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Debbie Jeske of A Quilter’s Table blog did a recent post on Latifah Saafir’s Hurty Ruler. I loved what she did–she used a scrappy version in her half-rectangles, but in places she kept the triangles plain, so the eye can follow the underlying structure of her piece.

Diamond CutBy noreply@blogger.com (Debbie) on Oct 29, 2024 08:20 am The HuRTy ruler by Latifah Saafir @latifahsaafirstudios had been in my studio for two full years, and last week I finally pulled some scraps from the bin and gave it a try. Let’s just say I was duly impressed! Never had I made HRTs so effortlessly. So I decided to try my hand at a small quilt of HRTs, and chose a tetrad (four-color) palette made up initially of Kona Rich Red, Heliotrope, Orchid Ice, Key Lime, and an unidentified green similar to Kelly.

Here’s the little quilt she made–isn’t it delightful?

I couldn’t get a link to Debbie’s blog to work, but you can just google it.

She shows her backing and discusses how she quilted it.

Enjoy!

I’ve heard about this event for many years now as Bryan, Corinne, and family participate. Bryan gets a big kick out of decorating their golf cart each year. This year he hit the decorating ball right out of the ball park. And Corinne and the girls worked on the costumes.

Here comes Bryan and Corinne’s viking ship golf cart as it enters the final stretch of the parade.

This event was an…event. There were lots of people at the IOP rec center, which was hopping with music, speciality events on the fields, children and many adults in their Halloween costumes, and the 54 decorated golf carts that ended their parade at the main rec center building after a route around the neighborhood streets.

Here are some of the carts lined up in numerical order before the parade started:

And here are some of the carts passing me at the end of the parade. I just chose at random as all the carts were amazing.

This “Pac Man” cart was a 2-cart entry. If you know this game, you’ll understand it better than I do, but the crowd loved it.

And here’s Bryan’s viking ship again–which he created with cardboard, pcv pipe, ropes, lots of zip ties, and paint.

Some of the carts ended their parade by going through the white “haunted house” tent building to the left. Many were too high though and just continued back down the street to find parking places.

There were all kinds of dogs at the event as well, many riding the parade. All seemed to be having as much fun as the people.

Here is Bryan in his costume before the parade:

And the family:

It was a warm day, so they did not use the bottom parts of their costumes, like the leggings and boots.

Clearly, Halloween is a huge event here. I am a bit shell-shocked as having lived for 19 years in rural Maine, where children went into town to “trick or treat,” I have not given out treats.

Now I hope I have enough…

I did make it to the beach Monday for a beautiful walk at low tide–as that’s when one can see the most shells and can walk fast along the hard sand. (And, wade barefoot through tidal pools.)

The Churn Dash quilt (Eye Candy #5) is on the long arm. And I’ve been making more placemats with the blueberry fabrics. They are coming out beautifully, and I’m ripping through my solid stash as the solids do best for single-layer napkins. I rounded the last corner of “Wyoming Stars” last night–and will finish that binding tonight. Then, I’ll wash and mail both of them to…Wyoming.

Yesterday was wild: Costco for meat and two trips to two nearby Loews to find more of the Asiatic Jasmine. I’m going to IOP today and will take a picture of an established bed with this ground cover so you can see why I think it will work well here. I found 24 more plants yesterday and planted them on the shady side of the house–which is a lot of work as the soil is solid clay and needs the addition of sand and ground compost in every hole. They will form a solid bed there. It makes no sense to me to plant that side of the house–beyond the front corner which has already a holly of some kind–as that side of the house is not trafficked very often–by anyone, including me. The long sunny side is very visible.

At the first nearby Loews, an Endless Summer hydrangea, three Stella D’Oro daylilies, and a Buddlea (Butterfly Bush) jumped into the shopping cart. I still have to plant those–along the sunny side of the house. I’m mixing blooming perennials and shrubs for spring/summer interest.

I had a late lunch on the porch before tackling the planting holes.

