Healing Quiltmaking and Jim Crow Segretation: "The Colored Car" by Jean Alicia Elster

Last weekend we visited Leon & Lulu's wonderful home decor store for their annual Books & Author's fair. We visited with 18 Metro Detroit writers of all ages and genres. 10% of the proceeds from book sales went to the Oakland County Literacy Council so of course we had to buy some books.

One of the books I found was Jean Alicia Elster's "The Colored Car" based on her own grandmother's experiences growing up in Detroit and traveling from Detroit to Tennessee in 1922. Ms Elster garnered stories and recipes from her grandmother.

The Ford family lives in Detroit where Douglas runs a saw mill and his wife May uses her home economics education to put up food, sew clothes, and run the household. Several family recipes are included in the text. They live in a working class neighborhood of immigrants. May grew up in Tennessee and has not been back in nine years. There had been a terrible flood in her hometown and May decides it is time to go home and see her family again. She decides to bring her young daughters along.

Her eldest daughter Patsy is 12 years old, just taking over her brother's family chores now he is helping in his dad's business. The train trip seems a big adventure. Her mother has sewn new clothes for the girls, and they wear white gloves for traveling. They sit in upholstered seats and are served delicate sandwiches. But in Cincinnati they must change trains to ride in the "colored car". It has no cushioned seats and a stove spews out smoke. Patsy resists getting on. She had never encountered the Jim Crow laws of the south before.

How Patsy deals with her collision with a new reality is the focus of the second half of the book. Her grandmother gives her fabric to start her first quilt, a Fence Rail quilt. She tells her granddaughter that she is to put all her pain into the quilt. When the quilt is completed she will be free of the bad memories.

Patsy has been profoundly disturbed by her experience. The family faces another crisis but things turns out okay. There is drama in the book, but nothing to give a child nightmares. Ms Elster explores serious issues in context of a charming family's life.

As I was talking to the author I learned that quiltmaking played a role in the book. How cool was that? She was not a quiltmaker herself, but her family had many.

To make the Fence Rail quilt Patsy's grandmother gave her fabric to cut into 1 1/2" x 6 1/2" pieces. Patsy was given a brass thimble and shown how to use a running stitch to sew the quilt. Once the blocks were made she set them together and quilted the with a running stitch. What happens to the quilt? Read the book and find out!

For an interview with the author visit SORMAG"S Blog.

As Ms Elster notes in the forward to her book, the history of civil rights can be traced through lawsuits against the railroads. One early crusader was the formidable journalist and activist Ida B. Wells who appears on my quilt I Will Lift My Voice Like a Trumpet. Like Patsy, Ida resisted being sent to "the colored car" and started a campaign. Read more about her here:
http://www.biography.com/people/ida-b-wells-9527635#later-career
http://people.duke.edu/~ldbaker/classes/AAIH/caaih/ibwells/ibwbkgrd.html

On a personal note, my mother told me of her first train ride from Kane, PA to Albany, NY to see her grandparents. Mom was only five and had never seen a person of color before and the porters were African American. She asked my grandmother, "Why is that man brown?" My grandmother wanted to end the discussion and told her "Because he is made of chocolate." Well, my mom went up and bit the man on the hand! It was quite a shock to all involved.

Perhaps biting that poor porter taught Mom that we all have the same color blood; we all feel the same pain.

Americans carry a heavy legacy.

The Colored Car
Jean Alicia Elster
Wayne State University Press
ISBN-13:978081336069
$14.95

Stranger Than Fiction: James Smithson's Legacy

The Stranger and The Statesmen by Nina Burleigh has a subtitle "James Smithson, John Quincy Adams, and the making of America's Greatest Museum, The Smithsonian." So when I saw it at the book sale at the West Branch library I had to pick it up.

"Not another John Quincy Adams book" groaned my husband.

There is precious little John Quincy Adams in the book. JQA saw the Smithson bequest as an opportunity to fulfill one of his presidential goals: to build an observatory. Or at least a center for scientific research and public education, something badly needed in America at the time. It was an uphill battle. No one really cared. The money was spent in buying bad bonds and was nearly lost. The intellectual Adams understood the need. Being the champion of lost, but "right", causes was his forte. He took on the role of defender of Smithson's intention.

There is not a whole lot about James Smithson (born James Macie) because little is known about him. All of his papers were destroyed in a fire at the Smithsonian before they were cataloged and studied. The man was an enigma in his lifetime. He was the illegitimate son of the man who became Duke of Northumberland and a wealthy widow named Macie. James was small, a loner, in poor health, intelligent, and intensely focused on his narrow interest in the chemistry of rocks. No records of relations with women exist. He loved gambling. He spent most of his life on the continent.

