Turkey Tracks: February 2, 2022
Playing With the Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society Stash
I’ve had so much fun making this quilt. It’s a ”Pot-Pourri” of Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society fabrics—all in my stash.
It’s ”eye candy” for a child I think. And for me, apparently.
It’s been quilted now, and the binding is on and getting sewn down at night. Can I just say it is yummy to have on one’s lap. And this one is meant to be dragged around and loved and washed and USED.
Here’s the backing—again pieced from my stash. I lost the bottom green strip in the quilting. It’s ok.
AND I’m making a baby quilt with the Churn Dash block, which still ranks as my favorite. OK, the Radient Beauty block is also a favorite.
I started these blocks before Bonnie Hunter launched into making them as well. I was inspired by her making then ”scrappy” though. And I’m wondering how she will set hers.
I like they way these blocks look butted up to each other. The secondary pattern is interesting. BUT, one would have to plan to sew the seams so they will nest—so that is hard with scrappy blocks that get moved around before finding their permanent homes.
So, I am setting mine with narrow sashings and corner stones. I have no idea about what binding will work.
Today and tomorrow will be RAINY—on top of 18+ inches of snow. And on Friday, our temps will drop again and we will get more snow.
It is winter.
All my cleaning/laundry jobs are done for the week. There is some cooking to do today. What I thought was a small leg of lamb was actually a shoulder piece—which I realized after I roasted it yesterday and after trying to slice off the meat around the central bone—so there will be a broth made today to be used in a soup or stew. And maybe I’ll take a ride in the car so AC can get out for a bit. He’s not getting nearly enough exercise.
I mailed a baby quilt yesterday. So, more on that quilt after it arrives at its forever home.
Louisa Enright's Blog 
You mention histamines…can you expand on this? What is the problem, how do we avoid it, etc.
Thanks
Thanks for reading my blog, Derek. Nice to see you here. Histamine Intolerance happens when one’s body starts getting triggered by various foods or chemicals. Mainstream medicine in the USA doesn’t really know much about it, beyond recognizing the “classic” histamine reactions, which involve drops in blood pressure that cause one to pass out, lose muscle control, and/or vomiting, immediate diarrhea, etc. The Mayo Clinic is “on it,” and European doctors have said it is likely way more common than previously recognized. When triggered, one’s mast cells dump histamine into one’s system, so I think it is a mast cell disorder where the histamine dump is the symptom. Getting triggered can also involve how “full” one’s “histamine glass” is at any one time. If something is simmering from too much exposure, that can push one over the edge of a really bad attack. Individual bodies can react quite differently to various food triggers, but there are some foods that trigger almost everyone with this mast cell disorder (tomatoes; hot peppers; fermented foods, which is a huge food group; aged foods like most of the cheeses, long-cooked soups/stews). Chemicals and chemical smells can also be triggers. I react to smelling chemical body products, laundry products, cleaning products, chlorine in a swimming pool, etc. I think I’ve had it my whole life and maybe got a genetic tendency toward it from my father. As I aged, it got much worse. So there is likely a hormonal component. Due to its fluctuating nature, there aren’t reliable tests for it—beyond lived experiences which often involve trips to the emergency room passed out. The good news is that once I began to figure out what was wrong and what triggered me, all the so-called seasonal “allergies” I had experienced my whole life went away. Now when I sniffle, cough, or sneeze, I know I’ve encountered a trigger and must be careful. My diet helps a lot—it’s very plain and simple and freshly cooked and made with clean foods that I can source locally for the most part. So in many ways, I’m healthier than I’ve ever been in my life. Knock on wood, I can’t remember when I’ve had a cold. It has, however, been a long journey, and there are many things I cannot do. I can’t visit restaurants, unless one can eat outside—and before covid, I would bring my own food if meeting someone. Now I look for picnic spots when the weather is warm enough for that. In general closed rooms filled with people who have used a lot of smelly body or laundry products make me immediately dizzy and sick. I recently tried to use some Swiffer cleaning/dusting heads, and I had to get them out of the house. They were coated heavily with a chemical that so did not work for me. Airplanes (smelly people crowded too close and airports and the plane reeking of cleaning products) and hotel rooms (usually sprayed now with chemicals to kill bedbugs and with sheets/towels washed in harsh laundry soaps) are not something I will try now. But, I am not unhappy or feeling especially deprived. I take no drugs. I have a ton of energy. I enjoy where I live (it’s so beautiful here in Maine), and I enjoy each day. I have projects I do with passion and joy. I actually feel pretty lucky.