Category: Turkey Tracks: My Life in Maine

Our Life in Maine, My Craft Projects, Quilting, Recipes, Book and Media Reviews

Turkey Tracks: Blue Fox Trot Quilt

Turkey Tracks:  March 4, 2012

Blue Fox Trot Quilt

I’ve finished another scrappy quilt in what I’m now thinking about as “The Scrappy Project.”

To remind, I have BAGS of pre-cut pieces of fabric since for over 10 years, whenever I finish a quilt, I cut up the leftover pieces–too small to go back into the stash–into useable pieces–a rectangle, various squares, and any strip that’s at least 1 1/2 inches.

This quilt is made from the 2 by 3 1/2-inch rectangles and was inspired by this book:

First I separated out all the blue rectangles from the HUGE piles of rectangles and further separated into lights, darks, and brights.  Then, I made a trial block.  I pretty much knew this idea would work because about 9 years ago, I made a green version from leftovers of a green rail quilt.  Green Fling hangs in the stairwell of our home in Camden, Maine:

Here’s a few trial blocks going on the design wall–I had to figure out whether or not to turn either the light or dark blocks sideways or not.  I did turn them eventually as I thought it gave more movement.  Somehow, if the blocks are all upright, the quilt is too linear.  Also, turning either the lights or darks means you don’t have seam abutment problems.  Here all the blocks are going one way.  Too…linear…

Here’s the finished quilt.  See how better it is with one set of blocks turned.

Here’s the backing and binding–both of which are perfect for this quilt.

Here’s a close-up of some of the blocks so you can see the quilting and the play of the blocks:

Blue Fox Trot–slow, slow, quick step.  There are two fox trots in each block and enough blocks to dance around the room.

Turkey Tracks: Sweaters for Chickens

Turkey Tracks:  March 1, 2012

Sweaters for Chickens

I’m not kidding.

There are folks out there making sweaters for chickens.

And, they’re adorable!

And, I’m finding myself wondering if they’d protect our hens’ backs from our overzealously amorous roo.

And, I have all that leftover yarn of all sorts…

Anyway, for a heartwarming laugh, take a look?

http://www.buzzfeed.com/babymantis/20-pictures-of-chickens-wearing-sweaters-1opu

And, there are patterns all over the net, but this one looks the least daunting:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rescued-battery-hen-jumper

 

 

Turkey Tracks: The O’Bryan Quilt–an old friend

Turkey Tracks:  February 26, 2012

 The O’Bryan–An Old Friend

When we visited Charleston, SC, last Thanksgiving, we stayed with each of our sons for half of our visit.  At Bryan’s we slept under the 9th quilt I made:  “The O’Bryan.”  It was like visiting an old friend to see it again, never mind sleeping under it.

Here’s what it looks like now:

Bryan helped picking out the colors.  I used a King’s Crown block, machine pieced it, and hand quilted it–so I really had it in my hands for a long time.

Here’s a closeup of one of the blocks so you can see the hand quilting.

And, here’s a picture of some of the blocks:

I rarely hand quilt anymore.  I love to piece quilt tops too much I guess.   And I especially love my long-arm machine, which is allowing me to finish more quilt tops.  It seems knitting–and putting the binding on quilts–is supplying my need to do something with my hands at night.

It’s really fun to go into family or friends’ houses and to see one of my quilts being used and loved.  Or to get a picture from someone showing the quilt in their homes.

Turkey Tracks: Leftover Sock Yarn–Kelly’s Birthday Socks

Turkey Tracks:  February 26, 2012

Leftover Sock Yarn–Kelly’s Birthday Socks

Here’s a pic of the first pair of socks out of the leftover sock yarn:

I bought three small sock-yarn skeins to coordinate with the mixture of leftover yarns:  navy, cream, and a fern green.

Here I used the navy for the cuffs, toes, and heels.

I had JUST enough of this one kind of yarn with the little color flecks to do the rest of both socks.

Mercy!  They’re cute, huh?

