July 2015 – Louisa Enright's Blog

Turkey Tracks: Bonnie Hunter’s Quilts at Maine State Show

Turkey Tracks: July 27, 2015

Bonnie Hunter’s Quilts

At the Maine State Quilt Show

(Pine Tree Quilt Guild 2015)

It’s always fun to see Bonnie Hunter’s quilts at a quilt show.

Maine’s state quilt show, Pine Tree Quilt Guild Show 2015, is no exception. There were six that I saw.

(Bonnie’s web site is quiltville.com, and you can get to and sign up for her blog from this main site.)

There was one Grand Illusion, Bonnie’s 2014 Thanksgiving challenge quilt. It’s so interesting to me to see the color variations in quilts made with Bonnie’s patterns.

TWO “Celtic Solstice” quilts, Bonnie’s 2013 Thanksgiving mystery quilt.

First, one using Bonnie’s colors:

And one using red and green and creating an alternative block for some of the blocks in the center, by turning the green square pieces outward:

I love the use of wilder neutrals in this quilt. My version used fairly tame neutrals… I am slowly gaining courage.

You can see the two different blocks in this picture. Look inside the white diamond/star.

One Scrappy Trip Around the World:

Great use of the dark blocks to set off the edges. This quilt is much lighter than the one I made.

One Perkiomen Daydreams:

And one “Narrogansett Blues” with a fall colorway–which hung outside the show:

(Not a great picture here as this quilt is very vibrant.)

There is a Narragansett Blues in my future…

Turkey Tracks: Pine Tree Quilt Guild 2015 Show

Turkey Tracks: July 27, 2015

Pine Tree Quilt Guild 2015 Show

Yesterday was the final day of the Pine Tree Quilt Guild Show, the big state show in Maine.

I came off the windjammer J&E Riggin on Saturday and turned around by Sunday to get myself to Augusta to both see the show and to bring home our Coastal Quilters’ Challenge Quilts, which were hung in the show. (You can see those quilts on the Coastalquiltersmaine1 blog if you like.

My favorite quilt in the show as a quilt made by our own Sarah Ann Smith–which did win a blue ribbon. This winning quilt is a portrait of her son Eli, who is both a runner and a wrestler. You can see this quilt and one of her oldest son Josh on her terrific web site: www.sarahannsmith. Click on gallery, and then people. (Sarah is a nationally known quilter who teaches all over the country, including at Houston. She is one talented woman.)

But, not having Sarah’s artistic talent and being a scrappy quilter, this quilt by Kathy Boudreau drew my attention and is still singing around my head:

Look at the use of the selvages!!!

Here’s some close-ups of the birds:

Oh my goodness!

Interesting Information: Statin Drugs Video from the Bought Movie Website

Interesting Information: July 27, 2015

Statin Drugs Video

From the BOUGHT Movie Website

Here’s a little video (5 minutes I think) about statin drugs.

Statins are prescribed for inflammation, even though the drug harms your muscles.

Inflammation is caused by poor diet, especially eating too much sugar. (Remember that grains and white carbs turn into sugar–so eat them in moderation.)

Why not just change your diet?

It amazes me that in the face of all the evidence of the dangers statins pose that docs still prescribe them.

I think some docs are profitting, but I also think if docs don’t follow the “standards of care,” which include statins, they can be and are punished. So it is up to us to be informed consumers. As has been true from the beginning of medicine, there are some caring wonderful docs and some who are just leaches on society. And it’s harder than ever telling who is who.

There is a lot of info on statins on this blog, including the work of Dr. Stefanie Seneff, who runs a research team out of MIT.

Statin Drugs – Bought Movie.

Books: LEAVING BEFORE THE RAINS COME

Books: July 27, 2015

LEAVING BEFORE THE RAINS COME

ALEXANDRA FULLER

I am just back from six days on the windjammer J&E Riggin.

Six days comprised of glorious water views, fabulous Annie Mahle food and John Finger sailing, fun and enlightening Geoff Kauffman singing and storytelling, and island and town exploring.

Six days of reading/reading/reading, relaxing, visiting, and having a real vacation.

I’ve already signed up for this same trip next year. AND for the four-day quilting cruise September 2016. (Knitters, birdwatchers, readers, food appreciators, sailing lovers, and so for forth could come too.)

So, here’s a book I read on the Riggin:

And I loved, loved it.

Alexandra Fuller, raised in southern Africa, married Charlie Ross, from America (Philadelphia).

Fuller, in wise and wonderful ways, brings home the point that we are NOT all alike under the sun. Culture is a huge part of who we are–unless we have just all become consumers who live in “safe” places.

Here’s a short quote from a much longer, much richer passage where Fuller begins to get at the differences between being raised in southern Africa and most anywhere in America:

A pod of hippos snorted at us as we began our wobbling descent downstream. I closed my eyes and paddled as calmly as I could. Behind me, I could hear Charlie taking deliberate, sweeping strokes through the water. He was unafraid of what might happen, because he saw the hippos not as I did, as the most murderous of all African wildlife, but as fellow river dwellers. Charlie knew he was supposed to be here. I knew I was a trespasser. “Don’t panic,” Charlie said. We were wearing lifejackets, Charlie had a throw bag and a river runner’s knife. He knew CPR and had taught river rescue on rivers in Wyoming and Colorado as well as on the Zambezi. But I understood; it’s rarely the thing you prepare for that undoes you (43).

