–in which case I usually long for my own food.  I feed two dogs and eight chickens real food.  No dry dog food or commercial chicken feed is served here.  So, at night I am always throwing leftovers into bowls for the animals for the next morning.  Real food starts to turn into something smelly I wouldn’t eat in a matter of a few hours.

So, yes, I can agree that if you let well-done hamburgers and dead-bread buns sit out, they won’t MOLD unless there is sufficient moisture.  Maybe, though, they will SPOIL.

But, that fact begs the question of whether or not this kind of food is actually nourishing in any way.  It’s still dead food:  dead buns, dead overcooked meat that is likely adulterated with soy, and something truly weird about the nonspoiling French fries that are cooked in rancid, dangerous highly-processed vegetable oils–often made from soy and cottonseed.  (When did cotton become a food?)  The processing in these oils breaks their chemical structures down so that they are like little sharp razor blades in your veins.  They’re the real cause of heart disease according to Sally Fallon Morrell and Mary Enig of the Weston A. Price Foundation–as demonstrated in the video, “The Oiling of America.”

So, I’m still saying, “would you feed this food to your kids?”  Or, eat it yourself?