I know. You’ve seen my salad lunches many times here. BUT, this one, in addition to the grilled chicken, has a sprinkling of my new herbs alongside the dill I had in the refrigerator: chive, mint, oregano, and sage. They are all doing well. And yesterday I added flat-leaf Italian parsley (which should come back in this climate) and Basil.

I’ve been making my afternoon espresso when I make lunch, so it is like a dessert to enjoy while I read just a bit more after lunch–and watch and wave at the sidewalk traffic of my neighbors.

In a few minutes I’ll leave to get the raw dairy that comes into Local Jo’s every other week–and I’ll drop off some at Mike and Tami’s on IOP and take the picture of the Asiatic Jasmine bed for the blog at their old house. And, stop by Bryan and Corinne’s with something special for them. Today is their youngest daughter’s 8th birthday.

We are meant to get some rain today–which will determine if I plant or sew after lunch–a grilled steak and…something. I need to stop at the grocery store for more veggies too.

Yes, another busy day is happening.

Start by placing your strip with the pointed end you just cut on your quilt where you want the end join to happen. I usually do that on the right side of my project. And I start sewing about six inches BELOW the end, so that the end is free/loose.

If I’m putting binding on a big project, I just start sewing. If I realize that I’m going to have a join near a corner, I follow quilter Bonnie Hunter’s method of just cutting and sewing a new join of the strips well above the corner–using the method I showed in Part 1 of overlaying two strips and sewing on the diagonal..

If the project is smaller, I will pin the end to the quilt edge and walk the binding around the project to make sure I don’t have a seam join in a corner area.

Sew down your binding in the usual way that miters the binding on the corners. Stop sewing 6 to 8 inches from the start of your binding with its joining 45-degree cut point waiting for you. You need some space to work with to join the ends.

Lay your top strip, where you have just stopped sewing along the edge of the remaining bare edge, extending it below where your join will be and turning up the end to get it out of the way.

Lay your left had strip with its point over the strip you just laid out.

With a marking tool make two marks on the LOWER binding strip that YOU CAN EASILY SEE. One at the bottom of the LOWER strip and one at the TOP of the fold where the upper strip turns down. You can make these marks without unfolding the strips, but here is the bottom strip unfolded so you can see that you will establishing the 45-degree angle you need in the right direction/angle to work with the top, left strip. After you make these marks, push the left strip out of the way.

With the bottom strip UNFOLDED, Line up your ruler along the marks at the 1/2 inch line (IMPORTANT–1/2 INCH, not 1/4 inch) and with the 45 degree line straight across the bottom. You need the 1/2 inch to compensate for both sides of your seam. I don’t draw a line along my orientation marks and measure from that line as they would show on the binding. I just use the little marks I made.

Here are your marks, taken from the binding on the left–after I cut on the 1/2 inch line. This pic shows how these two angles are organized. Left points to the top; right to the bottom.

Here is the ruler properly lined up, but AFTER your cut. See the 45 degree line on the bottom?

The two ends can now be joined. I line them up and pin on the left end at 1/4 inch until I am sure that the seam is going to be even. (You can also try to match the folded creases on both pieces with a pin.)

This part is fiddly. But you can see below that I’ve got a good join so the two sides will be even after being sewn. I don’t really worry about the right side,

Pin and sew the seam. Sewing this seam with the walking foot attached is tricky, so I use a leader/ender piece to get started.

I keep a wooden roller around for seams like this so I don’t have to go to the iron–as the iron is hard on bias edges and you have to take the whole quilt with you to the iron. You could also finger press this seam.

Then fold the piece in half again and trim off the point that is extending beyond the edge of the binding. The binding should fit into the remaining space on your project perfectly. *You can also see in this picture below the amount of space you want to leave on the side of your quilt to join the two edges and then to sew down the remaining piece of the now-joined binding: it’s 10 or 12 inches.

And now YOU ARE DONE!

Turkey Tracks: September 4, 2022

A Fall Sunday in Maine and Jackpot Update

It is a BEAUTIFUL day here in Maine.

