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Wednesday, October 18th, 2006

Call me simple-minded. Apparently, it does not take much to amuse me. This afternoon, as I was chatting with my dear, ninety year old friend, on the phone, I happened to spot a cat in our yard. He was hanging out, all scrunched down, by a pine tree that Jim planted a few years ago. The black cat, with a white “bib,” was intending to “hunt,” but what was he after?

Then, I spotted small birds swooping low, flying back and forth, and the cat was ready. On several occasions, he leapt into the air about four feet, but was unsuccessful to grasp a bird in his claws. He went back to laying low and then thought he spotted something in the garden. He crept daintily, putting one white paw after the other, slowly proceeding ahead. When he reached the garden’s edge, he pounced purposely into a bunch of dead Coreopsis, but again came up with nothing good to eat. Goodness knows what he thought he saw.

This was high drama, but nothing compared to another situation I’d been observing. First, there had been a ladybug climbing up the outside of the window. When I looked again, I saw a spider. Then, I realized that the spider was building a web around the ladybug, saving this tender morsel for another day’s lunch.

I was so distracted by the cat and by the other creatures, I had a difficult time concentrating on the telephone conversation, even though my friend and I always have vital things to discuss. Today, we talked about the cost of things in Canada, the Iraq war, and the state of health care. She has not lost any of her mental acuity, and is as sharp as ever. She tells me that she always learns something new every time we talk, and I would have to say the same.

Nature is wonderful, and sometimes the struggles of life and death in that world, go unnoticed. Yet, we all have just one life to live on this earth, and any life is important to the being that is experiencing it, even a ladybug.

Those are my musings for the day.

Pat, from the Spider’s Web

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Tuesday, October 17th, 2006

Today, we put the finishing touches on an article about our trip to the north country (northern Maine, and Canada). I purposely left out certain details of our trip like a description of the “haddock swam through it” chowder, or as the natives say, “chowdah.” Though there were few ingredients to be found, it was very tasty and also very welcome on the cold, rainy day it was consumed.

I hope that you will enjoy the account of our adventure. Being people watchers, that is always half the fun of going anywhere. The human race is an interesting assortment of creatures and is infinitely amusing.

The link to the article is this:

Pat from the Spider’s Web

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Tuesday, October 17th, 2006

This week is International Credit Union Week. There are more than 157 million credit union members worldwide, so it is easy to see that the not-for-profit, member-owned organizations are alive and well.

Last Tuesday, a new exhibit devoted to my father’s life and Credit Union work was unveiled at America’s Credit Union Museum in Manchester, New Hampshire. Invited guests and dignitaries attended. The three speakers included Peter Hildreth, State Banking Commissioner, Denise Caristi, CEO of Granite State Credit Union, and me, the youngest daughter of John E. Grace, a man who founded a total of seventeen credit unions in the state during his lifetime including Utility Workers Credit Union, now called Granite State Credit Union.

John Grace was Manager/Treasurer of Utility Workers Credit Union that served members who worked for Public Service Co. of NH, and the Manchester Transit Authority. In June 1945, two months before the end of World War II, he founded UWCU. He started the organization with a $15.00 deposit which in today’s world would be the equivalent of about $169.00.

In March, I had called the CEO and had offered her a framed photo of my Dad. He passed away in 1974, and no one knew much of anything about John Grace, if they even remembered his name, so it was a great surprise to her to hear from me.

Based on ephemera and photos, I wrote a book about his life, one dedicated to the service of others. A very religious individual, my father belonged to many organizations, not the least of which were men’s Catholic groups and labor unions. Part of his success in establishing credit unions was his ability to give speeches and to network. His sense of humor and pleasant ways won hearts, as did his humility. He built the credit union via personal contacts and the trust of all who knew him as an honest man.

He was active in civic affairs and always participated in any way in which he could to help the two communities where he lived during most of his life, Manchester and Deerfield, NH. Now he is at peace, next to his wife of many years, and surrounded by the monuments of neighbors and friends he knew in the sleepy little town that was his last home. The praying hands that are carved into his/their gravestone tell the story of a faith-based life.

