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Saturday, October 31st, 2009

Ever since purchasing the book, buy pfizer, by Stephen Seifert and Liz Schwartz, I have been a fan of their work. In April 2000, I began making a wall quilt that they call, “Country Roads Quilt.” I finished the quilt and gave it to my niece in California for her birthday in October 2000. I thought she’d enjoy the autumn scene in this quilt that I called, “Covered Bridge in Autumn.”

covered bridge in autumn

Design from the book, buy pfizers. Pieced by Patricia Cummings. (The photo shows this piece when it was still a quilt top, – and although you can’t tell from the photo, the quilt buy pfizer have even borders).

I remember the fun I had making this quilt! Not as many landscape fabrics were available, compared to today. The hunt for the perfect fabric to represent tree colors, the stones, and other elements, was a joy!

Today, I discovered that the singular pattern for this quilt is still available at , along with many other tempting designs for those who love paper piecing.

I have made only a few foundation pieced quilts but have always enjoyed them. This one was particularly fun as I made it with love and with the expectation and hope that it would be enjoyed by the recipient.

Whatever you do today, take joy in your work. We pass this way only once.

Patricia Cummings

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Friday, October 30th, 2009

New Hampshire Maple leaves

Autumn Maple Leaves, collage by Patricia Cummings

A saying goes like this, “A good woman gives you shade in the summer and warmth in the winter.” A tree will do the same. The Maple tree is awesome! Not only does it provide shade, firewood, and wood for fine furniture, the Maple yields sap that is boiled off to make a wonderful pancake syrup. (“Ain’t nothin’ like the real thing, baby!”) As if that were not enough, the Maple tree yields leaves of many colors, some orange, some red, some dark red, and some yellow, and sometimes more than one color in the same leaf!

We have some ancient Maples in New England that are thick in diameter. A hardy tree, they appear to be disease-resistant. On the farm where I grew up, my Dad made a tree swing on one old Maple tree. Struck by lightening in later years, it is no longer there, just its memory. Near the porch on the front of the house, there were three very large Maple trees, home to birds, and tapped by neighbors who were collecting sap, in the spring. What beautiful, cool breezes those trees provided.

I have lived among the Joshua trees of the high desert in California, and among the Saguaro cacti of Arizona. Vegetation has its beauty in other places, but New England is home for me. So today, I salute the mighty Maple trees of New Hampshire, and share some beautiful leaves with you.

Patricia Cummings

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Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Today, we did something that is always fun to do. We walked through a small country cemetery. I love to read epitaphs. Often, there is some endearing tribute or religious sentiment on very old stones. On several that we saw today, the words simply said, “Gone home.” It is amazing to see that only a rock marks some graves.

Walking through the cemetery, I paused to squint at one inscription when all of a sudden, the song of a chickadee in a nearby shrub, pierced the air, startling the silence. Some of the stones had been laid flat by the force of wind or weather. A couple of the fragile marble stones had broken into two pieces and had been hinged back together. Lichen growth was heavy on many granite stones, to the point that any writing, including names, was obscured.

Rufus Leavitt

Jim discovered this stone that is a tribute to a Civil War soldier.

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Jim walked through one half of the cemetery and I walked through the other. I found exactly what we were seeking, to follow up on a most interesting story of humor shared recently by New Hampshire’s own humor writer, Rebecca Rule. I hope that it will be in her next book!

pillow

This particular 50 year old man may have earned the right to be called a “pillow” (of the community).

I was so pleased that Jim found the headstone of the town minister about whom I’d read so much. Likewise, I was elated that he located the headstone of the grandparents of an important woman (Ellen Emeline Hardy Webster) whose life I have chronicled. Their names are Ichabod Packard Hardy and Emeline Mary Webster.

gravestone of Ellen's grandparents

This is the gravestone of Ellen Emeline Hardy Webster’s grandparents. Ellen’s middle name is the same as her grandmother’s first name. I wrote a 355 page biography of Ellen last year. Ellen’s married name was Webster, and it only coincidental that her grandmother’s maiden name was also “Webster.”

So much history to be found in New England, which is why I love it here. I can’t imagine going anywhere else to live. In being able to view the actual gravestones of once-living people, I realize how important (and nice) it is to have a final resting place. Somehow, it proves that you were “here.” For me, it makes the names of people I’ve read about in print seem like old friends. Yes, I do love old cemeteries!

Patricia Cummings

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Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Egyptian wall hanging

Today, a reader sent us this image of an Egyptian wall hanging. The person has owned this for fifty years and is now wondering how old it might be, and seeks any other information about it.

If anyone here is an Egyptologist and would like to comment, please write either a direct comment to this e-mail, or write to me privately at: and I’ll pass along the message.

We always enjoy seeing other people’s textiles and certainly answer any questions, as we can.