No one has ever understood his decision to give his inheritance to a country with which he had no connections. Young America was no haven of the arts and science. The people were pragmatic and more interested in practical and applied science.

The books offers a detailed view of Smithson's times. There are plenty of strange characters and lots of amazing insights into society of his time. I cringed and guffawed, truly glad I did not live in such a barbaric time when children were thrust into cold baths to "harden" them, women went nine weeks between hair arranging, tuberculosis left men medical eunuchs, and the White House had an outdoor privy.

Burleigh's writing is lively and she keeps things interesting. But the book is limited in scope, and incomplete in its history of the museum. We learn more about Smithson's society than about his legacy.

For a CSPAN interview with the author see http://www.c-span.org/video/?178941-1/book-discussion-stranger-statesman
For an excerpt that appeared in Smithsonian Magazine see http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-stranger-and-the-statesman-148893159/?no-ist

The Stranger and The Statesman
Nina Burleigh
William Morrow 2003
ISBN 0060002417

How Books Helped Win WWII: The American Services Editions

When Books Went To War: The Stories That Helped us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning concerns the 1,200 paperback book titles printed by the War Department for distribution to American troops through the American Services Editions (ASE). The impact of this program was enormous. It finessed a new format for books that increased sales; by 1952 paperback sales exploded and by 1959 outpaced sales of hardbound books. Books previously ignored or forgotten were propelled into best-sellers. People who had never read a book for pleasure became lifetime readers and were inspired to take advantage of the GI Bill's college education. In 1947-48 half of college students were veterans.

What book-loving reader could resist a book about how books became more valued than chocolate by soldiers? An Army medical officer contended that the ASE were the greatest "improvement in Army technique since the Battle of the Marne."

The author places the conception and growth of the program against a concise description of the historical context and progress of the war. Hitler's massive book burnings purged Germany of books which did not support his policies and beliefs. WWII was a "war of ideas" and the dissemination of books was a proper response.

What started out as a book drive turned into a special format publishing program that distributed thousands of books. Contemporary fiction was in most demand. Authors who especially appealed to the men included Katherine Anne Porter's stories and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.  As was pointed out in Why We Read, The Great Gatsby was 'rediscovered' through it's inclusion as an ASE book. Books that recalled to mind their lives back home, made them laugh, or helped them deal with the deep emotional responses to their situation were valued.

Studies dating to WWI had shown that books had a "therapeutic" quality, enabling people to understand the difficulties and experiences they had experienced. Recent studies have concluded that reading literature, as opposed to genre fiction or non-fiction, increases one's empathy and emotional intelligence.

The material in the book is well researched. A list of the 1,200 books and their publication dates is included. My son (writer of the blog Battered, Tattered, Yellowed & Creased) had already told me about this, which motivated me to request this book when I saw it on NetGalley. I very much enjoyed this book--it is a "feel good" ride for book lovers! Books save the world!

I had picked up a copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn a few years ago, not having read it since I was a teenager. After reading how it was much in demand among the troops I decided to put it on my to be read shelf.

When Books Went To War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II
Molly Guptill Manning
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN 9780544535022
$25.00
Publication date: December 2, 2014

Gridlock: Giddyup Political Quilt

I have been working on a new quilt that uses vintage handkerchiefs and linens--and a new flag bandana. It is inspired by "Gridlock", a"Giddyup" donkey block I received in exchange for a unicorn linen. I have had this quilt in mind for many months. 

The Know Your Presidents handkerchief stops at Eisenhower, as does the Republican Presidents handkerchief. The Democrat Presidents handkerchief ends with L. B. Johnson.

 The linens are from 1952--a special year to me.

I was going to use two more political handkerchiefs. But I decided to keep to the red, white, and blue color scheme.

I am considering one more set of borders, likely pieced.

Caleb: A Novel by Charles Alverson: Rise from Slave to Union Hero

Bostonian indentured servant Caleb has been sold into slavery. Boyd Jardine buys Caleb on a whim, later discovering that Caleb is more than strong--he is educated and intelligent. Jardine grooms Caleb for tasks befitting his skills, and eventually Caleb is running the plantation. In the evenings he cozily reads the newspaper to his Master.