And a quote showing how connected we are in our culture while we are still in it:

And two weeks later, when I lay in bed coughing and fevered, I believed I could remember the woman who had made me sick, because however hard we work to isolate ourselves from one another and to shore ourselves up against discomfort, we are not immune from one another. There is no way to shut the doors against our contagions, to ward off the effects of our collective stupidity and greed and violence. Those who have an understanding of the mhondoro ceremony were correct when they told me that all beings in a community are connected, that the madness of one is the madness of everyone, that there is no separation of minds and bodies between people. It was true when they said the sickedness and carelessness and avarice of one would bring pestilence on the whole. Your sickness is mine. My sickness is yours (204).

How Fuller plays out these ideas, how she sees them in her own life, is so well done.

The book is about the breakup of a marriage of some standing, yes, but it’s also about so, so much more.

I highly recommend this one.

Interesting Information: The Bee Cause Project Goes National

Interesting Information: July 17, 2015

The Bee Cause Project Goes National

I am so proud of my DIL Tami Enright’s work to save the bees.

The Savannah Bee Company turned her loose to figure out ways to put bee hives in places where they would be safe and educate people about bees–places like schools, stores (Whole Foods is a sponsor and has a hive), parks/preserves/conservation land, and so on.

Here’s an email from Tami about the next big push: taking The Bee Cause to a national level.

So, pass on the word to folks you know who would be interested in this project in YOUR location.

Dearest “Tami” supporters:

I hope this email finds you all well and enjoying your summer! I wanted to share some exciting news…

BeeCause is spreading its wings across the United States! The last two years of Charleston-based observation hive installations has given us the necessary foundation and insight we needed to expand our program across the country. This last Spring we were able to test our “remote install” model and donated observation hives to schools in 6 states! And, we have 1,000 requests from folks all over the world. SO….

Today, we launched a fundraising campaign that will allow us to donate a BeeCause observation learning hive to every US state! This can be accomplished if each state is able to raise $2,000!

The donation site with a video showing our progress thus far is below:

http://www.gofundme.com/beecauseproject

If you would like to support our efforts, please share this link with your friends and family locally and across the country. It is a lofty goal – $100,000, and will require all Tami and honeybee supporters to come together. You all know first-hand the impact our program has had in my life and on our community. Let’s get out the buzz about this initiative.

Hope you enjoy the video…and thank you in advance for any donations you make on the GOFUNDME site!

Tami

Tami Enright, Executive Director + Beekeeper

The Bee Cause Project

thebeecause.org

703.400.4473

Turkey Tracks: Stash Obsessions

Turkey Tracks: July 17, 2015

Stash Obsessions

I have been obsessed with a quilting project for almost a month now…

…clearing out the 2-inch squares bin…

…it’s been about four years…at least.

And the whole purpose of cutting up all useable fabric after completing a quilt is that…one day…you need to use them.

Bonnie Hunter’s rule is that when the bin gets full, you have to slow down and USE THOSE SQUARES.

Well, here’s the project. (And I think I wrote about this before.)

This year is the American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine‘s four-patch challenge–which Bonnie Hunter is participating in as well.

So I’m going to turn the 2-inch squares into four-patch blocks.

When I got obsessed, I had already gotten this far with the block Bonnie is using:

But, right in the middle of putting the gorgeous magenta sashing on these blocks, I have lost my mind. I have not attempted to make the four-patches as a leader/ender project.

No, I thought I’d just sew them all up.

Do you have any idea how many squares there were in that bin?

I am now counting them just for fun. There are 600 in the quilt above.

So, I realized as I sewed a light square to a dark square, that I had a lot of blue and neutral and red and neutral possibilities.

(These are NOT all the two-inch squares by a long shot.)

Here’s a larger version of the block Lissa Alexander used in American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine–which I used to made “Happy Baby Quilt.” Put on point, one gets a long chain of the red squares.

And what about a Jacob’s Ladder block for the blue and white?

Here are two of these blocks stacked together. Wow! I really like this block.

I have spent many, many hours now sewing the light/dark squares together and that’s all done:

So the bin is now full of the two-square strips.

I’ll move on to making the four-patch blocks next.

But first, Bonnie Hunter’s method of pressing open strips of blocks BEFORE cutting them apart really works. Visit her web site (Quiltville.com) for tutorials on handling your stash and tips like how to press FAST.

I am still loving the four-patches inside a square–and especially as I am using the 3 1/2-inch blocks to make the outer square. (Cut them on the diagonal.) So I will make more of these as I go along.

Quilt count from this effort? A red/neutral quilt, a blue/neutral quilt, the almost finished Bonnie Hunter block quilt, more of those blocks, and lots and lots of four-patches.

Yep. It’s good to slow down and create some “assets” from time to time.