Jackpot was dry last night and ate a good breakfast.

It seems like forever, but I’ve only had him since last Saturday afternoon.  That is seven full days counting today.  With very few exceptions, JP has not been out of my sight for these seven days: quiet time in his crate after lunch most days and night-time (when I didn’t sleep next to him on a palette next to his kitchen crate).

This dedicated time has produced amazing results.  He has bonded to me and is my shadow, he knows his name, he comes when called (most of the time) and recognizes my open-palm hand signal to come, he pees outside on command unless he truly does not need to go, he asks to get into my lap for a cuddle and belly rub, he is sometimes asking to go outside if he needs to potty (I take him out frequently and asking to go out means I have to recognize the request when it comes), he can go up and down all the stairs, and he can jump on the downstairs couch but not my bed yet.  I’d say that’s a lot of great achievements.

I am now trying to extend our bedtime to at least 9 pm and eventually our rising to later than 5:30 am.   So last night I took him downstairs after dinner for the first time since last Saturday when he came and showed he was not ready for a room with a rug and a dog bed (which he attacked with biting puppy behavior—I’ve put it away until he gets older).  

He had SUCH a good time playing with his toys downstairs last night.  And all over the house, he sees his reflection in a glass door or window and thinks there is another dog just…there.  He will stand for a long time just staring at the reflection and trying to figure it out.  He has stopped barking and growling at the reflection. (Those symmetrical white slashes on the backs of his ears fascinate me.) 

Eventually, he crashed next to my feet.

We had a really nice walk this morning on my neighbor’s property. We always walk around the edges of this small pond.

There are HUGE bull frogs sunning themselves on that bank you see to the left. JP made his way down there this morning and went nuts over those frogs, who make a big “plop” as they jump into the water. And this was one of those times when he did NOT want to come when called. That’s a training process though, and he is only barely 5 months old.

The humming birds are gone. I’ve taken down the feeders, washed them, and stored them in the garage. This is one of the first fall tasks, signaling the ending of a summer.

The filet bush beans in the cold frame are blooming. Soon I’ll have delicious little filet beans. These plants will make beans until a frost kills them. (The blue flowers are borage, which has just leaned over into the beans. I leave borage if I can as the bees love it.)

So, that’s it for today I think. I’m waiting for a poop to see if JP is improving.

And I’m looking forward to tonight with Jackpot downstairs. Maybe there will be some tv?

Turkey Tracks: August 25, 2022

“Wyoming Mountain Crossings” Top

***JACKPOT IS ON THE WAY.

I’ll meet the van around 1 pm SATURDAY at the West Gardner rest stop on 95—which is about 45-50 minutes from me.

The transport left Vidor, Texas, this morning.  And Glenna has been chatting with us off and on via the Messenger link.  I’ve learned that Jackpot does not pee his crate at night any more and is definitely 4 months old now.  And Gorgeous black and white Muttley doggie with the vivid blue eyes insisted the van stop as he HAD TO PEE.  And so on…

Today I made a trip to the Belfast Co-op and picked up organic goat milk yogurt (Jackpot) and a case of frozen okra (TWELVE packages) I had ordered (me).  I cooked also, in addition to my dinner of roasted chicken breasts, an organic chicken and made bone broth—so Jackpot will have a heathy something for his belly when he gets home.  The Instant Pot made this task easy.  

For dinner I also cooked a cut-up cauliflower head in a bigger pot and when tender, put it into the food processor with a little liquid, butter, and salt and whirled it until smooth.  It was good—very smooth and almost creamy—maybe needed more flavor, like herbs, sauteed garlic, and more salt and maybe some cream.  But now I’ll use the rest to try to make a cauliflower crust, then I’ll top it with some of the chicken I roasted today, some Mozzarella cheese—and maybe some other things too. I’m looking forward to trying out this crust.