 Jardine treats him well, even providing a "wife". The likelihood of escape is small with bounty hunters combing the countryside for runaways. But Caleb wants freedom badly. Master Jardine proposes a win-win situation: Caleb will go into boxing and keep his winnings, while Master Jardine places bets to win more money--which he will split 50-50 with Caleb. This way Caleb can buy his freedom.

Life after freedom offers limited opportunities for an educated free black man. War has broken out, and Caleb finds himself in the Union army.

I read this book in two sittings. The writing keeps the reader's interest and the later half is action-packed. Reader reviews are generally positive.

Caleb feels like a mythic or legendary character, or a character from a Graphic Novel. As historical fiction this book has little realism. This slave world is just too comfortable. Master Jardine is a trusting and enabling master and Caleb is a veritable Frederick Douglas clone. This is a tidied up version of the "peculiar institution" that brought about the United State's most important crisis. There is no surprise to the ending.

The book a lot of action, and good characterization. The worst violence is in the boxing matches, and there is no graphic sex scenes. Overall, it was a good read, but not impressive literature.

Caleb by Charles Alverson
Lake Union Publishing
ISBN-13: 9781477826232; ISBN-10: 1477826238
Publication date:

Charles Alverson is a prolific writer who was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Rolling Stone magazine and who wrote the screenplays for Jabberwocky and Brazil.

Anna Karenina, a New Translation by Rosamund Bartlett

When I saw that Oxford University Press had a new translation of "Anna Karenina" available on NetGalley I decided it was time to revisit the novel. Rosamund Bartlett is a Tolstoy scholar and her translation was remarkably readable.

The novel explores marriage through the stories of several couples.

The title character, Anna, is a remarkable woman with great inner and outer beauty who wins everyone's love and esteem. But she has never loved her husband, a workaholic man twenty years her elder. When the debonair Count Vronsky falls in love with Anna and pursues her she resists for a year then gives herself to him. Eventually Anna leaves her husband. Even when her husband forgives Anna he won't divorce her, believing that divorce would leave her unprotected should Vronsky abandon her. Unable to wed, Anna and Vronsky cannot appear in society as a couple, leaving and Anna feels isolated and alone. Plus, Anna has been separated from her son. She becomes emotionally frail and dependent on morphine, her insecurity and neediness pushing Vronsky away.

Levin loves Kitty who rejects his proposal because she thought she was being wooed by the more exciting Vronsky-- until Anna came along. Levin returns to his farm and struggles with the meaning of life before he and Kitty are reunited and married. Marriage is a struggle, full of clashes and misunderstandings, and yet the marriage survives and Levin finds a kind of faith and happiness.

The fading Dolly is married to the philandering Oblonsky, Anna's brother. She struggles to provide for her children while her husband spends money he does not have, enjoys society, and enjoys his women.

Anna should have been happy having the man she loved, a man who loved her. She frets constantly: should she ask for a divorce; she feels the loss of her son; she chafes at the isolation of her position. She reads and educates herself and takes on a ward and enjoys being her teacher. She and Vronsky have a daughter together. Vronsky badly wants to marry Anna and give his name to their children. Anna decided not to have more children, fearing it will ruin her figure and compromise her sexual attractiveness to Vronsky. Jealously and doubt are fed when Vronsky needs a life beyond a happy home and he enters into local politics.

Everyone knows how the story ends. We first see Anna when she arrives by train to help her sister and brother-in-law's marital troubles. A man is killed when he falls in front of her train--a very obvious foreshadowing.

What stuck with me this reading was Anna's use of drugs to sleep, and the question of how much her addiction affected her. Was her anxiety, depression and eventual suicide a result of cocaine use? Tolstoy does not address this issue. Drug addiction to morphine was not uncommon in the 19th c. My brother and I read From The Narrow Passage by David T. Gochenour, a distant relative. His wife was a secret addict when they married, and her unreliable behavior sent him to practice medicine on a ship for many years, traveling to Alaska and the Philippines.

It is hard to understand why an intelligent woman, living with the man she loves, and with no concerns of health or money, would fall prey to her imagination. From today's perspective, the use of drugs helps to explain her vulnerability. But it was not an issue dwelt on by Tolstoy.

Anna Karenina has long chapters that reveal Levin's position as a landowner, employer and farmer, which were hardly engaging to read. I just could not get into agricultural reform and labor problems after the freeing of the serfs. Sorry, Levin. I appreciate that Tolstoy included Levin's interests as part of his quest for meaning and faith. Attitudes of the characters on these issues reveal their values and personality. And it was in this work that Levin finds solace and meaning.

