Author: louisaenright

I am passionate about whole, nutrient-dense foods, developing local markets, and strengthening communities.

Turkey Tracks: Boot Wax and Coat Zippers

Turkey Tracks:  December

Boot Wax and Coat Zippers

One day when Gina Caceci was here for Thanksgiving, we walked along the Rockland waterfront.  It was misty, though not too cold.  We both begin to zip up our coats.

I could not make my zipper work.

Gina could not make my zipper work.

At home, neither of us could make the zipper work.

On the way to take Gina to the Portland airport, we stopped by LLBean.

The return sales person made the zipper work in short order.  (Of course she did.)  But she gave me a new coat anyway.  And she suggested I get some boot wax and coat the zipper with it.  She had found that to be helpful with the big coat zippers.

So, I love my new coat.  It zips.  Which is important since we have had bitter cold.  (Bitter cold is cold in the single digits and below zero.  Cold in the 30s now feels like a summer breeze.)

And I just coated the zipper with the boot wax.

Then I coated my cherished boots with the beeswax.  (They were a gift from Sarah Rheault about 10 years ago since they did not fit her or her daughter.  They fit me wonderfully!!)

 

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Yes.  They look like new.

The instructions, which I read AFTER I waxed, said to heat the leather with a hair dryer first to warm the leather.  Well, that makes sense.  Next time…

Meanwhile, the wax is on the counter ready to coat all the other coat zippers as needed.

Turkey Tracks: Knitting Selvage Placemats

December 21, 2016

Knitting Selvage Placemats

There are TWO selvages on any width of fabric.

(Fat quarters have just one.)

One selvage can be colorful with round dots to show the different dyes, cool sayings, the name of the fabric, the name of the designer, and so forth.  Indeed, fabric makers are getting quite creative with these selvages now as quilters are making all sorts of products using them, including dramatic and gorgeous quilts.

When I first started quilting over 20 years ago, we were always cautioned NOT to use the selvage as the selvage was “different” than the fabric and would not handle or wash the same way.  So, we just threw them away.

The OTHER selvage is often plain, and for years I’ve thought about what might be done with those.

I’ve tried knitting old t-shirt strips.  They are ok, but a bit thick.  I have a small rug upstairs made from t-shirt strips.  It sits under the dog bowls.

BUT, what about these OTHER selvages?

I cleaned some up, which means getting the ripping threads under control, and looped enough together to make a long, continuous strand.

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Time has shown that making LOTS of long strands is better than trying to make one large ball.  It’s easy enough to attach new ones.  I also learned to loop the long strands together and to wrap them into a loose knot so they don’t tangle and retangle with the other long strands in the bottom of my knitting bag.Here is the first placemat, completed this week:

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Not bad.  I got a big crochet hook and went around the edges with a single stitch just to refine it a big.

This lone one is very cute on my dining room table actually.  It needs some bright cloth napkins.  Aqua maybe.  Or, green.  Or red.  Whatever.

I could have also bound off the edge and turned the work, picked up stitches from the short side, and knitted there a bit.  That would have been the start of a rug I think, where I bound off and turned the work at regular intervals.  Finished panels could be joined into a bigger rug.  The Mason Dixon knitters already figured that out.   (See Kay Gardiner, Ann Shayne, MASON*DIXON KNITTING.)  (I’m sure there are earlier blog posts here on this folks.  Search on the right sidebar search button.)

But heaven knows I don’t need anymore rag rugs at the moment.  You can see earlier posts about all the rag rugs made on a primitive Appalachian hand loom–using old sheets, fabric strips, etc.

There are an astonishing number of selvages in this placemat.  I just pin the whole project to the design wall, loop new selvages over one of the knitting needles, and when I get a hunk of them, I clean them up. loop them up, and spend some time knitting them into the work.

Turkey Tracks: Jeff’s Fan Birds

December 21, 2016

Jeff’s Fan Birds

When Gina Caceci visited at Thanksgiving, she brought me a special gift…

…one of Jeff Jacobs hand-carved fan birds–made from ONE PIECE of wood.

A hummingbird…

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Enclosed in the box was this piece about hummingbirds, which Gina knows I love.

Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy, and celebration.  The hummingbird’s delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning, and that laughter is life’s sweetest creation.

My earliest memory of seeing the magic of this tiny bird flying was in my Georgia grandmother’s garden (Louise Phillips Bryan of Reynolds, Georgia).  She had planted Four O’Clock bushes out near the driveway, and the hummingbirds loved them.  A child could see them there frequently, especially in the heat of summer in the late afternoon.

