Category: Turkey Tracks: My Life in Maine

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

Turkey Tracks: Change of Fabrics for Bonnie Hunter Mystery

November 17, 2017

Change of Fabrics for Bonnie Hunter Mystery

As I posted earlier, I started with these fabrics—which replicate Bonnie Hunter’s color scheme.

They’re pretty.  No doubt.  (The deep dark is a midnight teal.)

 

But,, but—I have been thinking all winter that I want to work with lots of low-volume fabrics this winter.  And I have several projects picked out to start.  And I’ve been clearing the decks to get to them.

I had not intended to make this year’s mystery when it starts, but to print out the pattern for sure.  Bonnie’s mystery patterns are the best.   But a friend asked me to accompany her on this year’s mystery journey.  And several more have joined us.  This friend was over the other day with fabrics to audition.  Along the way, she looked at me and said, “You know, I really want to work with neutrals and not these colors we’ve picked out.”

Oh my!

”Me too,” I said, and I’m going to pull out a different combo from my stash and see what it looks like.”

”Let’s do it RIGHT NOW,” said my friend.  And off we went.

Here’s what we pulled:

 

Now I’m happy!

And, yes, these are colors I used in “Butterscotch Fall,” so clearly I have not scratched this itch enough yet.  I can’t wait to see how these colors come together.

Turkey Tracks: Washing with Water

November 15, 2017

Washing With Water

Now.  Don’t laugh.

I’ve been washing clothes with water and a magnet system for the past two months.

My clothes are as clean as if I had doused them with a detergent.

I still have to spot treat stains, but I had to do that before using the magnets.  And sometimes I have added some tea tree oil to the washer or dryer if I thought there were mold/mildew issues that needed to be addressed or I just wanted to add a clean, fresh scent.  Adding any of your favorite essential oils would give laundry their smell.

And, no, my clothes don’t smell like whatever they got into before I washed them without the essential oil addition.

I am on a well, so I don’t have the added ingredients that city folks have, like chlorines and fluorides.  Those chlorine chemicals also clean.

I have to tell you, I like what is happening a lot.  I am so less itchy these days.

 

++++

 

I don’t know that I’m ready to outright recommend this system to you.

I’m still experimenting.

For instance, I wanted to make sure that the clothes being washed weren’t holding a lot of residual soap–and that’s going to take some time–especially since I just switched out summer t-shirts for warmer winter ones.

But I can say that it is pretty clear to me that the recommended amounts of soap I had been using is excessive, to say the least.

You know, I can remember back when I was a kid, and every other ad on the tv was for some kind of cleaning product, but laundry detergents were there a lot.  I think we got kind of indoctrinated that we needed all these chemicals.

I stopped soaping off in my showers years ago, and, again, my skin is so much better because of using less soap.  I do use soap when I’ve gotten into something really greasy or dirty, but mostly, the warm water is good enough.  Best of all, I’m preserving the natural colonies of critters (good “germs”) that are are first line of defense on the skin that is the largest organ we have.  I don’t smell.  I am not dirty.

Water, I’ve learned, is actually pretty naturally corrosive in and of itself.  You might need a bit of soap for a grease stain, but not for just cleansing and refreshing fabric that is not greasy.

And history shows pretty clearly that terrible diseases got eradicated by cleanliness and quarantines.  Changes in hygiene practices made all the difference.  And hygiene maybe does not need so much soap.  We have germ phobias that have been carefully developed by advertising.  Some critters are good guys.

 

+ + ++

 

Soap works by making water slippery, which works to pull dirt and grime out of fabrics.

Powerful magnets can apparently change the surface tension of the water in the same way–or so the claim goes.

I bought two of these really strong magnets, and they live in my washing machine.

 

The company is Water Liberty, and you can check out their videos and claims at waterliberty.com.

I am now considering getting their Nano towels and their highly concentrated enzyme cleaner for stains.  I’ve been using enzymes in my hot tub for years now.  They eat organic matter, and they work really well.

 

Turkey Tracks: My Milli is FINISHED: “Butterscotch Fall”

Turkey Tracks:  November 15, 2017

My Milli is FINISHED:  “Butterscotch Fall”

I love this quilt.

I love everything about it.

I have loved every minute spent making it.

This quilt stretched me.  It let me go off into all sorts of new quilty directions.

Here is “Butterscotch Fall.”

One year ago, in early fall, I got inspired for the milli fabric by a range of fall fabrics I saw in local quilting stores–and that inspiration set me off.  I had been trying to come up with focus fabrics for this quilt project over the summer.  As I worked on the quilt, the butterscotch color kept coming on stronger and stronger–some times lighter, sometimes as dark as honey.  When the top was finished and I was hunting for backing, I knew when I saw this 108-inch wide Carolyn Friedlander cross-hatch fabric , called Butterscotch, that I had both my quilt’s backing and its name.  (This fabric is from Friedlander’s Architextural line.)

