Day: July 17, 2015

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!  

xo

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.)

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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:

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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.)

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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.

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

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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:

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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.”

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Here it is up close:

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

And here are views from the front of the house:

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There is a great fire pit:

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

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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:

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Here’s the view to the river:

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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.

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The view from the back of the house:

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The side of the studio:

 

 

 

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

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The back of the house:

 

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

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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.