A Wedding Celebration in Maine

August found us in Blue Hill, Maine, attending my niece's wedding. What a beautiful event! The bride and groom gathered friends and family to a field, black and white cows watching from one side, the bay sparkling in the distance opposite, and said their vows under a perfect blue sky.

My gift to them was, naturally, a quilt.

It is quite a traditional quilt, comprised of Ohio Star blocks alternating with solid blocks and framed with a red zig zag border. I think this arrangement allows each star to sparkle a little, and provides space for the quilting to stand out. Each star is different, and though I used mostly traditional fabrics, they are in bright, saturated colors which gives it a youthfulness appropriate for the recipients.

I quilted it, block by block, on my long-arm machine, using my own simple design for the stars,

and used the pre-loaded designs from QuiltPath for everything else.  The triangle designs in the red portion of the border match up so well that it looks like a continuous pattern.

After the wedding we spent several days in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. Our plans were so last minute that we couldn't find accommodation in Bar Harbor and ended up in Northeast Harbor. This was fortunate as Northeast Harbor is far quieter than Bar Harbor. A two minute walk from our hotel brought us to the dock where we hopped on a boat for an evening cruise of the harbor. We saw seals, osprey, cormorants,

lobster boats,

and hundreds of lobster buoys, each one painted in its owner's colors.

We were also blessed with a brilliant sunset.

No visit to Acadia is complete without an exploration of its carriage roads, a legacy of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who financed and directed their construction in the first half of the 20th century. They wind up and down and around, crossing stone bridges (also part of Rockefeller's legacy), passing ponds and coastal views, and through dense woodlands. They are all wide and gently graded, perfect for enjoying on foot, on a bicycle, or in a horse-drawn carriage.

If you are up for a little more excitement, you can tackle the Precipice Trail, which is described as a non-technical climb.

It requires climbing fixed metal steps,

and steep, narrow stone steps.

We went very early in the morning, and quickly emerged from the thick ground fog.

 It was a great way to end our short visit to Acadia.

What Happened to October?

How is it that October has come and gone and I have yet to write a single post?  I think it must be because I haven't made significant visible progress on any big projects.  Nothing really jumped out as being worthy of a post.

Instead I have been gathering ideas, planning new quilts, experimenting on new things, and working on lots of bits and pieces. The highlight of the month though was a trip to New England to visit the girls.  In addition to catching up on their activities of the last six weeks, we watched them play volleyball, met teachers, and enjoyed brilliant fall colors and crisp air.

The bits and pieces include a pile of "broken dishes" blocks made with scraps. Assuming I alternate them with solid squares, I am halfway to a twin-sized quilt.

Broken dishes

I made lots of pieces for a string quilt, ultimate design still to be determined.  Right now they are of so many different sizes that I suspect they will turn into multiple quilts.

"Strings"

For a quilt with a more precise and traditional design I began a set of Ohio Star blocks.

Ohio Star

I also began a portable knitting project, Rowan's "Peggy" pattern with Debbie Bliss Rialto 4ply 100% Merino wool, which I work on in spare moments. The front, shown here, looks oddly small, but it is very stretchy due to the ribbing.  I guess I'll know if it is stretchy enough when I join it to the back and try it on.  The directions aren't much help because the gauge is described as "28 sts and 36 rows to 10 cm measured over rib when slightly stretched using 3 1/4 mm needles." What does "slightly stretched" mean?

"Peggy" by Rowan

New England in mid-October was certainly a feast for the eyes.

Looking east from the NMH campus

Eva took us for a carriage ride around campus.

Memorial Chapel

I must say that an open carriage is a wonderful way to take in the colors.  I hope that I can match nature's exuberance in my quilts.

Eva and Kara

Historic Deerfield

During my most recent trip to Massachusetts I visited Deerfield, a village first settled in 1669 by the English who were attracted to the rich alluvial soil found along the Deerfield and Connecticut Rivers. To this day the town retains its original plan, a number of 18th and 19th century homes on their original sites, and much of the land continues to be farmed. Historic Deerfield was founded in 1952 as a "living history museum," dedicated to preserving the cultural history of the area along with buildings, furniture and other decorative arts.  Similar to Colonial Williamsburg, though on a much smaller scale, the village and its houses, barns, and shops serve as the museum.  Most furnishings are displayed in situ, in the context of their original use, rather than as gallery pieces, thus giving a good idea of what life was like in the past.  Photography is not allowed indoors, except in the Flynt Center gallery, so I have a limited number of photos.

Sheldon House

Stebbins House

I, of course, was particularly interested in the textiles such as bed quilts and hangings, samplers, and clothing and accessories. Much of the workmanship on these pieces is exquisite. Note how the stars on this 19th century quilt are all of a consistent size with nice sharp points, and how the quilting is done with tiny, even stitches.  The Ohio Star block is one of my favorites.  I have used it in several of my quilts and will likely use it for the corner blocks of my compass quilt.  (More about that in my next post).

Cotton quilt, 1830-50

The Historic Deerfield collection includes some beautifully vibrant needlework pieces such as this idealized, bucolic scene, "Shepherdess in Landscape with Gentlman and Animals.

Pictorial needlework, c. 1780, silk, wool, linen

I have always admired this style - how can one not be cheered by the optimism displayed in such a scene?  I think it would be fun to work a piece in this genre, in a bright palette with wool that fills the entire canvas.  Quite a contrast to the cotton on linen piece that I completed in 2006.

Pear Orchard Farm,* cotton on linen

Mourning pictures were another popular needlework genre two hundred years ago and included a variety of symbolic elements, such as weeping willows and urns, which indicated death.  Eliza Ely of Saybrook, Connecticut, incorporated both of these into her 1807 piece and left space to add the name of a loved one upon his or her death.  She used silk and silver metallic thread for her stitchery.  The watercolor is thought to have been done by the framer and the ink faces and figures by a more experienced artist.

Mourning needlework

Here is another example of the weeping willow and urn symbols, this one on a gravestone in the Northfield, Massachusetts, cemetery.

Gravestone of Aaron Lyman, 1841

Like many cemeteries, the one in Northfield is a lovely place to walk. We often stop in cemeteries when we are rambling around unfamiliar places, and never fail to learn or see something interesting.

Northfield Cemetery

*Design by Kathy Barrick-Dieter