Category: Turkey Tracks: My Life in Maine

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

Turkey Tracks: The Summer Garden, July 2019

Turkey Tracks:  August 14, 2019

The Summer Garden, July 2019

And it is already mid August as I post this update…

The vegetable/flower garden is thriving.  We are still eating lettuce from the cold frame patch I seeded and covered last fall, but the heat of this past week is making the lettuce bolt now.

Here is part of the right side of the veggie garden—the fence is there because there is a sheer rock wall drop on that edge.  I have started planting flowers along this edge as I don’t need so many veggies these days.  Oh, I eat a LOT OF VEGGIES every day, but I have the Hope’s Edge CSA and there is, most of the time, just me to feed.  Plus, I want to have more plants that will feed the bees.

The garlic is ready to harvest now.  The zucchini is fruiting.  The daffodils have dried up.  The strawberries were so good this year.

That’s a row of Haricot Vert (filet) beans to the left of AC.  I need to pick them now.

I have not wanted to cut these garlic scapes because they look so light and airy.  Something about them took myl fancy.  This bunch of bulbs volunteered in this spot, which is fine with me.

I cannot even begin to tell you how many people have helped eat all this lettuce, which has been going strong since May.

These raspberries are huge with all the rain.  They are turning a dark purple though.  Years ago I planted some dark raspberries on the other end of this row of fruit, and now, via cross pollination, most of the raspberries have turned various dark shades.  I had no idea the dark ones could change the red ones.

I’m planning to replant raspberries next spring and to put them in the veggie garden where the garlic is growing at the moment.  This current bed was planted with plants that would deter small grandchildren from getting near the rock wall/sheer drop.   The youngest is 4 now, so it is time to rethink this bed—which is a nightmare to weed.  I have fallen down this sloping bed several times with one mis-step into a hole or just loss of balance.  It’s not fun to tumble into Rugosa Rose bushes……even if they do stop your tumble.

So, I’ll pull out all these dark raspberries this fall, sheer down this bed, and start over with raspberries (and more blueberries) next spring.  I’ll replant low plants in this bed:  day lilies, hostas, and the like.  With black plastic and heavy mulch, things will go better.

Turkey Tracks: Lending Some Quilts

Turkey Tracks:  August 4, 2019

Lending Some Quilts

Karen Martin and I loaned Fiddlehead Artisan Supply (Belfast, Maine) some quilts for their booth at the recent state quilt show (Pine Tree Quilt Guild).  That’s my Katja Marek Millifiori to the left of the Fiddlehead sign.  Below it is a Katja Marek 54-hexigon quilt—all based on Marek’s book THE NEW HEXAGON.  The blocks are all Cotton+Steel.

Karen’s wonderful Tula Pink (greys, blacks, whites, and yellow) is to the right of the Fiddlehead sign.  This quilt is from Tula Pink’s 100 MODERN QUILT BLOCKS.

The quilt behind the service desk is my Victoria Findlay Wolfe’s herringbone method from her MODERN QUILT MAGIC book.  This quilt is all Cotton+Steel low volume fabrics.  I’m assuming that most of you know that C+S has moved to Moda, taking their designs with them, and are now known as Ruby Star Society.  Their first fabrics from Moda are shipping this month.

Here are close-ups of these quilts.

 

 

 

Turkey Tracks: Summer Quilting

Turkey Tracks:  August 3, 2019

Summer Quilting

Of course I’m sewing.  Of course I am.

Look at this crazy design wall!

I’ve been playing with blocks for one thing.  I usually have time to make a block or two most days, except when family is visiting.

The Granny Square/Trip Around the World block at the top (posts about it earlier) from Then Came June is growing.  I think this one is going to be 4 by 4.  Maybe a bit bigger.  I’m using leftover solids for this block.  They make up pretty fast and easy.

The quilt in progress is more rows of Amanda Jean Nyber’s “Slopes” quilt using Cotton+Steel fabrics.  I had a dedicated sewing morning with the Mt. Battie Modern quilters about two weeks ago and got more of these blocks doine.