Turkey Tracks: Gardens in the Watershed 2015

Turkey Tracks: July 17, 2015

Gardens in the Watershed 2015

(of the St. George River)

Giovanna McCarthy and I headed out for the annual “Gardens in the Watershed” (of the St. George River) last Sunday (July 12th).

It was a bright, sunny, and very hot day–perfect for a garden tour.

The first garden blew me away! It was “The Secret Garden” of Daria Peck and was built along a culvert for rainwater.

Let’s take a little tour of the six gardens:

Along one STEEP side of the culvert Daria Peck has planted right up the wall:

Who knew this treasure was tucked away next to a sleep residential street in Thomaston, Maine.

I fell in love with a huge hosta at the entrance to the garden. Giovanna said it’s named “Guacamole.”

Here it is up close:

What an inspiration this garden is.

This rebar (yes, rebar) archway of roses is a central feature of Gregory Moore and Kathleen Starrs’ “Hands and Knees Gardens.” Flower and vegetable beds extend out to either side of the archway in this charming garden. Flowers bloom everywhere in the many, many beds. Kathleen told me that she cuts flowers for various concerns in Thomaston, so this garden is also somewhat of a business.

Isn’t this garden shed wonderful? See the chimney pipe? There’s a wood stove inside likely.

I have long been intrigued by this horse feature on the road to Cushing. Well! It’s part of the Bernard Langlais Sculpture Preserve–left in an estate to Colby College and now purchased by The Georges River Land Trust. The Preserve is undergoing restoration and conservation. There are 70 acres of trails, a home, a studio, and outdoor sculptures created by Langlais.

Here’s another piece of artwork–a carved panel:

The gardens and house of Peter Kukielski and Drew Hodges out on Davis Point are an outstanding example of what it’s like to live on one of the points overlooking the river. (Peter was curator of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at the New York Botanical Garden.)

The house (1826) is a terrific example of what is called loosely in Maine “Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn” architecture. And the house is part of a 16-acre salt water farm.

Here’s a view of the opposite side of this house:

And here are views from the front of the house:

There is a great fire pit:

And on a table just back of the house, one of the best displays of succulents in a long planter I’ve seen:

Aren’t these terrific. They stay outside all winter…

Phyllis and Wes Daggett’s property is lovely. The house has sweeping lawns that run down to the river. And you just know there’s a lot of good living in the house.

Here’s the back of the house:

Here’s the view to the river:

Tucked away in south Thomaston Is the garden of Susan Egerton Griggs and George Griggs. I fell in love with this property at first sight. And if I am not mistaken, it’s for sale: asking price $245K.

The view from the back of the house:

The side of the studio:

Lots of raised beds on either side of a central path:

The back of the house:

Gathering in wood is a serious business in Maine and takes place in the summer:

The tour was terrific. The day was terrific. By now we were hot and tired. So we took ourselves to Owls Head Lighthouse for our picnic lunch where we acknowledged our gratefulness for people who garden.

Interesting Information: Vaccines: The Forgotten History Of Vaccines

Vaccines: July 6, 2015

THE FORGOTTEN HISTORY OF VACCINES

When anyone questions the safety and efficacy of vaccines, someone ALWAYS says “the polio vaccine saved lives.”

But…it didn’t.

And there is a very swarmy and nasty history surrounding the polio vaccine.

I can forgive folks for buying into the smallpox vaccine. Though that’s a swarmy history as well as it dates to the 1700s and involves many types of vaccines, many of which were killers. But the polio vaccine comes in 1954, and the developers KNEW THERE WERE PROBLEMS. They went ahead anyway.

Bottom line, I’m realizing, is that no one understands why a killer disease comes into being and then wanes. And no one knows how our immune systems work. We do know that each individual’s immune system is VERY DIFFERENT from all others–so a one-size-fits-all vaccines is a huge problem for way too many people–even if you’re assuming vaccines are safe and work–which is also not true.

This is a longer article with tons of good information from a credentialed, reputable source. At least scroll down to the polio section if you do nothing else.

The Forgotten History Of Vaccines & Disease Everyone Should Know | Collective-Evolution.

Interesting Information: One Family Revitalizes A Small Town With, Yes, Quilts

Interesting Information: Jiuly 6, 2015

One Family Revitalizes A Small Town With, Yes, Quilts

Here’s a heartwarming story.

The town is Hamilton, Missouri. The business is Missouri Quilt Company. The owner is Jenny Doan.

The business draws people to the town, yes. But the business also has a terrific web site with tons of free videos. And the business specializes in pre-cut fabric–which is meant to make quilting FAST and easy.

Now, what is also fun is this piece of history: JC Penny started in this same little town–as a salesman. Years later he returned to open his 500th JC Penny store in Hamilton.

Yeah small town businesses. (I hope you’re supporting yours and not the Big Box stores.) And yeah quilts!

One Family Revitalizes A Small Town With, Yes, Quilts : NPR.

Books: Winnie the Pooh and Saving Bees

Books, Documentaries, Reviews: July 6, 2015

Winnie the Pooh and Saving Bees

A new Winnie the Pooh book is under way–in which Winnie will encourage readers to work to save bees.

In case you missed it, here’s the story:

New Winnie the Pooh story: In which Pooh encourages children to save the bees – Telegraph.

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