Author: louisaenright

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

“My ‘Give and Take’” Done and Hung

Turkey Tracks: September 9, 2020

“My `Give and Take’’’ Done and Hung

Oh boy!

Wow!

I made this quilt for this spot, and I’m so pleased with how it turned out. I hung it this morning.

To remind, Tara Faughnan created this improv “give and take” method for The Color Collective, season 2. And she curated the analogous fabrics for the online class.

But look where she has taken this method:

I don’t know. Tara has used a palette here that I personally love. And look how she is varying the background colors here. There may be more of this type of quilt in my life.

It Makes No Sense…

Turkey Tracks: September 6, 2020

It Makes No Sense…

…to cook just ONE ear of corn at a time.

It takes a bit pot of water and a lot of energy to heat the water for one ear of corn.

I usually cook 4 at a time. I eat one or two for whatever meal I’m cooking and let the remaining ears cool on a plate. It takes about 10 seconds each to remove the corn kernels with a sharp knife. Then I have a food asset in the refrigerator.

This week I got a beautiful head of Bok Choy in my weekly food pick-up from my Community Shared Agriculture farm Hope’s Edge.

After working in the garden all morning, I came inside hungry and tired. While I warmed up two chicken drumsticks in the oven, I got out the Bok Choy and sautéed it in some duck fat (add some herbs, garlic, and good salt) and when it was done, I added some of my saved corn kernels just long enough to heat them.

Can I just say this was a DELICIOUS mixture. Both the Bok Choy and the corn have a certain sweetness—as does the duck fat.

Best of all, I had leftovers, which I added to a stir fry I cooked for dinner.

The local corn may be “done” now for the year. It has been so good this year: so sweet and tender. I already miss it.

Some of This; Some of That

Turkey Tracks: September 4, 2020

Some of This; Some of That

A bit of leftover cooked rice.

Half of a baked, meatloaf stuffed green pepper.

An egg.

Lots of veggies.

A small, fresh pickling cucumber.

Duck fat.

Why not make some fried rice for lunch?

Sauté veggies in the duck fat. When they begin to sweat, add some chopped fresh garlic, whatever herbs float your boat, and salt. Here I roughly chopped and cooked a handful of cauliflower bits, half of a small zucchini, a small bright yellow pitty-pan squash, half a red pepper, and some sliced fresh sweet onion. I added some cooked corn I took off the cob last night with the rice. When that was mixed up and warm, I added the chopped up baked green pepper—it had a hamburger meatloaf mixture inside—and mixed everything up well before breaking a fresh egg into the pan and mixing it in until it was totally cooked.

Delicious! And I have some leftover for dinner as a side dish.

A Leader/Ender Takeover

Turkey Tracks: September 4, 2020

A Leader/Ender Takeover

There is always some point where a leader/ender project gets big enough that it becomes a primary project.

Just to remind, Bonnie Hunter (Quiltville.com) pioneered the leader/ender method of sewing where one works on a primary quilt and rather than breaking thread, one feeds in a sewing task from another quilt.

One of my two leader/ender projects has reached that stage where it has engulfed my design wall. There is nothing to do now but finish it and sew the top together. And meanwhile, the “tree” blocks with solid backgrounds and scrappy tree trunks will become THE primary leader/ender project.

I’ve wanted to make a scrappy bigger block flying geese quilt for YEARS now. This goose block is 3 by 6 finished. Right now I’ve got 10 rows wide by 20 deep, which is about 60-inches square. But I’m thinking it may need to be just a bit bigger. Maybe 72 (12 rows) by 75 (25 rows deep). I’m trying to off-set the large blocks of color (like 4 of one type) so that it reads really scrappy. Thus, the single and double geese blocks that will help that effort.

And now I’m wondering about going EVEN bigger in the future. That would make a VERY graphic flying geese quilt.

I like the way Tara Faughnan, in the online class The Color Collective, played with her improv idea of a “goose” form in solids and with a bigger block for her “Stacks” quilt—which lops off the point of the triangle and which highlights the formation of the side triangles into a very visible element. (This pic is from my “Stacks” quilt.) As I recall, the block finishes at 9 inches wide.

I am reversing my rows of geese so the rows lie up and down. That forms a parallelogram form rather than a triangle, which would form if the geese all pointed the same way. Made in solids, the parallelogram slash could be quite interesting. And what if the slash was the same color here and there???