To the right:  Bonnie Hunter’s funky stars—the colored fabrics are Cotton+Steel.  There is a BH pattern for this funkiy block, but it’s also a block that has been around for ages.

The pineapple blocks are being made with the Creative Grids large ruler—they are 8 inches.  Right now they are Cotton+Steel, but that might not stay that way.  The bottom green one is WAY, WAY too busy.  But the center kind of shimmers, so I might leave it within a larger selection of these blocks.

The long skinny blocks are Jen Kingwell’s “Glitter” blocks.  I was thinking to hand piece them, but they are not that hard to sew…  So, as I finish one, I organize another.  And the trees (below) are her “The Avenue.”  This block is way bigger than I realized when I bought the templates.

 

The “bird” blocks are an improv project that I’m not sure I like all that much.  It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but sometimes life moves on and old projects fall away.  We’ll see.  I have been picking out fabrics for another block.  And one goal here is to use solids to surround the birds.

I had thought to use “the avenue” trees in the bird quilt, but the scale is wrong.  They are too large.  I was thinking that I would do sets of seasonal colors.  I have one more organized and will make it.  Then they are going into the “Parts Department” bin for an improv quilt to be made probably this winter.  I do like the way the neutrals around the trees are making interesting forms.  Maybe I will make some with other colors and mix them all up?

I’m quilting (big stitches with size 8 perle cotton) the “6-pointed star” quilt from Tara Faughnan and Amy Newbold’s The Color Collective project on Sewtopia.  (Season 2 is coming in October—and I’ve done other posts on this project which uses a TF-curated color palette in solids.)  I continue to be fascinated with how geometric shapes can play off of each other.  I am using all dark thread colors for this one as I don’t want the brighter/lighter threads to distract from the geometric shapes.

I finished the VERY FUN freezer paper technique Tara Faughnan calls “On Point.”  How cool is this?  The camera distorts, of course.

It’s pinned and ready to go for hand quilting.  I will use the brighter thread colors in this one.

These are leftover pieces sewn into a tumbling blocks form—from the 6-pointed star.  NO!  JUST NO!  It’s intriguing, but its going into the Parts Department bin—and maybe will be surrounded with neutrals down the line in the next improv quilt.  I want to circle back to the Lone Star and Radiating Log Cabin projects—you can see those in the pillows on the bed.

So, yes, I am sewing and creating.  Always!

 

 

Turkey Tracks: AC Slater and His Girls

Turkey Tracks:  August 3, 2019

AC Slater and His Girls

He adored them!

He pined when they left.

He still goes to their beds and hunts for them.

They each wanted a picture with him, so we did that one afternoon.

 

 

AND NOW, he has new grandchildren that are playing with him.  He’s ecstatic!  They have him SWIMMING like a mad foo.

 

Turkey Tracks: Summer Family Visits

Turkey Tracks:  July 28, 2019

Summer Family Visits

I see I have not posted here since late June.

I’ve been busy!  Summer brings lots of outdoor chores and lovely family visits.

Bryan, Corinne, and their three girlies were here for a glorious two-plus weeks.  I had such a good time with them.

The first stop is always the LLBean Boot.  This year is was getting painted, so no opportunity to get a picture of the girls up on the toe, flanked by parents.

This trip, the youngest was 4, and so the family could hike to all the high places all around us.  They went on a big hike about every other day—many of them 4+ miles up and down.

This little girl below will remember these days all her life.

As will these…

They traveled to see many of our local lighthouses—this one (Marshall Point down in Port Clyde) in pea soup fog.  They love to hear the lighthouse fog horns.

They bravely swam in the Duck Trap River estuary and at the Laite Beach off Camden harbor.

We made “Lazy Day” summer skirts—each helped and chose their ribbons for the bottom hem—a free pattern on the Oliver+S web site).

July 4th at the harbor.