I was surprised to come across the stream-of-consciousness passages when Anna was at the train yard looking for Vronsky, and where she ultimately opted for suicide. This was a new device in literature. I felt the method very well illustrated Anna's internal conflict, her inability to focus and control her feelings or reason.

Broiderie Anglaise from
http://www.needlecrafter.com/articles/art02_00.html

Kitty nurses Levin's dying brother, bringing her Brodiere Anglaise needlework with her. It was not a term I was familiar with. "English embroidery" was a whitework embroidery involving punched holes in the fabric finished with satin stitch. We are quite familiar with the mass produced versions--eyelet cutwork lace.

Articles on this translation say it is closer to Tolstoy's original, revealing his style and word choice better than previous translations. I did notice times where a word was used three times in two sentences, and it bothered me. I was interested to learn that it was Tolstoy's choice.

I am glad I read Anna Karenina again. I am not sure I will read it again in my lifetime. This was a good translation for my rereading.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Translated by Rosamund Bartlett
Oxford University Press
ISBN 9780199232086
$29.95
Publication date November 15, 2014

Art, Friendship, Love, Sex and Inventing Modernism

Before reading Priya Parmar's book Vanessa and Her Sister I knew very little about the Stephen family and the Bloomsbury Group. I had read many books by Virginia Woolf and E. M. Forster. I recognized the names of Roger Fry and Vanessa and Clive Bell, and knew that Lytton Stachey wrote Eminent Victorians. John Maynard Keynes I knew was an important economist. But I had never studied them. I requested this book from NetGalley hoping to learn more.

The story is presented through the fictional pages of a diary kept by artist Vanessa Stephen, sister of Virginia Stephen (who later married Leonard Woolf). Their brother Thoby Stephen brings home his Cambridge University chums and they form a weekly meeting to discuss art and life and to gossip about their friends. They each go on to prominence as artists, writers, publishers, art critics, and philosophers. Interspersed with the diary entries are letters and telegrams to other group members, sent by Roger Fry, Leonard Woolf, and Lytton Stachey. The Bloomsbury men shifted their relationships between friend and lover, some later entering into relationships with women as well.

I was quite charmed from the first by Vanessa's voice. Although she tells us that Virginia insists she is not a "word" person, Vanessa is lyrical and visual in her descriptive language. Virginia needs careful handling; she can be charming and witty, cruel and selfish, and is prone to emotional breakdowns. She has also perfected the art of manipulation, and is always self-centered. Vanessa raises doubts about her sister's sexual orientation, and some thought that Virginia only ever loved her older sister Vanessa.

At first their gatherings seem splendid and full of fun with Thorby as the center. After his loss things go awry, and relationships alter. Vanessa marries Clive Bell, and Virginia jealously tries to inveigle herself between them. Alliances shift, lovers trade off, stodgy 19th c values are flaunted. We think the 1960s were radical? This group was breaking all the rules in the first decade of the century!

The novel ends rather in the middle of things, with the author offering a brief description of what became of the major players. The more well known group members included the author E. M. Forster; author Virginia Woolf ; artists Vanessa and Clive Bell; biographer Lytton Stachey; art critic Roger Fry and artist Helen Fry; artist Duncan Grant; poet Rupert Brooke; economist John Maynard Keynes; Leonard Woolf, Civil Service and later publisher and husband to Virginia.

I went online to research and learn more, and there was a lot more to learn. I suppose all books have to end somewhere. I would have liked to read about another decade or two about them. It was like a soap opera bred with High Art to produce a tale about geniuses throwing themselves against all the 'artificial' boundaries, trying to reinvent art and life.

The Virginia Woolf Blog has articles on Virginia and Clive Bell's flirtation. See Vanessa's paintings at  http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/artists/vanessa-bell.

Vanessa and Her Sister: A Novel by Priya Parmar
Random House Publishing House-Ballantine
Publication Dec 30, 2014
ISBN 9780804276378
$26.00

There and Back Again

This past weekend we went to Grand Rapids, MI and stayed with friends. My husband attended a seminar on self-publishing and my friend and I went to all of her favorite thrift and consignment shops. I found some great vintage fabric.

 I had to get this cotton towel.

On our way home on Sunday we stopped at the Williamston Antiques Market. I bought some vintage handkerchiefs.

There were quite a number of quilts, nothing uncommon or mint. They also had loads of glassware, china, and pottery.

 

How about a bathing costume? 

We stopped at the Tanger outlet mall near Howell where I found some cute fox oven mitts at the Corelle store. Shiba Inu owners like foxes because Shibas are so fox-like in appearance. So of course I bought a set!

