Month: March 2021

“My Splice” and “Trees”

Turkey Tracks: March 31, 2021

“My Splice” and “Trees”

“Trees” is on the longarm—mostly because I need another night time hand-sewing project. Though, I should confess, I can fall back on the EPP project that has been underway for several years now. But, it is a hard project. Sewing binding is more soothing.

This quilt is SUPER BRIGHT, for sure.

But…cheerful.

And I have finished and hung “My Splice,” a project from this year’s Color Collective class with Tara Faughnan—hosted by Amy Newbold’s Sewtopia. I wanted something I’ve made for this spot in the living room, so I made a wall hanging rather than a larger quilt.

I quilted with 12-weight Sulky cotton, with a Tulip Sashiko needle AND had a lot of fun using different color threads.

The corner where I hung it had an old opera poster—Turandot—that was looking faded and stodgy. “My Splice” has certainly brightened up that corner of the living room.

Here’s one more:

The April project will arrive online tomorrow.

Ah, anticipation unfolds strongly today. The fabric is already here and is very pretty.

Giovanna McCarthy’s Knitting

Turkey Tracks: March 29, 2021

Giovanna McCarthy’s Knitting

Giovanna McCarthy is a master knitter.

She stopped by the other day to bring me this beautiful shawl/scarf, which I will treasure forever.

She said the pattern is meant to embody ocean water rolling out over the beach sand at its edge.

The outer darker edge is deeper water, with a curvy wave line reflected in the work. The water color fades to a lighter blue as it grows more shallow, and, then, there is the foamy water at the edge where the wave spreads out over the sand.

This piece is a work of art from an artist! Wonderful!

Thank you Giovanna!

Sewing Justice Sewing Academy: Beginnings

Interesting Information: March 28, 2021

Sewing Justice Sewing Academy: Beginnings

Linda Satkowski sent me this interview article featuring Sara Trail and her formation of the Sewing Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA), and I hunted down the link so I could share it as this story about Sara Trail and the SJSA formation is so interesting.

Aurifil threads is a sponsor of Sara Trail’s Sewing Justice Sewing Academy, and they have a really nice blog. I signed up for it and am getting their interesting and informative posts.

Enjoy!

https://auribuzz.com/2021/03/26/sjsa-beginnings/

An Orchid Story

Interesting Information: March 27, 2021

An Orchid Story

AND, here’s another fun story—sent to me by local friend Marsha Smith.

“Our daughter in FL always looks forward to her cattleya orchid blooming every year. She has to time it just right to pick the blooms before the iguanas eat them-Look at the picture and see the iguana coming down the tree to get it as she is cutting it. Think they must smell them. The orchid has grown all over the tree.”

And here’s the beautiful bloom, now saved from the iguana.

Thanks Marsha!

A True Maine Story

Turkey Tracks: March 26, 2021

A True Maine Story

Wendy from wendysquilting.wordpress.com sent me this piece of Maine history written by Heather Cox Richardson about 10 days ago now, and I so enjoyed reading it.

I think you will too, especially if you are a Mainer.

The Maine birthday is earlier in the month, but it is still March.

Wendy’s blog is so interesting too. Wendy is a Canadian and lives near the US border on the “other side” of Lake Superior. She is an artist when it comes to her longarm quilting, for sure. And like me, she is a quilter who loves to piece.

Enjoy!

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-14-2021

Betsy’s Latest Baby Quilt

Turkey Tracks: March 20, 2021

Betsy’s Latest Baby Quilt

Betsy Maislen has been steadily quilting all winter up in Vermont.

I think she has completed 4 or 5 baby quilts in recent years and at least 3 this winter. Plus, she just made a BIG quilt of her own design that will be gifted soon—it’s out at the longarm quilter’s at the moment.

I love this pin wheel block quilt she made—and this is the second one of these. What I especially love is the star print background behind the pinwheels. I think that is a Cotton+Steel print. Anyway, it just makes this quilt sing, don’t you think?

Betsy has a really good eye for combining fabrics—very different from mine—and I always enjoy seeing what she has done. There are other blog posts here of her quilts, if you care to explore her “eye” choices.

I smiled when I saw her backing—and she sent me a piece of it too for my stash, which was fun. I sent her something in return that I hope will be fun for her too.

She got me into trouble a week ago when she sent me a picture of a fabric print she loved. I wound up ordering YARDS of it for a backing. But more on that later…

Meanwhile, have a great weekend!

Spring Turkey Time

Turkey Tracks: March 16, 2021

Spring Turkey Time

Turkeys love my woods.

It has something to do with the orientation of my woods and my hill to the sun, which warms the hill all year.

Turkeys used to hang out here all winter—30 or more of them around the house was not at all unusual.

AC doggie does not permit them in his territory though.

I woke this morning to AC telling me there were turkeys in our woods.

There were—and there was mating going on.

The large band breaks apart as the breeding cycle begins—and the males start to court the females and to assemble their small breeding groups.

Friend Marsha Smith sent me a nice pic of a male turkey in her yard who had puffed himself up to attract a female. You can see his head is starting to turn blue.

She also sent me a picture of one of her Snow Drops blooming.

They can and do survive the brrrr cold we have right now for a few days.

More Bits and Pieces

Turkey Tracks: March 15, 2021

More Bits and Pieces

It’s Monday morning, and the temperature at my back door is 10 Degrees!

How did that happen after our series of such pretty and warmer days? It’s spring in Maine, that’s how. She’s a teaser, that spring.

My cataract operations have both been done now—the second eye was done two Tuesdays ago. And my vision is once again AWESOME! I only need some reading glasses for fine print—and I can see my phone screen just fine if I hold it away from me. My world is filled with LIGHT (lots of light) and color again, and I am so grateful for this senior citizen gift.

I got a MUCH-NEEDED haircut this morning and am now feeling less old and way less all-the-time messy.

I’ve been working on the log cabin quilt for my niece and have a bit over half the blocks done now. It will be 8 rows by 8 rows, or 96 inches square.

The fall crop of butternut squash is running low in our stores now. I found one and roasted the cubes I cut out of it. Roasted this way, butternut squash is like eating candy it is so sweet. And it is easy to make. I love it best in the fall with fresh rosemary, lots of garlic, some good olive oil, and a sprinkling of coarse sea salt. I make do now with dried herbs if I don’t buy fresh rosemary, which is expensive.

Cut the squash in half lengthwise and them slice the halves into half circles. Turn these on their sides and trim off the outer skin and cut each slice into chunks. Place them all in a parchment lined pan and apply the herbs, garlic, salt, and olive oil. Roast at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes—you may want to turn up the heat at 25 minutes or so to pop the chunks with stronger heat—which starts to caramelize them.

Enjoy! And the extras reheat well, but they are also good cold in a salad.

The Call of the Wild

Turkey Tracks: March 8, 2021

The Call of the Wild

We watched the 2020 CALL OF THE WILD last week.

I say “we” because AC watched the entire movie with no loss of attention. I would probably have stopped and moved to something more “adult,” but AC was watching so intently. Occasionally he would leap from the couch to more closely inspect the tv screen. Or, to guard us against “those dogs” in our house.  It was too funny to miss.  He’d run back to me in a bit and wedge himself against my body. Gradually he relaxed and lay down beside me, but he never took his eyes away from the screen.  

Any appearance by the BIG black wolf (the movie’s metaphor for “the call of the wild”) always produced a trip to the tv screen.

The scenery was pretty.

I am easily amused.

The pandemic is hard on dogs that are very social too.