In ending my talk at the museum event, I quoted Robert Frost who once said that everything he had learned about life could be summed up in just three words: “It goes on.” Proof of this statement was clearly apparent, if one looked at the audience. Four of John Grace’s seven grandchildren, and three of his ten, soon to be eleven, great-grandchildren were in attendance. At three months old, and two years old (two of them), they are too little to understand the special event now, yet it is important that they were there. The two youngest boys in the greater family will have newspaper photos of themselves to “remember” the day. The cheap viagra online pharmacy newspaper published on Monday, October 16, 2006 celebrated International Credit Union Week with a series of articles in the Business section.

Sometimes, something happens that will never be repeated. Even though my Dad never sought personal recognition or credit for anything he did, I can’t help but hope that he would be pleased with this posthumous tribute. I greatly appreciate my father’s contributions to his family and to the world at large, and I miss him dearly. Were he alive, he would be 95 years old. Although he lived to be only 63, he embraced life fully and gave it his best.

The museum exhibit will be in place for awhile, so if you are in the area, you would enjoy a trip there.

I am so thankful to America’s Credit Union Museum and Peggy Powell, Executive Director, for her assistance in planning the museum exhibit for my Dad. I salute Granite State Credit Union for underwriting the museum exhibit. Jody Ducharme, an employee of GSCU, was absolutely terrific in her attention to details while planning the special day. The designers who created a display panel and put together a display case of Dad’s artifacts, did wonderfully well. All who worked on food preparation outdid themselves. I am happy that so many friends and family members could be at the gala museum opening. Two nieces traveled all the way from California, and my son came up from Rhode Island. To all who helped in any way, if only by being present, we thank you for sharing this special event.

Patricia Cummings

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Sunday, October 15th, 2006

Due to a glitch in the system, my previous post got wiped out. So, I will try again to describe a bit about our recent trip.

Below is an Old Fisherman of the Sea monument that is located in Eastport, Maine, the easternmost city in the United States.

statue of a fisherman in Eastpoint Maine

This past week, we traveled north as far as St. John’s, Canada. The further north we drove, the more distantly spaced were the houses, and the more wildlife and birds could be seen. We were very excited to spot our first Bald Eagle, in the wild, near Eastport, Maine, the easternmost city in the United States.

We also saw two moose, both of them in Maine. One of them was walking across a field, and the other, a 400-450 lb. young, male moose, was lying on a carry trailer. He had been hit by a truck and was being taken home by people who live in the Bridgton, Maine area, to provide food for the winter. We saw groups of deer in fields, and one large buck that crossed the road just two cars ahead of us, near Calais, Maine, a border town. We very much enjoyed Calais and found several antique shops there.

Except for the topography, Canada seems a lot like the United States. Restaurant chains, like KFC and McDonald’s provide food that is somewhat equivalent to their American counterparts. One difference is that the road signs and historic landmarks are in both English and French. Everyone was warm and welcoming.

We were able to visit the Ross Memorial Museum in Canada, a Georgian style home that is decorated with material culture from its owners’ world travels. The place was closed, but we were allowed to look around because the curator happened to be there, preparing for the designers to decorate for Christmas. She told us that more than eight hundred children visited the house at Christmas time last year and each was given a homemade cookie. Choral groups and a harpist were on hand to make the season truly festive.

Of course, while we had hoped to find an open quilt shop or possibly antique shops, the real reason for traveling to the north was to see the landscape and to visit the ocean areas. We saw some lighthouses, the large Bay of Fundy, and Irving Park, an amazing natural area that was worth the trip, in itself.

We enjoyed the intoxicating and fragrant smell of Balsam Fir trees, and especially liked the moss-lined floors of some of the forest areas. The moss was so thick, it looked like a green carpet. A narrow, one-way dirt road took us around Irving Park, an island from which there were wonderful ocean views, from on high.

We are so happy to be home. While traveling is fun, we really enjoy the comforts of home and are more than thrilled to get back to home cooked meals, our snail mail, and our computer!

Pat

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Tuesday, October 10th, 2006

Just recently, I mentioned Monarch butterflies in one of these blog posts. As we were going into a building on Friday afternoon, a low growing, flowering plant near the entrance was being visited by a Monarch butterfly. It was SO beautiful! I remarked that we never have the camera with us at such times!

Well, yesterday morning, that situation was remedied. Jim was out back in the garden, pulling up the tomato plants that had been hit by heavy frost the night before. He then decided to come around to the front of the house to pick up “trash” on the sidewalk. Lots of people throw candy wrappers and cigarette boxes and used beverage containers, and other irritating litter there, as we try to keep things picked up. On his way past a stone container he’d constructed last year, that contains three Chyrsanthemum plants, he spotted a Monarch butterfly, among the honey bees and bumble bees. No, wait! There were two butterflies, no, three, …and then, no, four!!