I’ve had both outside time and sewing time this week, so this scrappy top got finished.  And I finished the scrappy backing and cut binding and batting as well.  So now I have TWO quilts to longarm.  But I’ll take a break and just piece some blocks from the leftover scraps from this LOOOONG, but fruitful, project.  This quilt is the 10th from cutting up the Cotton+Steel stash starting last fall.  All but one have been sent to family members. I have a few Churn Dash strips left, so I’m making those into scrappy blocks that are far less planned.  They are cute.  And two bins of cut 3 1/2 inch squares.  And two sacks of smaller squares that I’ll probably sew into 4- or 9-patch blocks.  Who knows?  I don’t.

Friend Betsy Maislen helped me with the name for this quilt, which has a targeted owner—a great niece—who lives in Wyoming:  “Wyoming Mountain Crossings.”

It is still 99.5% Cotton+Steel.  But the pieced backing came from my stash for the most part.

I’m not sure to where this day has disappeared, but now I’m going down to sew a bit.

It just started to RAIN.

Turkey Tracks: August 23, 2022

Jackpot Will Go Traveling

It’s been a week of waiting for information from the Sweet Pups Nation Rescue and Sanctuary about the health of the transport dogs and Jackpot, in particular.

One upshot is that none of the adult dogs got the virus. Only the puppies got it. When Glenna (president of SP’s and lead summer driver) turned around in Tennessee last weekend, she ensured that the puppies got to medicine before the virus got worse for them. Otis, the one puppy who was so sick, went straight to the hospital when Glenna got home and is stable and recovering. This week, Glenna also took Otis to the renowned A&M vet hospital about 4 hours away from her so she could understand more about the virus. Otis will not transport until fully recovered.

All the puppies are now fine. Some have stools that are loose, but no diarrhea and no blood. All puppies will go to the vet tomorrow for a final check. Jackpot is eating and drinking, and Glenna sent me these pics of him on Sunday. He likes water! I wonder if he will actually swim. AC Slater loved water, but wouldn’t get his back feet off the ground and just take off swimming.

I’ve seen this look before: it’s “what is that thing you are pointing at me and is it going to hurt?”

He seems quiet—and I think he is not totally feeling well yet. He is on some pretty strong meds. He may be a laid back dog, but…how can he NOT be fairly traumatized? Born under a tree to a mother who was tied up, separated from his siblings when rescued, lots of medical interventions all at once (multiple vaccines, neutered, heartworm meds, maybe worming meds, microchip jab), the transport process, and then getting sick. And now, another vet visit and the transport again.

I long to give him constant love, stability, fun outings, toys, great food, and to see happiness and play fill up his eyes. LOL. I also hope to get him potty trained fast. Hope is the operative word there.

Anyway, Glenna is going to leave on Thursday. And she and her grandson Joey are getting the van ready again. Here’s a picture from last time—I suspect the view is from back to front. Loading the cages is clearly a science in and of itself.

The transport method is to move the dogs as quickly as possible over these long distances—this one is 2000 miles. So the driver drives like a long-haul trucker, with just a few rest stops. Night is probably good as it would be cooler.

Glenna is attached to several of the transport dogs. One is Roux. Here’s how Roux traveled on the last trip. Asleep on Glenna’s arm.

Glenna is passionate about her dogs. She is a saint. For sure.

And I look forward to meeting her in person.

Turkey Tracks: August 13, 2022

Peaceful Moment

I spot mowed yesterday. The front grass needed mowing. There was also one spot in the back and the grass along the driveway.

When I finish mowing, I always love how tidy and pretty the grass and gardens look—even when yesterday the garden plants are falling over from the drought and the grass has huge brown patches. I stood on the front porch for a minute, looking out to the garage, watching the whirlygigs whirl, and hearing the windchimes at my back.

Sweet Pups has an alternative driver, but he was in North Carolina. They will get a new schedule organized this week. Meanwhile Sweet Pups President and driver Glenna is home resting and being monitored by her doctor. She is an amazing person and works so very hard for the dogs she rescues, saves, and keeps in the Sanctuary.