I wanted this quilt to have an organic feel of fall:  colorful leaves, trees going bare, bees, hives, the idea of harvesting fall honey, blue water under a vibrant autumn blue sky, vivid green moss, the ghosts of Halloween, the grey and blacks of the darkening days and longer nights, and so on.

I was paralyzed about how to quilt the top when I remembered that Jo Diggs once told Coastal Quilters members that you can’t go wrong with using a Bishop’s Fan pattern to quilt.  I liked the idea of this old-fashioned pattern on this modern quilt, which in turn used ancient millefiori rosettes as its design.  And I have the Bishop’s Fan groovy boards for the long arm.  (If you don’t know Jo Diggs, take a minute and look at her web site gallery.)

You will see a Japanese text fabric used in all its color ways in this quilt.  For instance, it’s in the grey star above and in the star below in gold.  These fabrics were designed by Suzuko Koseki.

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s the first rosette, which began to set the tone for the quilt:

 

I am so proud of this quilt.

It is PERFECT!!!

Thanks you so much Katja Marek!

Turkey Tracks: Hats to Donate for Children

Turkey Tracks:  November 14, 2017

Hats to Donate for Children

I am always appreciative of and amazed with the number of donated winter hats, mittens, and scarves that our Maine local women make for our community children.

Margaret Elaine Jinno, of Coastal Quilters (Maine), came to our CQ Sit and Sew last Wednesday with this batch of colorful hats she had made for school children–hats requested by someone at the elementary school who wanted some extras to protect the heads of forgetful children:

I liked them all, but I loved this one:

Here they all are:

Go Margaret Elaine!

Turkey Tracks: Valse Brilliante Project

Turkey Tracks:  November 9, 2017

Valse Brillante Quilt Project

The block pile for the English Paper Piecing “Valse Brilliant” is growing.  This quilt is from Willyene Hammerstein’s book MILLEFIORE QUILTS.  And this work was one of the many Coastal Quilters (Maine) challenges proposed and started last winter.

There are close to 40 now.  I need just under 100 blocks I think.

My rules are brights and text fabrics, every block must have both.  Two forms of blocks emerge, one with darker color on the wide pieces and one with darker color on the narrow pieces.  When I glued block pieces, I often made both versions from the two chosen fabrics.  You can see both versions below:

 

I had fun with this block, which uses one of the Cotton+Steel whimsical fabrics with a desert motif and one of the C+S basic fabrics:

I have also used a lot of the “pearl bracelet” fabrics, both large and mini, from Lizzy House from Andover because they have such clear, bright colors.

I found an old computer laptop lap support tucked away in John’s technical supplies.  It works perfectly as a platform for English Paper Piecing blocks.

It is thicker on one side, and I put that side next to my body so my hands and arms have support.  This laptop platform saves a lot of wear and tear on arm, wrist, and neck muscles.  When I am putting on binding, I use a fat couch pillow for support.  Otherwise, I am always bending my neck over too far.

My as yet unnamed millefiori quilt (Katja Marek) is done but for one side of binding.  Pics to follow soon.  It may be my most favorite quilt ever.

Turkey Tracks: Recap: The Modern Quilt Showcase 2017 – whole circle studio

November 6, 2017

Recap:  The Modern Quilt Showcase 2017–Whole Circle Studio

Here’s a wonderful post from Whole Circle Studio about the Modern Quilt Showcase at Houston:

via recap: The Modern Quilt Showcase 2017 – whole circle studio

Turkey Tracks: Fabrics for Bonnie Hunter’s 2017 Mystery Quilt “On Ringo Lake”

November 6, 2017

Fabrics for Bonnie Hunter’s 2017 Mystery Quilt “On Ringo Lake”

I wasn’t going to do this year’s mystery quilt.

I have done four of them now, each a gem.  But, I have some other projects I wanted to finish before starting the mystery quilt.  I was just going to print the clues and make the quilt later.  Maybe.

But then, several people I know wanted to do it.

And the next thing I knew, I was pulling fabric.

For the first time, I’m substituting a fabric:  for Bonnie’s rich dark brown I am using two rich, midnight dark teals that have been hanging out in my stash for way too long.  If I buy any other fabric, it might be a third dark teal.  This dark teal does not show it’s dark richness when I try to take a picture of it.

Here you can see it provides plenty of contrast.

And here’s a pic I manipulated considerably to show the textures.