Last stop was Ray's ice cream, a local store with it's own ice cream. I had Coconut with dark chocolate sauces. Yummy!

I received my order of Gatsby fabric. I had ran across this line while noodling around online last week. I have it in mind to make a Gatsby quilt. More on that later.

Recipes from the October 1962 Family Circle Magazine

The October 1962 Family Circle Magazine recipe sections included roasts, meat pies and seasonal baking.

"Apples and spice make these desserts nice." Pictured is an Apple Crown Cake, Apple-Snow Souffle, a Banbury Apple Tart, and an Apple Cobbler Pie.

The Apple-Snow Souffle is "fluffy light and refreshing with a now-and-then bite of apple--and it unmolds beautifully."
Here's the recipe:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Coat a 4-cup mold with butter; dust lightly with sugar; tap out excess.
2. Saute 2 cups of sliced, pared and cored apples in 1/2 stick of butter, stirring often, for about 20 mins or until golden but not mushy. Set aside.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Stir in 3 tablespoons flour and a dash of salt. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in 2/3 cup of milk slowly, stirring, and add 1/2 tsp of vanilla. Cook, stirring, until it reaches a boil. Cool.
4. Beat 3 egg whites until they form peaks.
5. Beat 3 egg yolks, gradually adding 3 tablespoons of sugar. Blend in cooled sauce, then apples. Fold in beaten egg whites.
6. Pour into mold. Set mold in baking pan filled with water and place on oven shelf. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes,, or until puffed and firm and in the center when touched.
7. Remove mold from pan of water. Let stand, away from drafts, until cool, about 15 minutes, and it will hold its shape when turned out.
8. Loosen edge with knife; cover with serving plate; turn mold upside down on the plate and lift off. Spoon 2 tablespoons of Grenadine syrup over and ut into wedges.

Roasts were a special dinner in my household. This magazine offers 5 roast recipes making 10 meals. It also included meat pies, like the Continental Veal pie in the photograph below. Other meat pies included Beef and Kidney, Canadian Pork Pie, Crisscross Chicken Pie, and Clam Digger's pie.

Here is the recipe for the unusual Clam Digger's Pie:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

1. Prepare a package of pie crust mix, or make your own, to create two 12" rounds to fit into a 9" pie plate. Place one crust in the pie plate.
2. Drain two 11 ounce cans of minced clams reserving 2/3 cup of the liquid in a bowl. Add the clams, 3/4 cup of milk, 2 beaten eggs, 1/2 cup unsalted soda cracker crumbs, 1 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper. Spoon into shell and dot with 2 tablespoons of butter.
3. Roll out other pie crust and cover pie. Cut slits to let steam escape. Trim overhang to 1/2" and fold under flush with rim and flute.
4. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake another 30 minutes, or until golden.

Carolina Rice advertising photograph

They caught the dreaded bacon-snitcher in the act! Bacon has had a revival today.

What would be served for "casual get-togethers" in 1962? One menu plan included Sea-food Lasagna, Savory Green Beans and Romaine-cucumber salad, a fruit and cheese tray, bread sticks, and Expresso with lemon peel. Sounds healthy enough.

Here is the recipe for
Seafood Lasagna
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Cook a 1/2 pound of lasagna noodles in boiling water with olive oil added to prevent sticking. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and cover with cold water.
2. Thaw 2 cans of frozen condensed cream of shrimp soup in a large saucepan, stirring. Stir in 2 7-ounce cans of king crab meat. Heat until bubbly.
3. Blend 1 pound of cottage cheese and 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese with 1 cup of chopped onion, 1 beaten egg, 2 tsps of basil, 1 tsp of salt and 1/3 tsp of pepper.
4. Lightly oil a 13"x 9"x 2" baking dish and line with a layer of noodles. Top with half of cheese mixture, another layer of noodles, and all of the crab sauce. Arrange four sliced ripe tomatoes on top. Sprinkle with 2 tsps of sugar. (Casserole can be chilled for later use at this point, just let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes first.)
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes; Sprinkle with 1 cup of grated Cheddar cheese and bake 45 minutes longer, or until crusty brown. Cool for 15 minutes and cut into 8 servings.