Patricia Cummings

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Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

the calico garden

“The Calico Garden,” a reproduction (crib size) quilt created by Patricia Cummings.

Florence Peto was a New Jersey quilt historian and a quilter, too. She is the person who created the original design that you see re-created here. “The Calico Garden” quilt of hers is in the collection of the Shelburne Museum in Burlington, Vermont. I was amazed to view the original. For some reason, I thought the coloration to be quite different, based on photos I had seen.

My quilt is not “exactly” like that of Mrs. Peto who used much smaller buy pfizer (appliqué) pieces in floral swags for the borders. I needleturned most of the appliqué work, and hand quilted this quilt, which took about a year.

When I was finished, I filled out some paperwork that came with the pattern I had purchased from Hoopla Designs, and I sent it along to the Shelburne, with a photo, for their records. They are attempting to keep track of reproductions of quilts in their care.

I hope you enjoy seeing this cheerful quilt as much as I enjoyed making it, perhaps as long as five years ago.

There are references to Mrs. Peto, and her words as a quilt historian, in my book, buy pfizer. If you are not familiar with this book, yet you claim to like quilt history, you don’t know what you are missing if you do not own a copy of this book on CD. (355 pages/ 340 photos)

Here’s to Beauty! May it ever be.

Patricia Cummings

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Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Service Announcement Provided by

Gold Party at the New England Quilt Museum

November 13, 4:30-7 p.m.

Do you need extra cash for the holidays? Do have odds and ends of jewelry around the house that you’ll never wear–a single earring, a broken bracelet, a tangled chain? Do have jewelry from a former relationship you really don’t want to wear? Or a piece given to you as a gift or legacy that is not your style, but you can’t bear to re-gift it? You can turn those pieces into cash for the holidays and benefit the museum as well.

Party of Gold, a local woman-owned host of “girls’ night out” gold parties that benefit numerous local non-profits, is hosting a gold party on Friday, November 13th–which might be your lucky day! Our last Gold Party netted hundreds of dollars for participants, who brought in their broken or unwanted gold and silver jewelry and received payment for each recyclable piece. As a benefit for the museum, Party of Gold donated an amount equal to 15% of the purchases to the museum. So popular was the event that we are hosting one again–just in time to help you find some extra cash for the holidays in those odd pieces in your jewelry box!

If you cannot attend, but want to donate unwanted jewelry to the museum, just mail the jewelry as your donation in a padded envelope to the Museum at 18 Shattuck Street, Lowell, MA 01852, Attn: Party of Gold, and we will send you a receipt.

So join us on November 13, from 4:30-7pm to enjoy some refreshments, get cash for your holiday shopping, and benefit the museum. Please bring a photo ID.

The New England Quilt Museum
18 Shattuck Street
Lowell, MA 01852
978-452-4207
www.nequiltmuseum.org

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Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

crazy quilt by Pat Cummings

The quilt above is called a Crazy Quilt and it is an original design made by Patricia Cummings in 2001. By “original,” I mean that I chose all of the elements that went into making it, selected the layout, the colors and the embellishments as well as the techniques. In this case, I appliquéd on some items, like the owl in the upper right, that was a commercially-prepared item. I hand-stenciled the yellow rose in the center with paint, and again sewn on a store-bought bee for appliqué.

You will see a lot of separate design features in this quilt as I added gold findings, like the hand, a piece of lace, ribbon (purchased by the yard), and beads. I added embroidery as well as silk ribbon ladybugs, and handcrafted “ants.” Victorians loved “bugs” and I do, too! So, it was only natural to add some “ant fabric,” as well. This is a very “busy” piece!

This quilt is mainly in cottons. I don’t much care for working with “fancy fabrics,” and there are enough exquisite prints in cotton, today, that one can get a good effect without using silks, etc. That is not to say that I never use anything other than cotton for crazy quilts because I certainly do!

I just wanted to show you one of the many Crazy Quilts I’ve made. This technique originated in the 19th century (1800s) and has a long history. Files on my main website talk about old Crazy Quilts and show antique examples and some miniature crazy quilts that I have made. I’d have to say that Appliqué. Crazy Quilts, Hand-piecing, and Hand-quilting are my very favorite quilting techniques. Just call me a turtle in a mad hare world, my saying, so if you use it, please give me credit for having said it first!

Cheers! Bring on the Halloween chocolate. Now, where could Jim be hiding the stash (of chocolate, that is)?

Pat Cummings

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Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

Jim reading in barracks in Germany

The man with his “nose in a book” is Army Specialist 4th Class James Cummings, caught on camera reading at an Army barracks (early 1970s).

