Category: Turkey Tracks: My Life in Maine

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

Turkey Tracks: Sugaridoo QAL: Row 6

April 13, 2020

Sugaridoo QAL: Row 6

Here’s Row 6 of the Sugaridoo QAL.

I am doing two rows—one in the rainbow colors Sugaridoo designed and one with Cotton+Steel fabrics I have on hand. As you will see with the C+S rows, it isn’t always possible to replicate Sugaridoo’s colors exactly. And that’s ok by me.

These are the first rows that one could sew together with its adjacent row, made earlier. Sugaridoo may separate rows with sashing strips, but I thought these two rows wanted to be together. I can always take them apart if I change my mind later.

I made my braids the same size, except for the accent pieces—which differs from the Sugaridoo pattern, which used different sizes across the row.

Row 7 will drop next week some time.

Turkey Tracks: AC is Tired

Turkey Tracks: March 29, 2020

AC is Tired

After his morning trip to Laite Beach at low tide and his lunch, he has put himself in his “house.”

PS. I’m learning the WordPress block editor with this post.

We are meant to get some rain later today, so we may not get an afternoon outing. Thus, extra time at the beach this morning, and AC did a fair amount of swimming.

Turkey Tracks: Happy Birthday AC!

Turkey Tracks:  March 26, 2020

Happy Birthday AC!

AC Slater, my rescue dog, was 2 years old yesterday.

He celebrated with a long walk on the still-icy Erickson Trail.  We had about 6 inches of snow Monday night.

Later, he breached his electric fence and went swimming in the beaver lake/wetland below my house and over a BUSY road.  When retrieved in the car, he was soaking wet and scared.  When we had both calmed down, he had a very nice tub bath and warm hairdryer rubdown.  He now smells delicious.

We went to Laite Beach this morning.  AC LOVES to go to Laite Beach.  He’s very vocal these days—in all kinds of fun ways.

The beach was near high tide, but with enough beach left to throw his hard rubber ball with a chuck-it.  The beach is well below the park, so one climbs down a steep set of granite steps.

Here are some videos of AC chasing his ball.  He thinks this is his “work” I think.  He is deadly serious about chasing down his ball.  This pretty girl wanted to play with him, but he stuck to his work.

 

 

 

 

 

Turkey Tracks: Social Distancing: Ongoing Sewing Projects

Turkey Tracks:  March 20, 2020

Social Distancing:  Ongoing Sewing Projects

I’m ok.

I hope you all are all ok too.

I am social distancing.  AC and I go every possible day to the woods, to the beach, and to the grocery store as needed.  I am connected to friends and family a good chunk of each day via technology.  Except for worrying about getting the virus in a serious way, about family or friends getting it and not faring well, and about my seriously diminishing stock portfolio, I am peaceful.  I am enjoying all my sewing projects.  It’s good to see ongoing planned projects getting finished.  And working with my hands is, as always, soothing.

I am reminded that life is what it is, that we have to take it as it comes, and we can do that with joy and purpose and some laughter, or we can just let it all overwhelm us.  That’s a spectrum, of course.  I’m sure I hit the highs and lows of it every day, but mostly I’m…ok.

Here are some of my ongoing sewing projects:

The Galactic wall hanging top is finished, layered, pinned, and waiting for obtaining some Wonderfil GlaMour thread—a rayon with a metallic strand—that designer Tara Faughnan used and loved.  Marge Hallowell at Mainely Sewing is going to carry this thread.  I am hoping she can mail me some.  I LOVE this quilt and this pattern.  Tara Faughnan designed it and curated the fabrics in THE COLOR COLLECTIVE online class by Amy Newbold’s Sewtopia.

I am also playing with a two-round smaller version with the extra fabrics I have.  I have no idea where this project is going.  Play without a goal is important too.

Here is Gumdrops—another Tara Faughnan project from The Color Collective.  The blocks are English Paper Pieced, and we learned how to use a cardstock that one’s printer would take to make the six different patterns.  I’m making a wall hanging with this one too—probably about 30 wide by 30-40 long, with three staggered rows.  I will, of course, move blocks around a whole lot more as each combo gets finished.  I hand sew at night while watching tv.

I’ll be layering and pinning the solid scrappy trip/granny quilt from Then Came June (Checkered Garden) today.  I want to diagonal grid quilt it on a domestic, but will pin it on the longarm.  I loved Then Came June’s version and thought it would be a good use for the solid scraps I have.  It’s bright and wild.  And maybe that’s it’s name?

I cleaned and oiled my serger over the holidays—and replaced the knives.  There’s a blog post on that project.  It’s running like a dream.  But I’ve been having so much fun with quilty projects that I have not circled back to making garments.  There is a pile of knits to be used.  I cut out two tops this week.  Here is the Linden Sweatshirt from Grainline.  I made this top a while back and wear it a lot, so will enjoy this one as well.  This top can be hacked to make other interesting tops.  There is a short-sleeved version as well.  I wear it both layered with a high-neck t-shirt and all by itself when the weather is a bit warmer.  This particular jersey knit is so, so, so soft on the skin.

Be well!

Take care of yourselves!

 

 

 

Turkey Tracks: “Stacks,” A Wedding Quilt

Turkey Tracks:  March 8, 2020

“Stacks,” A Wedding Quilt

The wedding is in May.

And this quilt got mailed last Monday and is now in the hands of the bride, who lives in Colorado.