Kelly says they fit.  I talked to him this morning.  I sent the socks home with Mike, who was here last weekend for the Camden Conference.  He also got a bottle of Cheryl Wixson’s homemade ketchup into his suitcase.  Kelly LOVES ketchup.

The socks are on a bedspread that John’s mother crocheted for his sister, Maryann, for her 16th birthday.  It’s still going strong, and we love it.  It is on the bed in our guest bedroom.

Turkey Tracks: String Symphony Quilt

Turkey Tracks:  February 24, 2012

String Symphony Quilt

One set of scraps I’ve saved for the past 10 years or more now are strips of fabrics that are at least 1 1/2 inches wide.  For the past two months, I’ve been making WONDERFUL! quilts with these pre-cut scraps–as you can see on this blog.

What to do with these strips though?

I had been thinking for years of a log cabin quilt, so I tried a traditional block, as I love those, but the initial block was tedious to make and dull.  I knew I’d go quite mad if I started down that road…   Besides, I wasn’t sure I had enough lights and darks to make a log cabin quilt work well.  Here’s that block:

What about a string block?  I cut 6 1/2 muslin blocks and started strip and flip sewing a few, which you can see untrimmed here.

Four blocks together looked interesting.  The mixed colors worked quite well together…

Now what?

Float the blocks in a print?  Maybe surround the block with a fabric that is solid or appears solid–much like Kaffee Fasset likes to do with a wild print?  Here’s a block surrounded with one of Kaffe Fasset’s fabrics.  I set in 9-patch squares along the sides and into the strip above the big blocks.  If I could change anything, it would be to use a bolder fabric to edge the blocks–one that blended more with the background fabrics.  A brighter block edging that also faded into the background print with the 9 patches.

Here’s the finished quilt, which I called “String Symphony” because the quilt plays music your heart can hear.  It “sings.”

Here’s the back (another fabulous Kaffe Fasset!) and the binding is an orange and pink polka dot fabric that works with both sides:

I love this quilt!  It’s a very happy quilt.  And, it’s my 74th quilt.

I used up most of the fabric strips and have already started saving more as I continue quilting.  And I have about 5 single blocks left over.   HMMMM….   I wonder if I could make placemats…

Turkey Tracks: Surprise in Tara’s Goat Pen

Turkey Tracks:  February 24, 2012

Surprise in Tara’s Goat Pen

My friend Tara Derr Webb grew up with our sons.

Last fall, she and her husband Leighton moved to Accord, NY, to a rural house surrounded by lots of land.

Tara has two goats, two dogs, and a cat.  How she got the goats is a longer story.  She arrived in Accord with one (Georgia) and purchased another (Sugar) as Georgia needed other goat company.  All the animals follow her everywhere, pen or no pen, like puppies.

All last fall, she and Leighton worked to build a shelter and pen for the goats.

The  other morning, here’s what greeted them when they opened the shelter:

Sugar had a baby!

They had no idea she was pregnant.  I remember thinking not long ago after looking at one of Tara’s videos that Sugar was “thriving.”  Her belly was round and fat.

I still don’t know the gender or the name…

Turkey Tracks: Knitting Class, Carrying Yarn Color

Turkey Tracks:   February 24, 2012

Knitting Class, Carrying Yarn Color

Once we got our yarn from Kelly Corbett’s Romney Ridge Farm, the next step in Giovanna’s and my “carrying color” project was to take Aloisia Pollack’s class and to buy her pattern.  So, she invited us to come to her home in Jefferson, Maine, which is located at the western top of Damariscotta Lake.  Off we went one fine morning a few weeks ago now.

Here’s the view from Aloisia’s front windows–her rental cabins (Sunset Cabins) lie in a string alongside the lake:

Here’s Aloisia with a sweater project that uses the “carrying color” technique.

To remind, here’s the sweater we’re trying to make, but using our own color choices:

As of Saturday, the 18th, here’s what Giovanna’s sweater looks like:

And, here’s mine.  I made the bottom bands one color and wider.  Since this band gets repeated at the top of the sleeves, I’m not sure I like the wider stripes…  Giovanna tells me that this kind of band is traditional in FairIsle sweaters.