Reading is a wonderful escape! It transports us to the thoughts, critiques, and views of other people, as well as their whimsy, novelty, and sheer brilliance. A theory held by my late father (1911-1974) is that anyone can travel anywhere, without leaving his own armchair. That is even more true today than it was in his time, because now we have wonderful travel shows on television that bring us to the most remote regions of the world. He relied on “National Geographic.”

I can never understand how anyone can get through life without developing reading skills. Yet, in America, we have many who are illiterate, who disguised their non-ability to read, and who slipped through the educational cracks. One of my graduate courses in Education was to learn how to teach children to read. I found, via a hands-on field project, that it can be a daunting task!

Pat studying

This is a photo of me, studying at my home in Deerfield, NH. I don’t know for sure, but I believe this was taken when I was in high school because I recognize the pink sweater that I had made, at that time.

One common interest that my husband Jim and I both have is a love of the written word. He is an avid reader who visits the library at least once a week and actually finishes reading all the books he takes out. I enjoy reading but purchase books as I linger longer over the words and it takes me quite a while to finish reading any book, often because my mind is on other things, full of “fluff,” like Winnie-the-Pooh.

When one has five younger siblings, it is easy to see why one (meaning “Jim”) would like to escape the house, physically, or take a mental trip elsewhere, via a book. At one time or another, both of us were accused by our families of origin as always having our “noses in a book,” inferring that we should have been doing something else. However, with our scholastic achievements, I guess the practice actually paid off for both of us.

Jim amazes me with the encyclopedic knowledge he possesses about most any subject I can mention. However, no one but me probably knows this: he is humble, quiet, and never lords it over anyone else that he happens to know more than they know.

Yes, Jim and I are two peas in a pod in many ways. In a sense, we lead separate lives in the same house, until we choose to come together on common ground to compare notes, share new information, do photo shoots, plan little day trips, and things of that nature. This is a brief glimpse into the lives of two bookworms. The insensitive people who took so much joy in calling us names, in the past, are either dead or are no longer a part of our lives. So, life goes on. When one gets to a certain age, one tries to minimize the baloney.

Patricia Cummings

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Monday, October 26th, 2009

girl in autumn winds

A girl caught in the winds of autumn

In looking through photo albums of quilts, I found an image of another quilt that I made quite a long time ago. I do not recall the year. Perhaps I put a label on the back of this quilt, but to find out, I shall have to ask the friend who now owns it.

I just remember that the quilt a lot of fun to make, if one loves appliqué as much as I do. I remember selecting actual wool cloth to make the “jacket.” I enjoyed pulling fabrics from my stash that would create an effect similar to the photo greeting card that accompanied the written instructions for this Piecemaker design.

Piecemaker patterns are of very high quality and I have enjoyed making several of their designs. While I am on this theme of autumn wall hangings, I will continue looking for a specific quilt picture to share. (I also gave that quilt away).

I love autumn!

Pat

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Monday, October 26th, 2009

scarecrow and pumpkins wall quilt

Scarecrow and Pumpkins

I vaguely remember making this wall quilt. I do not remember at all who designed the pattern, or if it was a kit, or actually … anything about it. Unfortunately, I put it away without adding a label, a big no-no for someone who has too much on her mind and is increasingly forgetful.

So, I am posting it for you to enjoy, but also to ask if anyone has seen this design somewhere before? I’m really stumped, and would like to add a label for posterity, noting who designed this piece. Ach! Maybe someone can help!

This time of year is such fun. When Jim went grocery shopping last week, he brought home a bag of candy corn: nice big pieces with orange, white and yellow stripes. That is one of my favorite candies. He has purchased other Halloween candy (and hid it away from both of us!). It is always a guess as to who might or might not show up at the door. We live in a neighborhood that has mostly adults, some with small babies.

Usually, teenagers show up, sometimes driving themselves around. This year I wonder if the threat of swine flu will cut down on the number of kids who go trick or treating. At any rate, it’s always fun the costumes!

I enjoyed making this decorative quilt. Now, I’d like to discover its mysteries.

P.S. I just found a similar quilt in an old photo album of show quilts, so I know this design was not mine. I’d love to give the designer credit on my label, just because it is the right thing to do. If no one knows the answer readily, I’ll begin searching through patterns and books … an awesome task!

Pat –

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Sunday, October 25th, 2009

This poem of religious sentiment was sent to us by Barbara A. Beyer.

When the pieces of our lives are torn apart and lying in shreds, we are brought to our knees, as we seek solutions from a higher power than ourselves. Thanks for sending this, Barbara.

HEAVEN’S QUILT

Pieces of my life are lying there,
Some torn to shreds while others suffer wear.
Scattered by the changes, across the fields of time …
Designs and colors differ;
… Making them uniquely mine.