Here’s my very favorite picture of this trip.  Well, maybe, as there are lots of favorite pictures.  But I do love this one as it kind of shows what kind of young women they will become.

My boyfriend, AC Slater, ADORED them.  So I will do a separate post on their pictures with him.

Turkey Tracks: Silicone Products Can Replace Plastic

June 23, 2019

Silicone Products Can Replace Plastic

I’ve wanted to replace plastic baggies and plastic wraps for some time.

A conversation with fellow quilters revealed that there are silicone products that can replace plastic.  Thanks Tori Manzi!!

So this week, I ordered some products to try:  silicone bowl tops and baggies and some grocery bags meant to replace plastic bag use in the grocery store.  These items are available in lots of places, so just google what you might want to try.  I deemed them affordable in the long run.

The three packages I ordered arrived this week, and I’m really liking them so far.

Here are the plastic tops meant to cover bowls—they stretch so can cover differently sized containers.  The pink items are a collapsible funnel and a tool meant to take the skin off of garlic as you roll the garlic cloves inside it.

The tops work well and are easy to put over bowls.  You might have to dry off outside moisture if a bowl has been in the refrigerator.

The tops would not work on a bowl like the one on the right front that has extensions built in.

The silicone bags are awesome as well:

They are air-tight, can freeze, etc., etc.  They will work in a sous vide pot as they can take the heat.  The plastic slides (yikes on the plastic) fit over the top of the filled bag to seal everything tight.  When filled they can stand up on their own.  They came with instructions and a stand which helps support them while you fill them.  Comments online say they hold soup just fine with no leakage.  There are three sizes.  The smallest holds up to 4 cups.  The big one is…big.

In addition, I ordered produce bags that will go to the grocery store with me and that are washable, etc.  They are meant to go right into the refrigerator, are washable, and will work to replace plastic bags.  They are a fine mesh.  I may have to wrap something like fragile lettuce in some damp paper towels, but…we’ll see.

I’ll keep you posted, but…

…I think it’s all going to work.

I can already see I might need more of the silicone bowl cover tops down the road.

Turkey Tracks: It’s Gardening Time

Turkey Tracks:  June 5, 2019

It’s Gardening Time

I’ve been busy in the garden—in between rainy days.  We’ve had a very cool and rainy spring.

But, the container pots are all out and planted—I cut back somewhat on the number of these pots this year.

And the hanging baskets are up.

That sack is for thistle, and the finches love it.  It will come down for the summer when it is empty.  Everything is so green and lush.  The hummingbirds are feeding like crazy.

This year I bought a very different color of petunia—and got all the baskets in the same color rather than mixing up colors.

I like the same color.  I will likely keep doing that.

Front porch plants.  The Lantana and orange plants are going elsewhere.

Eric Chontos is painting the house trim when the rain stops.  He does an awesome job of power-washing the house every spring as well.  Look how he got all the black mold off the end of the garage this year.

I’ve filled in some holes with perennials.  Pics on those as summer progresses.  But the veggie/flower garden looks good.  The cold frame is full of the most delicious lettuce.  The garlic is up.  Strawberries (far left) are starting to bloom.  I will plant haricot vert beans, zucchini, and nasturtiums when those seeds come later this week from Fedco.   I do Hope’s Edge CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) so with just me here, I don’t need a lot of extra veggies.  I can’t eat tomatoes (which I love), but will get plenty from Hope’s Edge for when the kiddos are all here.

Now it’s time to water, weed, edge beds and ENJOY THE GARDEN.

 

 

Turkey Tracks: Making Komebukuro Bags Is Fun and Addictive

Turkey Tracks:  June 3, 2019

Making Komebukoro Bags is Fun and Addictive

These “rice bowl bags/pouches” by kzstevens are so much fun!

I’ve published other versions in earlier posts here.

Kzstevens’ pattern is on her Etsy store.  Just google her name on the Etsy web site and scroll for the “Modern Japanese Rice Pouch” pattern that sells for $6.