Turkey Tracks: August 7, 2022

Drought, Deer, Puppy Food, Quilt Top Finished

We didn’t get any of the possible rain predicted during this last week, and temps went higher.

We have a serious drought here—with grass and fields turning brown.

I think the drought is part of why the deer is eating my green plants in the garden. She did serious damage Friday night. I didn’t spray when I saw her last week, as I thought we would get rain and was going to wait. That was a mistake, for sure. I sprayed yesterday, so we will see.

I’ve also spent HOURS researching what to feed a puppy. Can I just say that the first ingredient on the Purina Puppy Chow is whole grain CORN, followed by chicken by-product MEAL and soybean MEAL, meat “flavors,” and host of what are likely really cheap chemicals. No wonder dogs today are as sick as people. This food is starchy and a chemical brew. There is NO WAY I can put this crap in a bowl for any living creature to eat. This…. This is a great example of what has gone seriously wrong in this country in my not so humble opinion.

Note: I completely understand why the rescue organization uses this food. They are operating on a shoe string financially and are doing the best they can. This food has got to be better than what these puppies were getting while their mother was tied under a tree and at the mercy of owners who should be immediately tied to that tree for the rest of their lives. I can’t imagine what the mother or the pups were fed, which is why Buster Brown was sick when rescued. The carelessness of some people with regard to pets just does not amaze me, but hurts my heart.

Right now, stop! And google “Maggie’s Song” by Chris Stapleton and listen to it.

Feeding puppies is tricky. I could feed an adult dog real food in my sleep—and have with the last 3 dogs I’ve had over the last 20+ years. Puppies need higher levels of zinc and calcium and an appropriate balance between calcium and phosphorus, for two things. And the need for appropriate omega 3 fats. And whatever recipe one uses, it has to contain balanced nutrition or it can cause problems. Plus, too much of some nutrients can also cause problems.

So, I’ve learned a lot about raw food recipes, where to get things like whole beef and whole chicken ground with bones and organs, and a whole bunch of new ingredients for me that provide needed nutrients (powdered kelp, hempseed, green lipped muscle powder, krill oil, and more).

I am old enough to remember when dry dogfood wasn’t around. My grandparents fed dogs kitchen scraps, and most lived to ripe old ages and looked really healthy. I don’t know what else these dogs ate, but it wasn’t dry dog food. And meds like heartworm preventatives weren’t around—so these dogs had to have pretty strong immune systems. I did just fine with my last 3 dogs—the two rat terriers lived to be 16 years old, and AC’s coat and teeth were awesome.

But I can do better, and I have some recipes with which to start. It is also important to change out or combine protein meat sources to prevent the development of food allergies. I’ve found places that ship the meat proteins I need, and now I’m hoping they will arrive without mishap, still cold, etc.

It’s all a very interesting journey…

Once Jackpot is 1 year, I can use many more recipes that are suitable for adult dogs and that can be sourced easily locally.

I will also use Milk Thistle in a herbal form to help him detox from all the puppy vaccines, heartworm and worming meds, etc. And Slippery Elm is on the way to help with any diarrhea he may get. He’s had a long journey and will arrive tired and stressed.

I finished the “Wyoming Stars” quilt top and am now piecing a backing with the last of the Cotton+Steel bigger fabric pieces.

This block has fascinated me as when used without sashing it makes the most interesting secondary patterns.

I chose to make the block center dark, but when sewn to other blocks a pattern of light and dark squares forms. Also a larger light diamond forms with a star at the center. Then there are the x’s and long diagonal lines that form.

It’s busy, so the dark border contains/stops the business. I think it will need a light binding, and I have enough of one more bigger fabric to use for binding that is a sort of tan neutral.

It’s going to be HOT here today. And there is no rain in sight of any appreciable amount for the next week.

But Jackpot’s journey to me will begin this week, and he arrives next Saturday. The new dog beds and toys are here, and my life is about to drastically change. Again.

I’m excited.