Turkey Tracks: Improv Quilt Blocks

Turkey Tracks:  June 19, 2016

Improv Quilt Blocks

I took some time this week to play with scrap fabrics and improv blocks.

Funky flowers emerged:

IMG_1341

Maybe they need at least one leaf on the stem–so they don’t look like lollipops.  I’m thinking that would not be hard to applique in a leaf.  It would be easy to open along the edge of the stem to insert the bottom of the leaf…

Or, I could make a leaf with green thread–either by hand (pearl cotton!!!!) or machine quilting.  (You know how I love pearl cotton, so you can guess what I’m likely to do here.)

That’s improv for you…

Here are close-ups of two blocks:

IMG_1343

IMG_1342

It would be easy to remove the top and bottom strips when it comes time to use these blocks.

For the most part, the fabrics are coming out of my scrap bins.

I sorted those bins this week and threw out all the too-tiny pieces.  Yes, I could sew them together and make fabric, but the pieces I threw were really small and mostly triangles.  Maggie Schwamb gave me permission to do it.

Yeah Maggie!

Turkey Tracks: Red Poppies

June 19, 2016

Red Poppies

I love the red poppies that bloom in Maine in June.

I have a small bunch of them.

The poppies are outstanding this year.

IMG_1347

Buddha is happy to have this new spot this summer.

IMG_1345

St. Francis wanted to live alongside the garage this summer:

IMG_1348

I see him and think about his gentleness and love of nature every time I go into the garage–which is several times each day.

June Derr’s Sungazer Indian is on the front porch this year.

And Bedo likes his spot along the drive so went out there again.

I’ve shown you these guys many times, so will not repeat.  Just making the point that I honor all who show us paths to the mountain top.

Especially this week…

 

 

Turkey Tracks: My Design Wall is Crazy

Turkey Tracks:  June 10, 2016

My Design Wall is Crazy

…or I am…

My goodness!!

IMG_1334

Have you ever?

Mina’s quilt is on the long arm as well.

The top quilt is working as a leader/ender project using the red/neutral four-patch blocks from summer before last.

The left project is Amy Friend’s “Tell Me A Story” quilt.

The far right project blocks are the “quilt-lets.”  I’ve almost caught up now.

The middle are scrappy, funky blocks for the group of four making blocks for each others’ attempts at a Jen Kingwell kind of scrappy, modern, “evolving” quilt–see earlier posts on this project.  But, we are each making multiples of four to share with each other.

IMG_1335

The sacks pinned to the left side of the wall are filled with blocks in various stages for the group project–we’re going to give each other our blocks in late summer some time–and with parts of blocks for the “Wild and Goosey” foundation piecing project for my youngest granddaughter.  (That one will take some time to finish.)

What you can’t see is the bedroom bed on this floor covered with piles of fabrics, the hexie quilt waiting for its borders, the blue/neutral quilt waiting for two more rows, and supplies for the Farmer’s Wife and Katja Marek blocks.

Oh my goodness!!  It’s bedlam for sure.

But, I am having fun.

Turkey Tracks: Salt Water Bays and Alewives

Turkey Tracks:  June 10, 2016

Salt Water Bays and Alewives

I made a run down to Alewives Quilting in Damariscotta Mills, Maine, on Thursday.  Mary Sue Bishop went with me.

Mary had never been the back way into Damariscotta Mills that skirts around the edges of the salt water bay that rises up to meet Damariscotta Lake.  Here’s where folks built a fish ladder that now lets the alewives get into the lake to spawn.

It was a gorgeous day, and the fields were filled with flowers:  buttercups, white Marguerite Daisies, lupine in shades that range from purple to pinks to whites, are among spring’s offerings.

I stopped and took this little video.  Note how the wind is blowing the grass.  Truman Capote called this effect “the grass harp.”

Here are some still pics:

Mary riding shotgun.  We ran into each other in town on Wednesday, and we both had on spring green sweaters.  Today we both had on turquoise.  It’s funny the way friends can do this kind of thing.  We laughed over it.

IMG_1330

IMG_1331

I forget every spring how gorgeous the lupines are and how many of them are along the roadsides.

IMG_1333

Turkey Tracks: Friday Garden Day

Turkey Tracks:  June 10, 2016

Friday Garden Day

It’s once again time to mow.  I also weed-whacked and blew off the porch.  The latter is not easy for me as the blower is heavy and cumbersome.  And, the oak tassels were sticking in the spaces between the back deck planks.  But, the porch is so pretty when it is all ready for summer.

IMG_0936

Some really good sitting, reading, eating, and visiting takes place on this porch every summer.

IMG_0932

IMG_0935

IMG_0937

The flower pots are filling out now…

IMG_0938

The violas are loving our cool June nights.

IMG_0933

IMG_0934

I found this poor creature when blowing near the table.  I have a hummer feeder on this back deck.

IMG_0931

His feathers glowed iridescent in the sun.

They are so, so tiny.

