Tag: Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke

Turkey Tracks: “Winter: Dawn Trees” quilt

Turkey Tracks:  May 8, 2018

“Winter:  Dawn Trees” Quilt

This quilt is my own design, and I really love the way it came out.  I am a bit fixated on winter trees anyway, and, also, on the amazing Maine winter dawn light that coats the earth with a marmalade color that I love.  Winter in Maine is, actually, very colorful.  I chose the purple of the trees based on the purple shadows that appear over the snow in winter.

The quilt started in a workshop with Amy Friend (blog:  during quiet time) that used her newly issued book IMPROV PAPER PIECING.  I drew the three blocks on what was then EQ7.  I have since upgraded to EQ8.  (The other quilt that came out of that workshop was a big star made with Cotton+Steel fabrics–see below and see an earlier blog post).

Right now the quilt is hanging in my quilt room–which is a bit messy as I’m packing for a weekend quilty retreat.

Sarah Fielke’s “The Seasons” in the book she co-authored with  Kathy Doughty:  MATERIAL OBSESSION 2.

I also have a bare trees pattern designed by Carolyn Friedlander which I may start next winter.  I love the pattern.

Here’s the Cotton+Steel Big Star Quilt:

Amy is a marvelous teacher, and the way she teaches her students how to design their own patterns is…wonderful.  And surprisingly easy.

 

Turkey Tracks: The Four Seasons Quilts

October 3, 2014

The Four Seasons Quilts

 

I have spent large time chunks this summer making the Coastal Quilters’ 2015 challenge:  The Four Seasons.

We could do one of the seasons, or all four.

We had a length requirement, but could use a range of sizes for the width.

These challenge quilts will be hung at our state show, mounted by the Pine Tree Quilters Guild, in July 2015.

 

I was inspired by the banner show from Italy at the Machine Expo in Manchester, New Hampshire, last spring.  These seasonal banners were hung by the separate seasons–and you can see them in an earlier post here.

But here’s a reminder–here’s spring:

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And I used an idea done by Sarah Fielke in the book by Sarah and Kathy Doughty, MATERIAL OBSESSIONS 2.

 

Fielke supplied the idea for the tree crown–made with a wedge ruler–and the template for the tree trunk.

 

Here are my “Four Seasons”:

Spring:

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Summer:

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Here’s a detail of the pearl cotton quilting used in all the quilts:

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Fall:

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And my favorite, though “Fall” is a close second, Winter:

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Turkey Tracks: My 100th Quilt: Centurion

Turkey Tracks:  June 20, 2014

My 100th Quilt:  Centurion

 

For those of you who have followed this blog over the winter, here are all the big hexies I mostly hand-sewed–and shared along the way–sewn into the quilt.  This pattern is from MATERIAL OBSESSIONS 2 by Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke.  There are two versions of ways to use these big hexies–all made with a little “kite”-shaped template.  This one is Kathy Doughty’s.  But I have to tell you that I love Sarah Fielke’s version as well and may well make it as a wall hanging one of these days.  I so enjoyed this project.  I wanted this 100th quilt to be something special, and I certainly think this quilt is spectacular.  If I had one thing to do over, it would be to make the border bigger.  Kathy did, and I wish I had made it 9 inches instead of 6 inches.  I’m not sure why I didn’t, actually…

Note that the rugs are out of the living room being cleaned.  They will be back next Friday, I think.  And in a few weeks, this couch will be replaced by one with a sort of cream-colored cotton slip-cover that can be washed.  This quilt will live in this room–and the picture above the couch–which dates from early on marriage–will be replaced with another picture or a quilt…

 

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Here’s a close-up of one block and the corner treatment.  I had so much fun picking out the fabrics for each block.  As this is still a “scrappy” quilt made from my stash–except for the borders and the connecting diamonds–I didn’t pay much attention to how the blocks would work together…  I just had fun with each one…  See the chickens and bees?

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Here’s a close-up of that connecting diamond.  The big blocks, ideally, if one read the directions carefully as someone now writing did not as she was too excited to see the whole block together, are NOT sewn together fully but left in half–which allows the long diagonal line to be sewn–which makes installing the diamonds a snap.

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I quilted with a cream thread with a pantograph called “12-inch Simple Feathers” by Anne Bright–and it was perfect.

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Here’s the backing fabric–which I thought about for the front big border until fellow quilter Jan Kelsey said she thought the gold fabric a better choice.  (Thanks Jan!)