Here are some of today's versions of Seafood Lasagna:

Cooking Light's Seafood Lasagna uses canned crabmeat and fresh shrimp, low fat cottage cheese, and no-cook lasagna noodles. http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/seafood-lasagna

The New York Times version uses fresh seafood and half-and-half. http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/474-seafood-lasagna

Stoneyfield uses Greek yogurt and adds lobster and has less fat. http://www.stonyfield.com/recipes/seafood-lasagna

And Eating Well has an even lower fat version with almost no cheese. http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/seafood_lasagna_lasagna_di_pesce.html

October 1962 Home Decorating: When Turquoise Was King Continues

The October 1962 Family Circle magazine's feature story was on furniture arranging. The photos show a nice overview of decorating styles in '62.

I love this cover arrangement with the wonderful MCM settees, the console, and the octagonal coffee table. The blue, green and gold fabric on the settees is way cool. That antique gold/green carpet is an unusual color.

The next photo is their "conversation sparking" arrangement, an area adjacent to the dining area. Very traditional, but with an aqua/turquoise color in the upholstery, drapery, and even the table runner.

The "interest wall" was the focal point in the room below. If you don't have a fireplace or window as a focal point, they suggested creating one. Here walnut boards are supported by metal keyhole strips and brackets.

The colors of blue and green are more primary in tone, but the rug and chair appear a deeper turquoise in the original photo. Can you find the television? It's almost a Where's Waldo moment, the television is so tiny compared to today's monstrous ones. Who needs a "focal point" when the television has taken that role?

In the next photos the windows are the focal point of the rooms. The upper photo has "no wall-hugging sofas or chairs," a definite turquoise color scheme, and is quite informal with floor pillows and a window seat.

The lower photo shows a room with two focal points, the fireplace and the window. They suggest alternating the placement of the sofas: at right angles to the window in summer, and in front of the fireplace in winter. The couches, wall, and drapes are turquoise in the original photo.

Dual purpose study/guest room includes a day bed. The bed covering is a turquoise and brown floral print, and the drapes a deep brown in the original photo.

The photo below shows more great MCM furniture in turquoise with a matching rug. Notice the great wall unit with shelves, drawers, and flip down desk. Is that is asphalt tile flooring, or perhaps linoleum? In 1963 Dad redid our bedroom floors with linoleum tiles.

A traditional Colonial look with a brown couch in the foreground and chairs across from it. The paneling on the walls was quite the rage. Our 1966 house has wood paneling in the family room and Dad had installed it in the basement in 1972.

And last of all, a sleeper sofa in a turquoise print has matching chair and lamp, a turquoise and golden colored rug, and  a painting with deeper blues. The table has a magazine are, and is to the side for easy opening of the sofa bed. On my monitor the turquoise is showing up green. :(

A nice article on fall flower arranging has some great photos.  

Green Heroes Completed. Finally.

I finally completed my quilt on ecologists, naturalists, nature activists, writers, legislators, and other "green" heroes. I started it in 2012. I embroidered the portraits and names on green and set the blocks with a green leaf print on black.

Aldo Leopold, "A Sand County Almanac" author

I wanted to try something new. I decided to quilt images representing the different 'heroes' achievements. I don't think it is really successful. There is too much unquilted space.

I found the dark border fabric very hard to quilt. I used a green thread darker than the block fabrics. I quilted around the leaf shapes in the inner border and did a Methodist (sometimes called Baptist) fan in the outer border.

I hated doing the quilting, every one-and-a half spools of thread of it. Partly because the dark fabric made it hard to see the quilting, but also because I was so unsatisfied with the quilting...perhaps because I could not see it! I started it on my quilt frame, but found it was hard on my back and switched to a hoop.

The quilting took all winter and all summer and into the fall. It was packed up for three months or more because of moving. I lived in three addresses while I worked on it.

To illustrate how I did the quilting design, here is John James Audubon.

I chose his turkey illustration for the left side area behind his head.

Here is what the quilting looks like; I turned the photo into black and white so that the stitching shows up better.

Lois Gibbs, the grass roots organizer of Love Canal, has the danger sign on the left and a house and swing set on the right. I wrote a blog post about her on Nov. 5, 2012 found here: http://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2012/11/my-green-heroes-quilt-lois-gibbs.html

It is one of my posts with the most traffic.

For Pete Seeger, the Clearwater sloop is in the background to represent his work with the Hudson River "Clearwater" Revival. 

And of course his banjo with it's famous saying also appears in the quilting.

I finished the binding today while watching Ken Burn's series The Roosevelts on TiVo. Teddy died in the episode I was watching. Of course he is on my quilt because of his work creating the national park system. 

Only a few of the drawing used for the embroidery were created by me. The rest were drawings from Better World Heroes "Eco Heroes," There are twenty "heroes" on the quilt.

Audubon

Rachel Carson

Wendell Berry