Below are pics of my aquas, corals, and neutrals:

 

I may add more neutrals.  These were pulled from my Cotton+Steel and “text fabric” bins.  On “En Provence,” I really liked the inclusion of some busier neutrals.  See?

Bring on the clues.

I’m ready!

 

Turkey Tracks: Timna Tarr’s Quilted Maps

November 2, 2017

Timna Tarr’s Quilted Maps

Timna Tarr is coming back for a workshop at Coastal Quilters (Maine) this month.

And it is not a moment too soon, as our 2017/2018 CQ challenge is making a map.  Many of us will be doing some form of Timna’s quilty maps, but the “map” category is wide open.  One could do any kind of map or map metaphor rather than a literal map.  Our efforts will hang at the state quilt show in July 2018:  Pine Tree Quilt Guild.

Here’s the kind of “Timna map” I want to do.

This quilt is one of her earliest maps, but I adore it.

Here is another:

I’m thinking this one includes more appliqué.

Timna is just finishing a map of the Mississippi river tributaries.  You can go to the gallery on her web site to see more of her work:  timnatarr.com.  And she has a blog where there are pictures of the Mississippi River Quilt.

I went to Camden’s online tax maps to get a start on my projects,  I was able to isolate what I wanted and to take a screen shot that I printed with the landscape orientation.  Next, I took those printed maps to Staples, and they blew them up further.  I asked for 20 wide by 14 deep.  The lot sizes are now big enough for me to work with them I think.

Here are my maps, printed on a kind of vinyl:

A map of the Megunticook Lake and river environs, which includes my house lot.  I am not on lake front property, but am close to the lake or river.  This river runs into Camden harbor via a dramatic waterfall.

And a map of the center of Camden and our harbor.

Where to start???

My own house lot I think–to learn the skills.  Then, if I like the work, the town.

Turkey Tracks: Front Door Whimsy

Turkey Tracks:  October 31, 2017

Front Door Whimsy

We are recovering from–and I quote the radio news–“the worst power outage in the history of Maine.”

I’ve been without power since yesterday morning.

My new favorite words:  “my generator.”

It runs EVERYTHING, which means I can watch tv, wash, sew, and not worry about food going bad in freezers in this warm weather.

A day or so before the storm, I stood outside and placed drying marigolds from a gift pot (thanks Betsy and Bill) into the front door wreath.

I later found the wreath in the front yard–with a few flowers still intact.

I’ve been through lots of storms up here on Howe Hill, but I’ve never felt the house shake and tremble and groan like it did in the worst of the storm.

Mother is so not happy with us.

 

 

Turkey Tracks: The Coastal Quilters’ 2017 October Retreat, Part 1

Turkey Tracks:  October 24, 2017

The Coastal Quilters’ 2017 October Retreat, Part 1

Heidi August

It was a good retreat!

And, was made better by the addition of a quilter new to our group.

Heidi August brought this GORGEOUS quilt for me to see–once again.  I saw it at the Vermont Quilt Show two summers ago and took a picture of it, which I posted on this blog.  This quilt is one of my all-time favorite quilts and maybe THE favorite one.  It has now won TWO ribbons at major quilt shows.  Go Heidi!!

It was a delight to meet Heidi!  She is full of lively, creative, energy and boundless good will.  There is nothing nicer than meeting a quilter like this one and bouncing up and down with her ideas.

The block is a pineapple block, and Heidi told me that there is a pineapple ruler that made this work much easier.

Many facets of this quilt make it wonderful:  the subtle use of color, the block itself, the clever use of text fabrics, and the whimsy in each block.  Take a look at some of my favorite blocks.  It was hard to choose which one were “favorites.”  I could have taken a picture of each and every block.  Of course I have to start with CHICKENS.

 

 

 

 

Taking pictures of these blocks is like eating only ONE potato chip…  I could go on and on…

Look at the clever backing:

And binding…

I have a fat quarter collection of those little colored squares, but never thought to use this fabric for a binding.

It’s PERFECT!

***

Heidi worked on a fun quilt and a more serious one.  Sadly I did not get a picture of this latter quilt.  The fabrics were dark and the light in the gym was not great.  I hope she sends me a picture when she gets the top finished.  I”ll share if she does.

And she very kindly sent me three quilt pictures that stemmed from our conversations:

A Halloween quilt top she just finished–which is as lively as Halloween is.

And her Tula Pink 100 Modern Quilt blocks–laid out and, following, the finished quilt:

This setting is one Tula Pink suggests in the book.  But Heidi, unlike Tula Pink, sorted the blocks by color.  It came out great, don’t you think?  I also like the wavy grid quilting!  A lot!

Go Heidi!

I look forward to more interactions with YOU!