Did he run into the window?

I don’t have so many this summer.  Not like years past…

I worked for some time in the veggie garden before I got hot and hungry.  I’m ready to plant the warm weather crops now, but our nights have been so cool yet.  We dipped down into the high 40s last night.

Interesting Informaiton: “Your Medicine is in Your Pantry”

Interesting Information:  June 6, 2016

“Your Medicine is in Your Pantry”

Here’s a really nice piece by Karta Purkh Khalsa that walks one through common herbs that are also quite medicinal–especially if you know when to use them.

Here’s a quote:

Food has been the medicine of humanity since the dawn of time. Many herbs that we associate only with seasoning our food are, in fact, potent herbal medicines.

Enjoy!

Source: Your Medicine is in Your Pantry | GreenMedInfo | Blog Entry

Turkey Tracks: Pea Soup Fog and Rain

Turkey Tracks:  June 6, 2016

Pea Soup Fog and Rain

We had pea soup fog yesterday…

IMG_1317

I love the grass when it gets this high.  Soon it will by cut and made into hay.

Note that you cannot see the woods beyond the barn.

I love these “soft” days.

IMG_1318

And in the night, a drenching and must-needed rain.  We are hoping for more tonight.

I dashed up to Belfast for groceries and dog food.  Then, I sewed.

Mina’s quilt is half done–on the long arm.

I finished a quilt-let.  This one”sings” to me.  Look at that pieced center!!!

IMG_1320

IMG_1321

Very cool to work on these blocks…

And I finished another Farmer’s Wife block.  No. 42.  This one was actually pretty easy.  Six more to do for this month.

IMG_1319

Interesting Information: Video: The Dark Side of Pet Vaccination

Interesting Information:  June 5, 2016

Video:  The Dark Side of Pet Vaccination

We love our pets so much.

We want to do the best we can for them.

As with our own health, since health care is now an industry, we must be careful to whom we listen.  We must research.

This video shows the problems and links to a web site with information.

I could also point you to Ted Kerasote’s book PUKKA’S PROMISE, in which he discusses his considerable research on how to make the best decisions for your beloved pet.  There are blog entries here on this book

I can also tell you that when I was little, the house dogs ate table scraps as dried dog food had not been invented, did not have vaccines beyond rabies, and lived to ripe and healthy old ages.

Here’s a blurb that begins to describe the video:

Allergies, skin problems, behavior changes, autoimmune disease, seizures, injection-site cancers — these are just a few of the well-documented adverse vaccine reactions in dogs and cats. Pet vaccination is much more harmful than most people underastand.

Source: The Dark Side of Pet Vaccination

Interesting Information: “On Being Right and Eating Animals”

Interesting Information:  June 5, 2016

“On Being Right and Eating Animals”:  Dr. Kelly Brogan

Here’s a lovely piece:  food for thought, for sure…

If it is one thing the discovery of the microbiome is revealing, it’s that we all have very different workings inside, depending upon the health of our microbiome and the chemistry of each of our particular systems at the moment.

There is no ONE SIZE FITS ALL way to eat as a result.

So, what’s behind the attempt to control what everyone else eats?  Fear, maybe, fear of not being in good health, of loss of control in other areas of life, of risk of something new, etc.

I personally believe there are some foods that fuel most of us in healthy ways, but I also recognize that the healthy food spectrum that works best for individuals is long and wide.  And I believe that fake foods, tainted foods, and sugar-based foods will cause disease.

Dr. Kelly Brogan is someone to whom I pay attention.  Here’s the start to her very thoughtful piece:

“Too many of us blindly put faith into different authorities, but when it comes to personal health and diet, your self knowledge and gut intuition should be your guide.”

Source: On Being Right and Eating Animals | GreenMedInfo | Blog Entry

Turkey Tracks: Alewives Quilting Visit

Turkey Tracks:  June 4, 2016

Alewives Quilting Visit

I made a run to Alewives on Friday.

And I fell in love with this sample quilt:

IMG_1315

IMG_1316

I love everything about it.  The color palette, a way to use small pieces of fabrics (my crumbs, my crumbs), the quilting, the graphic nature of the quilt.  I could go on…

There’s a pattern, of course.  You can see it pinned to the quilt.  And Alewives is easy to contact, and they ship.

Maybe I have to go back…

I finished another “quilt-let.”  (Katja Marek’s quilt-along project–and I am slowly catching up.)  There is a hexagon at the center of this one.  I’m wishing I’d done it in the lime green of the fabric…  Oh well.

IMG_1314

Here’s block 41 of the Farmer’s Wives blocks.  I’m trying to keep the pace of two a week going.  So, I need to make another one for this week, and I’ve almost finished it.  this one is called “Granny” I think.  Simple, but complex too.  That’s a good Granny.

IMG_1313

I wish that I could send you the perfume that is filling my yard.  Lilac, petunia, and much more that is fragrant.  It’s a spectacular lilac year this year.

IMG_1310

Spectacular.