Here’s her description of the bag’s uses:

Komebukuro. A traditional pouch used in Japan to carry rice offerings to the temple during religious ceremonies or to hold gifts destined for a close friend or relative.  Komebukuro bags were hard sewn in a patchwork style and individually designed with a mix of whatever fabrics were on hand and closed with a cotton drawstring cord. It is reversible.

Here’s are first two bags, and my first is on the right:

Each side is a bit different as I did piece the top.  First, one constructs an improv top piece that is a large rectangle.  Then one can “decorate” that rectangle with decorative sewing, adding little patches, and so forth.  Then one joins the rectangle to the square bottom.  The lining is constructed in the same manner.  I ordered the leather ties from Amazon.

I used Essex linen (pepper color) in the bag and for the top tie slips and for the bottoms.

 

Here’s my lining, and note that the bag is completely reversible if desired.

Here’s the second bag, where I added the blue daisy square for decoration:

I’ve already ordered more leather ties, but will also look the next time I go to a quilt store for cotton twill kind of ties.  I don’t see why a long shoe lace wouldn’t work either.  And, what about some decorative beads on some bags???

 

Turkey Tracks: The LAST Pillow

Turkey Tracks:  May 29, 2019

The LAST Pillow

Maybe…

Here’s my trial block for the 5th Color Collective block by Tara Faughnan.

I LOVE this block, which one draws on freezer paper and then uses that method to sew the block.  It is different than foundation piecing, and I really like the method.  BUT, I am still grappling with getting the points to stop at the right place.  I am on my third drawn template now, but am understanding how to get the result I want.

I also discovered that I like the bright colors against a dark background, unlike the Lone Star version with the light grey background.

I used green in this last pillow so it would blend with the other pillows I’ve made.

Here is Tara’s quilt made from this block, though she also sent us other versions one might consider:

WOW!  Look at these wonderful blocks!  Each one represents a new method to learn.

The Color Collective (Amy Nebold/Sewtopia) will continue in the fall.  I will definitely sign up again.

And now there are 10 pillows, scattered around the house.  You have seen pics and posts about these pillows already.  All have been made with Anna Graham’s method with an invisible zipper closing and with lined and quilted fronts and backs—from Anna’s book HANDMADE STYLE.  Her shop is “Noodlehead.”

There is one more block in Season 1 of THE COLOR COLLECTIVE though…

I’m playing with it now…

Turkey Tracks: “Parts Department Party” Quilt

Turkey Tracks:  May 28, 2019

“Parts Department Party” Quilt

It’s done!

And I really love it…

To refresh your memories, as I’ve been posting about this project for some time now, about four summers ago, Becca Babb-Brott, Linda Satkowski, and I decided to spend some of the summer “playing” with blocks and making enough to share with each other.  We all threw the blocks we made and that were given to us by each other into a bin we each called “the parts department”—following the work of Freddie Moran and Gwen Marston, who pioneered the idea of making fun blocks that would be ready to use when needed.

Both Becca and Linda put together their “improv” parts department quilts this year, so I knew the pressure was on.  It took me a long time to get this quilt together because I had lots and lots of “parts” that needed to be sewn into something useful—like the black/pink stars in the border (made from bonus triangles from a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt one year) or the broken dishes blocks in the border, or the flying geese formations, and so on.  And on, and on, and on…   I had a LOT of “parts”—too many to work all of them into this quilt, which is actually pretty large.  You know what that means…  There will be more play with fun blocks and another improv quilt down the road.

I really like the Carrie Bloomston “newsprint” 108-wide backing and the striped border—an idea I’ve seen used often on the Red Pepper Quilts blog.  And I quilted with Anne Bright’s Simple Feathers pantograph, which I like and use a lot.  I just wanted to lay down an overall curvy pattern.

Here are pics of parts of this quilt—which contains so many memories of parts of other quilts, of gift blocks from Becca and Linda, and of fabrics I’ve used and loved: