Month: June 2015

Turkey Tracks: “Happy Baby Quilt”

Turkey Tracks:  June 30, 2015

“Happy Baby Quilt”

What a good time I had making this baby quilt.

The design came from Lissa Alexander and her quilt was featured in the American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine‘s four-patch challenge earlier this spring (April issue).

Lissa called her larger quilt “Rainbow Rows.”

You can follow how about a dozen nationally recognized quilters are using four patches if you go to the magazine’s web site for the list OR to Bonnie Hunter’s blog site (search for the American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine‘s four-patch 2015 challenge.)

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I used Anne Bright’s 10″ “He Loves Me” pantograph with a cream-colored thread.  The quilting is lovely if I do say so myself!

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Lissa used different fabric borders around the edges–and I really liked showcasing some of the very modern “neutral fabrics on the market today.

You already know I am dotty over polka dot fabrics these days…

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The block is actually pretty simple–a nine patch featuring a light/dark four-patch and neutrals.  I am already thinking how this block would work with my stash strips–especially the 2 1/2 ones combined with neutrals.  These little squares are 1-inch from 1 1/2-inch strips.

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I fell in love with the little red lobster fabric.  If I see more, I will be buying it.  The bicycle comes from the backing for this year’s Bonnie Hunter Thanksgiving mystery quilt “Grand Illusion.”

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So, there you have it.

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Bonnie’s block for this challenge is so much fun.  Here’s my version.  I’m going to use a yummy purple sashing.

I was going to just sew the blocks plain and, maybe, quilt them in the more modern style.  But I found this yummy purple fabric and I think the cornerstones will carry the eye down the lines of dark squares.  Or at least I hope so.  The next row will tell.

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I bought this brown/green bee fabric some years ago for a backing at something like 40% off.  The binding will be the dark purple on the left.  The printed magenta will be the outer border; the tiny square an inner border, and the solid is my sashing.  It’s not really solid as it has a lot of texture in the print.

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Making these four-patches and setting them into a square is…addictive!

My 2-inch square AND 3 1/2-inch square bins are going down in size with this project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting Information: Beware: “Non-GMO” Cheerios Oats Still Sprayed With Roundup

Interesting Information:  June 28, 2015

Beware:  “Non-Gmo” Cheerios Oats Still Sprayed With Roundup

Why?

To dry them out before harvest–which is another “efficiency” short cut devised by industrial food folks.

BUT, the real issue here is that we cannot trust industry to play fair–so we cannot trust the labels industry puts on our food.

And now, industry is fighting tooth and toenail NOT to have to label foods properly.

All we want is clean healthy normal food that isn’t drenched with heinous, dangerous chemicals.  Right?

Again, my rule is that if it comes in a box or most cans, don’t buy it.

“Non-GMO” Cheerios Oats Still Sprayed With Roundup, Supplier.

Interesting Information: Wait! Read This Information Before Taking A Fluoroquinolone Antibiotic

Interesting Information:  June 18, 2015

Common antibiotic linked to serious, potentially-deadly side effects

A family member recently sent me this information.  THANKS!

The family member wrote:  “My friend…took just one pill and his Achilles tendon ruptured. He has been dealing with pain and muscle atrophy for months…”

BEFORE you take a fluoroquinilone antibiotic, READ THIS INFORMATION!

Here are some product names for this drug:

  • Noroxin® (norfloxacin)—Merck and Co.
  • Cirpo® Cipro XR® (ciprofloxacin)—Bayer HealthCare
  • Levaquin® (levofloxacin)—Janssen Pharmaceuticals
  • Avelox® (moxifloxican)—Bayer HealthCare
  • Factive® (gemifloxican)—Cornerstone Therapeutics
  • Ofloxacin—generic

Here’s some info from the article below:

Charles Bennett, M.D. is a leading researcher on fluoroquinolones.  He spoke with KOB 4 from his office at the University of South Carolina.

“You’re talking about hundreds of thousands of people with a side effect,” Dr. Bennett said.

Dr. Bennett’s work in 2004 led the FDA to add a black box warning to fluoroquinolones.  A black box warning is the highest level of a warning the FDA can add to a drug to encourage doctors and consumers to read the potential side effects. 

Dr. Bennett is now petitioning the FDA to add another warning regarding possible mitochondrial toxicity.  In short, mitochondrial toxicity is a breakdown of your body’s cells.

In April, 2013, the FDA released its own research findings that showed a link of fluoroquinolone usage to mitochondrial toxicity.  The same report shows the toxicity could lead to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and ALS. 

Common antibiotic linked to serious, potentially-deadly side effects | KOB.com.

Turkey Tracks: Peonies and Zoots Coffee

Turkey Tracks:  June 28, 2015

Peonies and Zoots Coffee

My coffee/latte habit is a delicious event every day.

Usually I drop in to my favorite local coffee shop (Zoots) some time in the afternoon–though I have discovered a way to make “almost espresso” here at home and more about that later.  (Nothing really replaces the espresso that comes from an industrial machine.)

Peonies LOVE Maine.  They adore the cool spring.

Here’s an example of how lovely they are–from a vase on the Zoots counter while waiting for my vanilla latte of the day.

Look at the pale pink blush that suffuses this petals…

 

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And here’s a close-up of the fabulous center:  Nature in all its glory in one small place.

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Beauty and the treat of an afternoon latte means life is so good.

 

Turkey Tracks: “Purple Delight” Quilt

Turkey Tracks:  June 24, 2015

“Purple Delight” Quilt

“Purple Delight” ( #115) is another version of a quilt I did a few years back (#70) called “Nature:  The Greatest Show on Earth.”

The idea of setting a traditional block on point and surrounding it with a striped fabric came from Susan McDermott.  Her version appeared in QUILT Magazine some years back.

At the time I liked the quilt enough that I put together a purple and green version.

Here it is:

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It’s kind of WOW!

The backing is kind of Wow! too.  And I do like the use of the stripe in the border.

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Here’s a close-up of some blocks:

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Here’s an inside corner:

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Combining purple and acid/spring green is a classic combo in many color books.

Here’s an outside corner:

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I used a variegated thread, and I like the way it came out:

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The pantograph is “Lovely” from Urban Elementz, by Denise Schillinger.

I have decided to make a “big” quilt for each of my seven grandchildren for when they are teenagers–in case for some reason I can’t do it.  This one goes into that pile.  The girls all love purple…

 

 

Interesting Information/Vaccines: The Doctor Who Beat The British General Medical Council By Proving That Vaccines Aren’t Necessary To Achieve Health

Interesting Information/vaccines:  June 15, 2015

Dr. Jayne Donegan Exonerated

Dr. Jayne Donegan was very much pro-vaccine–until her own child was harmed.

Dr. Donegan, like Neil Miller, Dr. Suzanne Humphries, and Roman Bystrianyk, started asking questions and researching the history of vaccines.

What they all found did not support claims about the efficacy of vaccines against disease–among many other vaccine problems.

But, here’s another story of a doctor looking for real science and questioning the vaccine industry being hauled up before regulatory bodies.  Dr. Donegan toughed it out.  She got a good lawyer.  She did a ton of research herself, and, in the end, she was totally cleared of all charges.

Here’s a quote:

What happened when a UK doctor appeared as an expert witness to help two mothers prove in court that their children didn’t need to be vaccinated?

A 3 year court case against the British General Medical Council that ended with the doctor accused having all allegations dropped.

Dr. Jayne Donegan, a UK GP, has lived a most fascinating story. It began with her originally being a very strong advocate for vaccinations, but fast forward quite a few years later, and she now not only speaks out against the dangers of vaccinations, but ended up being taken to the General Medical Council with some pretty serious claims by them regarding her professionalism.

After a few stressful years in court against them, Dr. Donegan won her case. But chances are, this is the first you’re hearing of it.

And here’s her story:

The Doctor Who Beat The British General Medical Council By Proving That Vaccines Aren’t Necessary To Achieve Health | Collective-Evolution.

Interesting Information: Joel Salatin’s Testimony on Food Freedom in Maine

Interesting Information:  June 15, 2015

Joel Salatin’s Testimony on Food Freedom in Maine

Joel Salatin is one of my heroes.

He and his family have shown us a better way to raise and relate to our food.

I would never have thought growing up that the government would erect the kind of food practices with which we now live–all in the name of  “public safety”–two words that should give us great pause as they allow too-strong industries to literally roll us into their goals for profit.

Joel was in Maine in late April to testify to the Maine legislature on a bill that allows our “right to food” we choose.

Here’s a small quote:

I can’t imagine a more basic human right, a more bi-partisan issue, than protecting my right to choose my body’s food. Who could possibly think that such freedom of choice should be denied? We allow people to smoke, shoot, preach, home educate, spray their yards with chemicals, buy lottery tickets, and read about the Kardashians: wouldn’t you think we could let people choose their food?

Joel Salatin’s Testimony on Food Freedom in Maine.

Books: PEOPLE OF THE BOOK, Geraldine Brooks

Books:  June 15, 2015

PEOPLE OF THE BOOK

by

Geraldine Brooks

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I don’t know how I’ve missed Geraldine Brooks for as long as I have.

Mercy what a good read!!

The book traces–going back into time–the history of a very special Jewish book, a haggadah.  Again and again through time the book is saved by Muslims or Christians, in eras where the players might have quite logically destroyed it as being blasphemous.

Sounds dull, right?

Believe me, it’s anything but dull.  The characters in each era are developed so beautifully, and the book’s suspense continues right up to the final pages.

On the strength of this book, I downloaded CALEB’S CROSSING from our Maine audio library, and I enjoyed it as much as PEOPLE OF THE BOOK.  (What a treat to have it read to me as I sewed.)

Brook’s writing is beautiful, yes, but it also makes characters and history come alive by engaging all the complexity that makes us human and makes an era what it is.

Turkey Tracks: Star of Bethlehem Flowers

Turkey Tracks:  June 15, 2015

Star of Bethlehem Flowers

 

When my grandmother, Louise Phillips Bryan of Reynolds, Georgia, was a young married woman, she went down into the Flint River swamp, brought back some flowers she found there, and put the tiny bulbs in her front yard.

Decades and decades later, long after she was dead, the flowers carpeted the large front yard in the spring like white snow.

Grandmother called these flowers “Star of Bethlehem.”

And when I came to Maine 11 years ago, I planted some of the bulbs in memory of her.

Here are mine now:

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The fancy name is Ornithogalum.

 Seeing these flowers bloom this spring has been particularly poignant for me as Grandmother’s great-great grandaughter, Elouise, named for Grandmother’s lineage and honoring her name, was born this April.

I will make sure Elouise knows about these flowers that remind me so much of my Grandmother.