He raced into the house to alert us and grabbed his camera on the way out. My niece and I went out, just in time, to see these magnificent creatures. She told us that during butterfly migration, there are huge numbers of them in a tree, right near her sister’s home in northern California.

I never tire of seeing butterflies.

monarch butterfly

Butterflies were a symbol of hope especially during the Great Depression, and therefore, they show up on many a quilt and coverlet from that era. In some cultures, butterflies symbolize the human soul.

Have a great day!

Pat

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Saturday, October 7th, 2006

In New England, we are very blessed to be surrounded by the color green. We have green lawns, green fields, and green trees. Of course, the leaves of deciduous trees, like maples, beech, and others, turn to brilliant colors in the fall, attracting another kind of green (tourist dollars) for which most merchants in the north country are grateful. When the leaves fall off those trees, we still have the spruce, the pine, the firs, the hemlocks, and others that remain green, year round.
After having lived in the middle of two deserts, one in California, the other in Arizona, I appreciate the lush foliage of my home state of New Hampshire. There is still a lot of green left here except for the clear cutting to build yet more houses so that more green can be put into the pockets of developers. Actually, to me, it is good news that the housing market, around here, is slowing down a bit.

Last Sunday, there was a PBS show about a man who believes in green: Mayor Daley of Chicago. The mayor has been encouraging community members to plant the city’s rooftops with grass and trees and flowers, and to maintain green parks.

Although the mayor was first derided for this plan to “green up” Chicago, more and more citizens are helping to implement the goal. The idea is to provide better air (plants process carbon dioxide and release oxygen). One man even has a bee-keeping operation on top of one roof where he provides flowers. The bees like to be high and warm, so they are busy producing honey.

When I think of the color green, I remember Kermit the Frog and his song, “It Ain’t Easy Being Green.” I recall the beautiful gemstone, Emerald, and I definitely think of the shamrock and the country that gave us St. Patrick (for whom I was named)…and my ancestors.

The color Green is a cool color, as colors go. It is the direct complement of Red, which is why the two look so well together, as in say…holly and red berries.

People react strongly to color. Today, just for fun, think about your favorite colors, and your least favorite ones, too. If you are an artist, you may naturally gravitate toward your favorites. To grow as an artist, challenge yourself to slowly incorporate colors into your work that you favor less.

Just a few musings about the color green…

Have a wonderful weekend.

Until next time,

Pat from the Spider’s Web, http://www.quiltersmuse.com

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Friday, October 6th, 2006

Milkweed is a wild plant that is apt to pop up anywhere. Certain caterpillars eat the leaves of the milkweed and become Monarch Butterflies. These butterflies, overwinter in Mexico, a fact that I find hard to fathom when I think how far my home is from Mexico and how long it takes me, by jet, to get to California.

Milkweed has another use. Did you know that some women have used milkweed “silk,” as batting? The silky strands are very thin and delicate and hold a seed at one end, inside the milkweed pod. As the plant matures, the pod cracks open, and the wind will carry the silks airborne, along with the seeds, so that a new crop of milkweed will grow next year.

I have not heard of anyone recently who has tried to use milkweed silks for batting. Many strands would be required to fill even a miniature quilt, let alone anything larger. The strands would also have to be well-dried before use, to prevent them from growing mold in an anaerobic environment. I suspect that the quilt could not be easily hand-quilted.

People, in the past, were natural conservators. They utilized everything that was at their disposal, and were, at times, quite innovative. We don’t have to rely on such products as milkweed silks for batting these days.

There are many alternative types of batting available, in various degrees of blends. Basic types continue to be the natural fibers of cotton, wool, or silk, but we also have polyester now. Battings vary a great deal, according to how they are prepared, and which company is producing them. Many of the old quilts I’ve seen have had wool battings. After all, New Englanders had sheep available, and were most often making a quilt to keep warm during the long winters.

milkweed pods
Mature Milkweed Pods are found in October, in the New England countryside.

If anyone knows of a quilt that was made with milkweed batting, please share the details, and a photo, if one is available. We would love to hear from you. Write to: pat@quiltersmuse.com

Pat

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Wednesday, October 4th, 2006

One of the delights in having a garden is growing Jerusalem Artichokes.