Tara Faughnan of Sewtopia’s The Color Collective online class designed the block and curated the fabrics.  I added more greens as I had them on hand.  The quilt is called “Stacks.”  I think it looks a bit like a modern, graphic version of stacked mountains.  And I love the lines of triangles that form between the rows.  I freehand quilted in a medium grey.  I wanted lots and lots of movement—like winds blowing and moving air currents.

I knew thia fabric was my backing fabric the moment I saw it.

Yummy!

And here it is, in the hands of the bride, where I hope it will hug and cuddle and warm this special couple.

Turkey Tracks: Sugaridoo QAL: Row 9, Delta

Turkey Tracks:  March 5, 2020

Sugaridoo QAL:  Row 9, Delta

I am making two versions of this QAL:  one in the solid rainbow fabrics (Kona) and one in, hopefully, Cotton+Steel from the fabrics I have on hand.

For the solid version, I printed out patterns on newsprint and foundation pieced the blocks, which then got sewed into the row.  The block is BIG, so sections needed to be taped to make the pattern.  And, afterwards, the paper had to be pulled out, which is always a pain.  But the blocks are perfect—with sewing room above all the points.

The printed fabric row I made with the freezer paper method, which I love.  BUT, I think I am not sewing quite close enough to the folded line and that might account for some points being a bit close to the edge.

I also moved the highlight piece (grey, blue) away from the right hand edge, partial block to the block next to it.  Given the overall schema, this position will not impact other highlighted blocks in the quilt.

April will be here before I know it.

Turkey Tracks: A Quilty Visit

Turkey Tracks:  February 25, 2020

A Quilty Visit

Megan Bruns dropped in for a fun visit yesterday.  She brought two projects to share with me.

Megan loves Anna Maria Horner fabrics and both of her projects involve those.  She is using her collection to make this version of Katja Marek’s “Quilt-lets” quilt.  You can search on the right sidebar for my version, finished a few years back.  But I love what Megan is making here.  The centers are Essex Linen and the sides/backs are Anna Maria Horner.  Each block stands alone.  Each block will get some kind of “quilting” before assembly, which is done by using a ladder stitch to sew the individual blocks together.  She is making a king size quilt.

We discussed several ideas for quilting. What kind of thread, what kind of intensity, what kind of pattern.  I am looking forward to seeing what she will do.  The linen is…sturdy…so dealing with quilting knots will be an issue.

 

 

More on her second, very interesting project, as that one develops more.

Turkey Tracks: Amy Friend is Coming to Coastal Quilters

Turkey Tracks:  February 22, 2020

Amy Friend is Coming to Coastal Quilters

We love quilt designer and teacher Amy Friend.

She has a new book out and is coming to Coastal Quilters for a workshop in mid March to teach us about projects in the book.  She was teaching this past week at the Modern Quilt Guild’s “Quilt Con,” where she debuted this new book.

I can’t wait to see it!

Beautiful Petal + Stem Aurifil Thread Collection

February 15, 2020: Camden Public Library Quilt Show

Turkey Tracks:  February 15, 2020

Camden Public Library Quilt Show

Coastal Quilters (Camden, Maine) president Tori Manzi got a call from the Camden Public Library asking if we could mount a quilt show in February since the “show” for that month had cancelled, leaving the library with no show to hang in their Picker Room.

Tori stepped up, with help from president of the Mt. Battie Modern Quilt Guild (Camden, Maine) Lynn Vermeulen, and many quilters from both groups, many of whom belong to both groups.  Special thanks to Sarahann Smith, who has hung many shows and knows what to do.

I contributed my “Radiating Log Cabin” quilt from Season 1 of The Color Collective, hosted by Amy Newbold of Sewtopia.  Tara Faughnan designed the block and chose the color palette.  The rest was up to each individual quilter.

 

I could not get a picture of the whole room as about 6 people were setting up for an event.

I did try to take pictures of the two traveling quilts that we did in Mt. Battie Modern last year.

Here is Lynn Vermeulen’s:

I did the top/right border, the word “joy,” and the little churn dash blocks over the word joy.  I also sewed the bottom third of top together, connecting remaining blocks to the top 2/3, and that arrangement remained as I came near the end of the “traveling.”

Here is Becca Babb-Brott’s traveling quilt, though I could not get the bottom due to the tables being set up.  Becca’s “saying” was “The more I wonder, the more I love.”  I think that came from THE COLOR PURPLE novel.  Becca did the words—as we all did—so we “travelers” worked in lots of motifs, etc.  I did some stars, the fabrics under the first  “the,” some flying geese (on the left), and near the “I” at the bottom, the girl figure—which copied that motif from a quilt Becca made some years back.

Here is my traveling quilt, which I did not hang in this show, but which I love so much.

 

 

Turkey Tracks: My “Bee Inspired” Block for “Beaches” Prompt

Turkey Tracks:  February 12, 2020

 

My “Bee Inspired” Block For “Beaches” Prompt

Our prompt for February was “Beaches.”

From our coast, we look out over the bay to islands in the distance.  Isle Au Haut, Blue Hill, and Mt. Desert often can be seen in the distance—and each has high elevations.  By water, one way to these outer islands or peninsulas is through the Fox Island “channel,” a journey I have made many times on the J&E Riggin windjammer.

You can see the rest of the blocks for JoAnn Moore’s “Beaches” prompt on our Mt. Battie Modern Quilt Guild Facebook page.  As always, the blocks for our prompts are awesomely creative.