And, Giovanna’s tension is looking better than mine.   Giovanna found a widget that fits over your forefinger that helps control the two yarns–in that it keeps them from tangling and twisting so much.  We got one for me in Belfast at Heavenly Socks, and it does help a lot.  You can see it dangling from my threads; it’s orange.

We both did wider ribbing than Aloisia’s pattern…  Perhaps my band will work with the longer ribbing…  And, I’m making a cardigan, not a pullover.

Giovanna and I are both still feeling like we have clumsy, slow fingers.  But, my knit row is now faster than my purl rows…   And, as we’re doing the sweater “in the round,” that slows down the process as well.

On the way home from Belfast, on Route 52 by Megunticook Lake, we saw an eagle in the middle of the road eating some road kill.  Giovanna stopped the car, and I got this picture after the eagle flew up into the trees.  Follow the two white birch’s up, and you’ll see him/her.

Turkey Tracks: Maine Sea Salt

Turkey Tracks:  February 24, 2012

Maine Sea Salt

I’ve been emailing with Stephen Cook of Maine Sea Salts, and he assures me that he does not heat his seawater in any way to make his salt.  The white color is because he is solar drying sea water that does not, itself, have coloring ingredients.   He told me that the colors in salt (grey, pink, black) come from the clay deposits where salt is harvested.

The url I saw that shows water being heated in large, wooden half-barrels dates back to the late 1990s.  He no longer uses that method.  He totally uses solar drying methods now.  Stephen is working toward getting that reference and picture removed from the internet.  I had a feeling that “old” internet entries was the problem, so I am happy to report that Maine Sea Salt will have all the many nutrients salt should have.

Go Stephen!

Turkey Tracks: Giovanna Winding Yarn Into Balls

Turkey Tracks:  February 18, 2012

Giovanna Winding Yarn Into Balls

Giovanna McCarthy is a master knitter.

She has knitting equipment I don’t have.

Giovanna, very sweetly, offered to wind my Romney Ridge yarn for me at her house.

Here’s Giovanna setting up a skein of yarn to be wound.

Here she is winding away–which was not as easy as she’s making it look as often, the yarn got tangled up and has to be sorted out.  It happens sometimes, she says.  See that red shawl back of her on the chair.  Boy is it spectacular!  She just finished making it.  I’ll do a separate entry for it.

Note the table back of Giovanna–what you can’t see clearly is the blocking pad she has where she can block a whole sweater.  There is a gorgeous Irish knit sweater drying over there.

Here’s my yarn, all wound into balls and ready to go.  The greyish (it’s really more brown) yarn on the bottom left is the natural color of one of Kelly’s sheep.

Here’s Giovanna’s yarn all wound into balls–she chose more variegated versions than I did, but we both got a skein of the natural sheep yarn.

Next step:  Going to Aloisia Pollack’s house down in Jefferson, on Damariscotta Lake, for our lesson how to carry two colors.

Turkey Tracks: The Aurifil is Finally Gone

Turkey Tracks:  February 18, 2012

The Aurifil is Finally Gone

Here it is:  the –finally–empty Aurifil spool:

I must be the only quilter in the world who does not like Aurifil.

And, I don’t like it.

Yes, it lasts FOREVER.  It’s like the Energizer Bunny of quilting threads.  And, it doesn’t produce much lint.

I feel like I’m sewing with spider silk, though.  And, it isn’t very strong.  And, it does not “stick” to the cotton fabric in the way the Mettler I mostly use does.  It has a tendency to unravel at the edges of seams as a result–which is a HUGE pain when piecing blocks as they start to come undone at the edges as you handle them.

I bought this light grey Aurifil years ago when everyone raved about it.  So, in this moment of using up and reorganizing in the quilt room, I used up the Aurifil.

Thank heavens it’s gone!