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I am looking forward to seeing someone curl up under this quilt with a book!  Remember, think cream slip covers…

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Turkey Tracks: April Update

Turkey Tracks:  April 7, 2014

April Update

 

We are finally getting some warm weather, and near me, the Megunticook River is thawing out fast.  I was a little shocked when I went by Megunticook Lake Sunday on my way to see Rose Thomas as the Lake is still pretty frozen.  This view is from the top of Barrett Cove, looking north.  (This lake is 15 miles around and filled with interesting islands and “necks” that jut out into the water.)

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The ice looks bluer towards the middle though, suggesting thinness.

Chickie Diva Queenie has been healed up for some time.  I have only been waiting for the night temps to get warm enough to risk her in the coop.  She can’t take any more frostbite probably ever in her life.

She did not seem unhappy in her kitchen box, but on a bright sunny day last week, I put her outside.  She prowled the yard, scratching and digging, but not getting near the other chickens, who did not seem to notice her.  That night, she came to the back door and when I opened it, she came right in, and hopped in her box.

The next day, I put her out again, and she wanted to come right back inside.  I had planned to clean out the coop, so I gathered up the buckets and the shovel and started to work.

What followed was shocking!

The chickens found her and immediately attacked her.  Even the rooster.  They weren’t trying to dominate her.  They were trying to kill her.

I rescued her from where she had wedged herself behind the sandbox and the house wall.  Her comb was torn again, and she had wounds on her feet again.  She was dazed and stunned and so happy to be put back into her box.

I consulted with the chicken whisperer Rose Thomas, and we formulated a plan to integrate her into Rose’s flock, which is larger and far less territorial.

So, on Sunday, I took her to Rose.

Rose’s chicken house is a lot bigger than my little coop, and there are MANY egg boxes.  Diva Queenie put herself into one and seemed quite happy.

 

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Rose has three roosters at the moment–Guy, the father of my rooster Pumpkin; the brother of Pumpkin; and Merlin, a guina rooster who is ferocious.

Rose distracted her flock by throwing them some scratch feed to them while we put Queenie into the chicken house.

 

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I called Rose this morning.  Queenie is just fine and is out in the yard with the rest of the flock.

* * *

Look at these–I have 12 out of 15 done and have another one half done now.

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Here’s a close-up of one:

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This large “hexie” is made from the kite shape you can see with the dark blue.  I first saw a quilt made with these medallions at Alewives, a quilt shop in Damariscotta Mills, Maine.  The hexies get linked by big diamonds, and the pattern comes from the book Material Obsession 2 by Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke.  Other blog entries here show their TWO quilt versions using this block.  Rhea Butler made the quilt at Alewives.

I’ve finished the red/green quilt, which remains nameless so far.  It’s loaded on the long arm.  It’s pretty big–I used 7 yards of fabric for the backing–a Kaffe Fasset I bought on sale about a year ago.  And I had to piece a column of about 20 inches to get enough width for the long arm–which was fine as I used up a lot of orphan blocks.  I really draw the line at buying 9 yards of fabric for a quilt backing when I’m only missing ten or so inches.  With the long-arm, I need about 5 extra inches of width on the sides, but I could always put on a temporary outside border that would come off when the quilting was done as well.

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I  am going down to Manchester, New Hampshire, with Gail Galloway Nicholson this week to the big MQX show (Machine Quilters Expo)–where we will both take some classes.  I am taking both pantograph and free-motion quilting classes for the long arm.  So…it seems to make sense to wait until I get home to quilt this quilt.  The pantograph class may change how I currently quilt with a pantograph.  Also I ordered a different green quilting thread as I did not like the color I thought I would use.  Funny how that happens…

So, here’s my current project:

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I am sewing together colorful 5-inch blocks from my stash.  I will put a 3-inch border on this grid and use it to cut out “Lil Twister” blocks.  Here’s a clue of what I am talking about:

 

Lil Twister block images – Google Search.

 

Canton Village Quilt Works has a very nice tutorial on how to use the Lil Twister tool.

 

Turkey Tracks: Friday Night Update

Turkey Tracks:  January 17, 2014

Friday Night Update

It’s 4:04 p.m., and it is not pitch dark yet.

But, soon.

And, soon, spring will come, too, as the days are growing longer.

We have been having a January thaw for the past week.  We can see green grass again, and there is still lettuce in my cold frame.  Imagine that…  Beneath all that snow…

I HAVE TO ORDER SEEDS!