Here’s my hummingbird flying:

And here is a video showing how Jeff Jacobs makes these birds out of ONE PIECE of wood.

Source: Home

Thank you Gina for this thoughtful gift.  I think of you everytime I view this tiny bird.

(I bought the wrought iron stand vis Amazon, and it’s perfect for the bird.)

Turkey Tracks: Clue 4 is Done

Turkey Tracks:  December 18, 2016

Clue 4 is DONE!

But not without a learning lesson…

…44 learning lessons to be exact about it.

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So, NOTE TO SELF:  when you are tired and it is time for dinner, STOP.  No matter how close you are to finishing something.

These Tri-Rec units do have some key things to which one should pay attention.

When putting the first purple piece, yes, match up the bottom and sew to the top/wide side.  When pressing, use a dry iron and just pat the seam down as the OTHER SIDE is on the bias and very stretchy.

When sewing the next strip, DO NOT just rip through the pile without checking how things are coming out every so often.

I did 44 of these without checking things:

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DO pay as much attention when laying down the other purple side.  Yes, the bottom needs to line up, BUT those two little triangles at the top do as well.  I got fixated on the bottom and ignored how the top was so NOT matching up.

Why didn’t I see this problem?  Because I was too busy pushing pieces through the machine.

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Here’s how the bottom should look:

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Here’s how the top should line up==the triangles at the top should MATCH.  The edge of the neutral piece may be a bit stretchy, but it will fall in when you sew.  You could pin it to be sure.  And, again, don’t be ironing the first side down with steam or lots of pushing/pulling without thinking about the opposite, raw, bias edge.

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Then you will get a unit that has a nice straight top that only needs the protruding triangles trimmed.

If your top is NOT straight, take out the seam and start over.

I hope I have saved some of you from ripping out 44 purple pieces and resewing!!!

 

(This unit is from Bonnie Hunter’s 2016 Mystery Quilt “En Provence.”  All instructions and “clues” are on her blog, quiltville.com.  Look for the tab on the top of her blog header–along with a lot of other wonderful tabs filled with free quilt patterns, tips and tricks, how-to videos, etc.)

 

Turkey Tracks: Winter Comfort Food: Leek and Potato Soup

Turkey Tracks:  December 18, 2016

Winter Comfort Food:  Leek and Potato Soup

The classic combo of leeks and potatoes is…classic.

I alter Julia Child’s recipe a bit by using a chicken bone broth as a base instead of plain water.  AND, I do wilt the leeks with about 1/4 cup of raw butter before throwing in the potatoes and the broth.

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While the above very simple mixture cooks–about 40 minutes or until the potatoes are really soft, I go hunting for what Emeril Lagasse used to call “the boat motor.”  It’s so much easier than trying to hand smash the soup, or putting a really hot liquid into a blender or through a food mill.

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The result is a velvety smooth soup.

You can make this kind of soup with any kind of veggie combo actually.  Squashes work like the potatoes to give the velvet texture.

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Add a drizzle of raw cream or more butter and a sprinkle of something green, like dried herbs, chopped fresh parsley, etc.

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And, enjoy!

 

Turkey Tracks: Snow Day and Quilty Update

Turkey Tracks:  December 17, 2016

Snow Day And Quilty Update

I love snow days, and this snow is light and fluffy due to the extreme cold.  Temps have been on the MINUS side of zero for the past few days.

I am hunkered down and have pottered about all day so far, but have paid bills, updated CheckbookPro, read and responded to email, blogged, and will go and sew after a late lunch.

I have finished last week’s “clue” for the Bonnie Hunter 2016 mystery quilt, “En Provence.”  I’ll start this week’s clue after lunch–a unit that uses more purple and neutrals.  It’s a good thing I added a few more fat quarlters to my neutral stash for this quilt.

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I’ve had this quilt on the long-arm all week but have not accomplished much on it.  I’m using the clam shell groovy board and a light thread.

This quilt is suddenly looking quite seasonal to me with its red and greens.  I’m almost wishing I had put a green backing on it.  Megan Bruns picked out the outer border fabric, which is a 1030’s red schoolhouse print.  Very retro.

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I am in the home stretch on the Farmer’s Wife blocks however.  Really like how this block came out.