And so it goes…

Sugaridoo QAL in August

Turkey Tracks: September 3, 2020

Sugaridoo QAL in August

I am caught up with my two Sugaridoo rows.

That’s a good thing as the 11th row will be released very soon now as we are now into September. (How did that happen so fast?)

The August row is either a 4-inch circle or an improv blob like an ink blot. Both would be fun, but I chose the circle since I was still hunting for a method to make a good BIG circle without needed a template/ruler to make the background fabric for the circle. This reverse appliqué method WORKS. And I tried it for a 12-inch big circle and it went beautifully. THANK YOU SUGARIDOO, Irene.

Here’s my Cotton+Steel version. The mushrooms are so darn cute—and the color is a good match for the rainbow/solid “emerald” color Sugaridoo chose for this spot. (See below.)

There are two more finished rows waiting for the two missing mystery rows that will come next—one on either end of this big piece.

Here’s the rainbow version:

Jan Corson’s Baby Quilt

Turkey Tracks: September 2, 2020

Jan Corson’s Baby Quilt

Camden quilty friend Jan Corson recently finished this quilt—meant to welcome a pending grandchild.

I LOVE IT. I love her use of this triangle form, the deliciously rich colors, and the mix of black and white and grey fabrics. They eye just travels around and stops at the various geometric forms and the tiny bits of color it encounters.

And look at this adorable backing for an infant.

I think there is a triangle quilt in my future!

The Color Collective Season 3

Turkey Tracks: September 1, 2020

The Color Collective Season 3

It’s back!

It will start in October.

I signed up for the half-yard, 7 month version.

I have so enjoyed and benefitted from the two previous seasons and really am looking forward to Season 3.

(I don’t know if the copied post will be ok on the wordpress platform, but you can get the idea anyway and go to the Sewtopia website.)

We’re back with Tara for the Color Collective Season 3!Sewtopia & Tara Faughnan are back for Season Three of the Color Collective Season! Join us on a colorful adventure that will expand your color palette and quilting skills. 
Every month you will receive a color bundle curated by Tara as well as a block pattern designed by Tara. In addition you will receive tips and tricks to make the block, access to a private Facebook Group where you can get advice and feedback from Tara, Sewtopia, and other members. Each month we will have and a monthly giveaway exclusive to the Color Collective membership. 
Sewtopia and Tara would like to welcome Latifah Saafir as a Special Guest to the Color Collective. Instead of a normal six month subscription, we are extending it one month, where Latifah will take over and curate a solid bundle and incorporate it in her own block pattern.
Returning club members will receive an exclusive discount. Please use the link below to sign up as they are not available to the public.Half Yard Subscription w/ Special GuestHalf Yard SubscriptionFat Quarter Subscription with Special GuestFat Quarter SubscriptionSpecial Guest – Latifah SaafirLatifah Saafir is known for her bold and innovative modern quilts. Combining her training as an engineer with her lifelong passion for sewing, Latifah creates designs that are graphic and contemporary, featuring challenging techniques with meticulous attention to detail. A co-founder of both the Los Angeles Modern Quilt Guild and the worldwide Modern Quilt Guild, Latifah currently teaches workshops to guilds around the country.
Latifah Saafir Studios is a quilt and sewing pattern and product company representing two brands, Latifah Saafir Studios and Quilt Cadets. Latifah Saafir Studios will feature a full range of patterns and products that will explore many innovative designs and techniques.
Quilt Cadets is a line that will teach the kids in your life to quilt through various sewing projects. These projects range from bags and softies to bags and of course ultimately quilts! The patterns are written in a simple yet clear manner so that kids ages 8 – 12 can easily work from the pattern with minimal help. The patterns include plenty of illustrations for the visual learner.Sewtopia8819 South Redwood Rd. #A3West Jordan, Utah 84088FOLLOW US ‌  ‌  ‌
Amy Newbold | 8819 South Redwood Rd., #A3, 8819 South Redwood Rd., #A3,
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“My `On Point’” Quilt Top is Done

Turkey Tracks: August 24, 2020

“My `On Point’” Quilt Top is Done

Messy photo, as there are two other projects on my design wall, but this last project from season 2 of The Color Collective is done. Denyse Schmidt, as a guest designer for a 7th month, designed this big, graphic block (20 inches) and curated the color palette.