The chickens are laying again.  Rosie, the Copper Black Maran, laid her first egg since, I don’t know, October?  The Americaunas molted in the fall and started laying again a few weeks ago.  They are, once again, looking posh with all their new feathers.  Beauty, who is so ugly I called her Beauty, laid all winter–though the shell to her eggs is very thin.  She is so friendly and sweet.

The Diva, who I think is Queeny, is in the kitchen, resting, healing (one hopes).  Her neck still looks pretty bad, but her eyes are bright, and she’s eating.

The brother of my friend Linda, who house sits for me and cleans, was standing beneath the edge of a roof with lots of ice on it.  A slab broke loose and hurt his arm, side, and leg and broke his foot.  Last Tuesday, in the middle of our January thaw, Linda went to get into her minivan, slipped on hidden ice next to the van.  Her face is all bruised, and she broke her wrist.  She drove herself to the emergency room.

Of course she was not looking for ice; everything had melted off.  And that’s when the ice is the most treacherous.  When you think it’s gone.  Now she and her brother visit each other, each nursing a broken bone, and laugh wryly.

I talk to her every few days to see if she needs anything and to remind her to go slowly.  The loss of income is very serious for her, of course, and I will pay her same as always, work or no work.  She is so good to me in so many ways–I can’t even begin to tell you all she did for me when John was so sick and how she has cared for me this past year.

Today I went to Belfast (about 40 minutes north) to the big Coop for ground chicken for the dogs and green things for me.  AND to pick up this amazing herbal powder from Dr. Herzig, a holistic vet, that keeps Miss Reynolds Georgia bright and busy tailed.  She thinks she’s a puppy again, which is great since twice now I have been sure she was not going to live through the night.  For about three months this summer I had to gently force feed her.   Anyway, it was nice to get out a bit.

Celtic Solstice:  I put on the white border yesterday.  And got one triangle border on when I realized that I had TWO blocks with the orange going the wrong way.  Mercy!  I took the rows apart and turned the blocks, and the job was easier than I had expected.  When I finish here, I’m going to make a cup of tea and put on the other three borders.  Tomorrow I’m going to a big quilt fabric sale to get some green or blue to finish this amazing quilt.  And, the backing and binding.  There are so many seams that I do not want to piece blocks for the back.  It will be so hard to quilt if I do.

“Sails Up and Flags Flying,” the bright orange quilt,  is loaded onto Lucy the longarm, and the great yellow thread has come in the mail.  So….  Tomorrow, maybe…

Here’s a block to remind you…

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And one of the really fun things I’ve learned from Bonnie Hunter is to take the time to “swirl” your seams on the backside of a block as it cuts down on bulk when it’s time to quilt the layers.  See the little tiny squares in the middle of each block–that “swirling” means two layers of bulk, not four.  Bonnie has detailed instructions under the four-patch unit “clue” of Celtic Solstice on her quiltville.com blog.  Look for the “Celtic Solstic” mystery information.

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I have been hand-sewing blocks for this great quilt–pictures below–from Material Obsession 2 by Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke, both from Australia.  I have not decided which layout to use yet.

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I am kind of leaning toward the second one, but maybe making it a bit bigger.  I have almost finished two blocks and have cut out pieces for the third and chosen fabric for a bunch more.  I am getting obsessed with the beauty of these blocks.  I’ll take some pictures tomorrow.

BUT, if I do the first layout, it might make a great quilt for the red guest bedroom…

Who knows?  It’s a work in progress…  And I’m just having fun.

It’s dark now.  I’m going now to lock up the chickens, fix dinner (stuffed green peppers and baked squash), make a cuppa, and sew.  And to listen to what is likely the final part of P.D. James’ Devices and Desires, which has been wonderful, wonderful.  James is a master of murder mysteries.  This book is so full and rich and so full of depth.

Tonight after watching two Castle episodes from season 2–which is really all about watching Nathan Fillion whose Firefly series got cancelled way, way too soon (Josh Whedon, and  the movie Serenity kind of finished off that series)–I’ll read another big chunk of Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, which I’m really enjoying.

And, oh my gosh!, when checking spelling for Fillion, I realized he’s also in Buffy the Vampire Slayer just a bit, which Josh Wheden also did!!!  I’ve always wanted to check out that tv series…ever since Julie Powell wrote Julie and Julia (from her blog about Julie cooking her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking) and spoke of her delight in Buffy…

If you don’t have dog-eared volumes of Child’s Mastering the Art of…, you might want to get at least the first one and cook around it a bit.

Life is so full of wonderful surprises some times…