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I finished the first, the BIG, rosette in the Katja Marek “The New Hexagon” millifiore quilt.  And I REALLY like it.  Thought about going back in and making the cotton boll fabric from Cotton + Steel (one of my all-time favorites) all line up, but that would throw off the outer blocks with the rust-colored diamonds so that they would look strange.  As is, the outer ring has a lot of movement, no top and bottom, and if you rotate it in your mind, you can see that there is an organization to it.  It is hard to visualize how these big rosettes are going to come out I think.  One just has to grab fabric and get along with the whole thing.  It is unlikely that anyone ever sees a big quilt straight on anyway–unless it is going to hang.  And this one is going to be USED.

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So…

Stay warm, take time to enjoy these dark nights of peace, and eat well.

 

Turkey Tracks: “Earth’s Bounty” Quilt

Turkey Tracks:  December 17, 2016

“Earth’s Bounty” Quilt

This picture is not the best I’ve ever taken, but this was a very fun quilt to make.

The tumbler block was Bonnie Hunter’s 2015-2016 leader/ender challenge.  She starts these challenges in July.  You can see information on her current challenge at quiltville.com.  It’s a broken dishes block.

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I made another tumbler quilt in September 2015 using these fabrics.  That quilt was more organized in a number of ways, but I like this quilt better as it is just more scrappy.

I quilted with a lime green thread, using the pantograph “Sumptuous” by Hermione Agee.

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Love, love, love the green tomato backing.  When I saw this fabric, I knew immediately that it wanted to go on the back of this quilt.

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Here’s the earlier quilt “Garden Tumble.”  If you use the search tab on the right sidebar, you can see more pics of this quilt.

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Turkey Tracks: The Farmer’s Wife Projects Are Coming Together

December 15, 2016

The Farmer’s Wife Projects Are Coming Together

Lynn Vermeulen showed us her Farmer’s Wife blocks at a recent “Sit and Sew” meeting of the Coastal Quilters (Maine).

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Lynn’s blocks are all batiks.  She has set them on-point, but not off-set on point, so a square is formed.  She has used two subtle batiks (pale yellow and pale green) to form these squares, which, in turn, are forming the delicate stripes.  Go Lynn!

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Remember I posted these pics at our recent retreat of Becca Babb-Brott randomly putting up her finished blocks to see what she has.  Becca is laying the blocks out “on point,” but off-setting them, which will make a zig-zag pattern down the quilt.  Since this trial, Becca has decided to lay out the blocks flat so that a square separates them.

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My blocks are still in a notebook–which is protecting their bias edges.  But, the day to finish them and to put them on my design wall is coming soon!  My blocks are just “scrappy,” with an eclectic mix of fabrics.

Margaret Elaine Jinno’s blocks are wonderful!  She is close to finishing as well.  She is using all “water” colors, to honor that we live on the coast.

Linda Satkowski is “on time” as well.  And, yes, her blocks are terrific.  Linda’s blocks, like mine, are scrappy.  She is using a patterned setting fabric.  Can’t wait to see how she sets them.

Paul Blanchard is making a smaller quilt with her blocks.  It is somewhat daunting to make all 99 blocks.  I’ve seen one or two of Paula’s blocks and look forward to seeing more.

What is so fascinating is how very different everyone’s blocks are; yet, all the blocks are so, so pretty.

Can’t wait to see the quilts.

Turkey Tracks: Penny Person, Quilting, and SNOW DAY!

December 5, 2016

Penny Rogers Camm, Quilting, and SNOW DAY!

Penny, aka as Penny Person and/or Pretty Penny–as affectionately nicknamed by the Coastal Quilters, came last night.  (We had to distinguished Pretty Penny from No No Penny, my rat terrier.)

Penny brought her almost finished FIRST quilt, which is almost ready for its binding–a task she is learning to do on this visit.  I love the way her hand stitching with No. 8 pearl cotton is coming out on this quilt.  As soon as she gets the border kind of “nailed down,” we’ll put on the binding–which is the red of the narrow border.  She will do more quilting after the binding is on as she has to leave on Wednesday morning.

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Outside it is SNOWING!  Hard.  And it’s sticking now.  Here is the start of our first winter’s snow.

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Penny finished all her blocks for Amy Friend’s ‘Tell Me A Story” quilt.  (Amy’s blog is During Quiet Time.)

They are SPECTACULAR!  And ready to sew together.

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We had a yummy lunch:  smashed avocado with fresh garlic, salt, and lime and a salad:

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The turkeys came calling:

Penny is watching THE CROWN (excellent!) and sewing down the border.  I am sewing a Farmer’s Wife block.  Outside, the world is all white.