Before you say that you don’t like artichokes, I have to mention that the roots of the plants above are not anything like the traditional artichoke that one would buy in a restaurant. They are not slimy, nor hard to eat.

The tall spiky plants, related to Sunflowers, have yellow flowers with brown centers. Curiously, the flowers smell like chocolate. The part of the plant that is edible is the root. Each looks like a small potato with extending nodules.

The roots can be harvested, beginning in October, and they are good “winter keepers,” if kept cool in a root cellar, or in the refrigerator. Sliced, the root is a crispy addition to a salad.

Jerusalem Artichokes can also be made into “Topinambour Soup,” which I have made only once, using a great recipe from Yankee magazine. I prefer the crunchiness of the raw vegetable.

Of course, when harvesting, it is important to leave some roots in the ground for next year’s crop. The plants are prolific and spread nicely, as you can see from the patch that grows beside the gate to our vegetable garden.

This root is a good source of trace minerals, vitamins, and fiber, all essential ingredients for good health. I don’t know how well this plant would grow elsewhere, but it is very acclimated to New England growing conditions. You might look for this vegetable at your local supermarket, just to give it a try. Maybe it’s “an acquired taste,” but one that we both enjoy, and sliced Jerusalem artichokes are great for dipping into onion dip, clam dip, or other holiday dips.

We have come to love root vegetables: especially potatoes, parsnips, carrots, beets. Some of these (except for beets) are great to add to Beef Stew, another hearty New England favorite. See our recipe at: http://www.quiltersmuse.com/beefstew2.htm

Hope you’ve enjoyed this post.

Pat from the Spider’s Web

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Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006

Bill Staines, a New Hampshire folksinger/songwriter, is someone whose words have inspired at least a few quilters. He has been around for awhile and his decades-long career has touched many lives. One quality of Bill’s songs is that the lyrics serve a purpose other than to add to noise. They are meant to be heard and understood. Some of them are profound in their simplicity.

A quilt based on “All God’s Critters Got a Place in the Choir,” was on view at the Vermont Quilt Festival a few years back. I was inspired to make a quilt, too. a wall hanging that is based on the imagery of Alaska, as described in the song, “Redbird’s Wing,” inspired the quilt. A photo of it can be seen on our website in the “Power of Music” file.

If you enjoy folk music, Bill Staines is one artist whose work you will want to know. His prolific songwriting has produced lyrics that appeal to all ages.

Until next time,

Pat

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Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006

Most of us, in quilt history circles, know what the letters, UGRR, represent. We also are aware of the controversy about the purported association of quilts used as message conveyors on the Underground Railroad, a theme presented in “Hidden in Plain View,” a book published in 1999. While a few quilt historians, , one historian is taking a slightly different approach.

If you are an educator, you will want to read all the literature on this topic, including my writings. To the list, add “Unraveling the Story,” by Barbara Brackman (Kansas Heritage magazine, Vol. 14, #3, Autumn 2006, page 8-12). This publication is available by calling (785) 272-8681. Be advised that the magazine is in short supply, and is in heavy demand. Just so you know, the cover price is $3.50 and shipping and handling is $3.00 for U.S. residents.

Brackman appears to propose that teachers use a little poetic license as they link accurate historical accounts to quilt names, (“such as Slave Chain, Underground Railroad and Lost Ship”), even though no documented, historical connection may exist, in order to “add layers of symbolic meaning to a quilt’s visual beauty even though they have no historical connections to quilts of the Civil War era.”

She further states that, “Escapees had no codes to guide them. They had to rely on the kindness of strangers and the North Star. Far too often their escapes were failures.” You will find the article to be a fascinating look at this topic.

Barbara Brackman includes these words about her upcoming book that were published on an online list: “We can look at my pattern choices as an exercise in poetic license. Every artist knows the importance of symbolism in personal expression. Quilt pattern names are a form of poetry, imagery that can evoke the past and words that can add layers of symbolic meaning to a quilt’s visual beauty. In this book I give ideas for using pattern names as well as color and fabric style to create quilts symbolizing the story of slavery and freedom.“
Brackman’s book: “Facts and Fabrications,” may be available as early as November 21, according to amazon.com. We are all looking forward to reading the book.
Pat