At 60 by 60, it is a good lap quilt. This block is tricky to make. I found that the seams around the grey center needed to be VERY scant, for instance, to get the 20 1/2 inch trim right. I’m wondering if that grey square should be cut just a bit bigger??? Precision is everything on this big, graphic block. There are two colorways for the block. I emphasized the warm block. If one emphasized the cooler blue block, the quilt would have the blues as intersecting lines in the middle.

I’ll quilt this one on the longarm with something curvy and likely a dark grey thread, but who knows… And I need to organize a backing. I don’t have something in my stash that will work. The binding will be the dark brown as I did order more of it to get the 9 blocks. Thank heavens I ran out of fabric…or I’d be making at least one more row.

I would still like to make ME a “Stacks” as I gave the one I made as a wedding present. I think “Stacks” and “On Point” will appeal some day to my two grandsons as they are more masculine in nature. But who knows. I love them both myself.

Summer is winding down now up here in Maine. Temps are dropping into the 50s at night, which makes for great sleeping. The days are warm enough for shorts and so clear. And we did get some rain this past week, but not nearly enough. The growing season this summer for vegetables has been very, very slow. For instance, the glut of tomatoes has not yet arrived, even if the plants are inside hoop houses.

It is way past time to clean up the garden. The deadheading chore is badly needed to be executed. This summer just flew by…

Deer Love Hosta

Turkey Tracks: August 16, 2020

Deer Love Hosta

Oh yes, deer do love hosta.

And I have a lot of hosta.

I knew they were snacking on the hosta in the bed where I had the overgrown river birches cut down. And topping off numerous other plants as they strolled by—like the flower part of the Borage. But I kept thinking I would spray all the hosta as soon as the next predicted rain had come and gone. Only, that rain has not happened.

When I put AC out for his morning run a few days ago, we both saw that a deer was standing in this garden bed, I presume eating more of the hosta.

AC put the deer up the side of the mountain in short order, and I got out the sprayer later that day. Leslie Smith swears by “orange” Listerine for deterring deer—used full strength. She also swore that it would not hurt the plants. I found the “original” Listerine at our local drug store—and it is “orange” colored, so I bought it.

Time will tell…

But I don’t see more deer damage since I sprayed. And, that was an easy task. My little $14 sprayer worked just fine. And the spray didn’t seem to hurt the plants.

Here’s the “deer” chasing dog yesterday:

He can go up the side of the hill back of me in about 3 seconds.

And he loves to swim even more this year, but still doesn’t like to get over his head.

We have had some blessedly cool weather these past two days. A late summer treat for sure. But no rain. And it is terribly dry.

The light is changing now. And the hummingbirds are feeding up in preparation for their upcoming flight south. I have to refill their feeders every day or so.

Repair and cleaning projects are making the house “sparkly.” One never finishes with a house, but the obvious projects will wind down this next week. It’s been really good to get this work done.

“My `Bedrock’” Quilt is Done and Hung

Turkey Tracks: August 13, 2020

“My `Bedrock’” Quilt is Done and Hung

I love this quilt!

The method comes from Tara Faughnan and is part of this past season’s (2) The Color Collective online class hosted by Amy Newbold of Sewtopia. Tara also selects the color palette and teaches the method in a video. She called her own quilt “Bedrock,” so this quilt below, which is my improv version of the block method, is “My `Bedrock.’ “ I think I did a good job of balancing color and taking the eye around the quilt.

It is quite safe to say I never would have made this quilt without this class. My improv skills are growing, as is my confidence with improv.

I am using up stash pieces big enough for backings. I’ve always liked this one.

I hung this quilt outside my quilt room. It does hang straight; the camera distorts a bit. I think the matchstick quilting in a very soft cream with darker overtones came out really well. It does not distract from the quilt itself at all.

My quilt room is at my back in this picture. The door to the right goes to a bedroom/office where (LOL) I’ve taken over the closet for quilting “stuff.” I also have a sewing table and my serger in this bedroom.

Here’s the cotton 12-weight thread I ordered from Sulky for under $2 each. I had the pale blue on hand. And I filled more color needs from my size 8 perle cotton stash. I want to keep the thread color to the blocks of color in this “Give and Take” quilt top.

I’ve started THE LAST project from season 2, so pics to follow soon. It’s a BIG and GRAPHIC BLOCK (20 inches finished), designed by Denyse Schmidt as guest for a month 7 project. Tara curated the color palette.

It is now Queen Anne’s Lace and Rudbeckia time of this summer. Both are so hardy and cheerful.