Then Jesus came… picking up the best;
Sewing them together, discarding all the rest.
A new life pieced together with golden threads of love;
… A new quilt of comfort designed by God above.
Comfort me … come Holy Spirit breathe within.
Wash with your love … make me whole again.
All the glory and the praise belong to Thee …
Wrap me in your love and comfort, Holy Trinity.

written by Barbara A. Beyer (c) 1995

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Sunday, October 25th, 2009

For 3,500 years, in both pre-colonial and post-colonial eras of Mexico, the people there have celebrated a unique holiday. Today, the “Day of the Dead” ceremonies encompass both Aztec rituals and thoughts, and those of Roman Catholicism. Once a month long festival, now just two days are set aside, presided over by buy pfizer, “the Lady of the Dead.” This celebration is inextricably linked to “All Saints Day” (Nov. 1) and “All Soul’s Day” (Nov. 2).

The first day is set aside to honor the “buy pfizer,” the little angels who are no longer with us. White candles burn at their gravesites, and toys and balloons are brought there.

Adults are honored by elaborate altars, both at home and at the cemetery. These displays include food: sweet rolls (buy pfizer), candy skulls that are eaten by a friend or relative in memory of the deceased, and other food items, as well as all manner of beverages, including, but not limited to, buy pfizer (made from corn meal), tequila, water, and coffee.

Floral wreaths of either artificial or fresh flowers are often seen, and a favorite flower seems to be a certain variety of marigold.

The celebration is full of joy and is carried out throughout Mexico. One of the more spectacular events occurs on an island called Janitzio in the Lago de Patzcuaro (with an accent on the first “a.”) There, a duck hunt is conducted. Tourists are advised to book their trips in sufficient time, before hotels fill up. Mexico City is a major destination where the section called “buy pfizer” is a desirable place to be, during the Day of the Dead celebrations. Another site is Oaxaca.

Firework displays, and happy revelry welcome back the dead for one day. These traveling souls are thought to be residing in buy pfizer at the present time, but they come back to their graves to enjoy their favorite foods. The celebration for adults is marked by the tolling of a bell from 6 p.m. until sunrise the next day. This night is called, “buy pfizer.”

Some historians make parallels to the Festival of Osiris in ancient Egypt. It seems that if we look at recorded history and the history of ideas, we will see that Man wants to believe that there is something more than his mortal existence, that we, as a species, can and do beat Death itself. This idea certainly coincides with Christian thought, but it is interesting to remember that the idea of an afterlife precedes Christianity.

The skull, the quintessential symbol of Death, rules the day in this Mexican celebration. In thinking again about this topic, I can’t ever forget the beautiful quilt, “buy pfizer.” Technically-speaking, I believe it is the finest quilt I have ever seen. Read about the controversy surrounding this quilt on . Nonetheless, the quilt was named one of the best 100 quilts of the 20th century.

.

October is Hispanic Heritage Month.

I hope that you have enjoyed this overview that was helped along by information found at quite a few sites online. In gathering facts, I learned more about this holiday myself, and I do so love to learn!

Patricia Cummings

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buy pfizer
buy pfizer

Copyright 2009. Patricia Cummings, Concord, New Hampshire.

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Saturday, October 24th, 2009

Some of my favorite songs speak of the profound change of the seasons at this time of year. We leave “Summer winds make me feel fine, glowing like a jasmine in my mind,” and turn to Joni Mitchell’s lyrics, “The warriors of winter give a cold, triumphant shout, All that stays is dying, all that lives is getting out.” She also speaks of the trees, standing in a naked row, an image I enjoy.

In high school, my Glee Club sang, “The autumn leaves drift past my window, the autumn leaves of red and gold.” I am sure there are many other song tributes to autumn, a time period we all anticipate eagerly, here in New England, and a time that is too soon past. After Columbus Day, when the tourists have left the state, we can begin to anticipate heavy rains and winds that knock off any remaining leaves, and signal a change to cold nights in which the heat must be turned on.

The palette of verdant green of leaves and trees, and pastels of flowers, quickly turns to browns of decaying leaves underfoot in the forest, and then to the familiar gray and white and black colors of winter. The snow is like a white-out, at times. And, when it ends, there is a lovely peacefulness that seems to descend as from heaven itself.

a view of winter - photo by James Cummings

A view of winter – photo by James Cummings

No wonder we eagerly await seed catalogs in January, a time that seems to be in the dead of winter and very far removed from outdoor blooming plants. “The farmer puts another “promise” in the ground,” are the words to another folk song.

At Christmas time, the holly and the ivy (also the name of a song) remind us of everlasting life, symbolically-speaking. These holly and its red berries retain their color throughout the winter months. Green represents eternity and Red can symbolize the loss of Christ’s blood on the cross. Colors can be so symbolic!

Autumn. So many changes are taking place. Animals that hibernate are searching out resting areas for the long winter. Bears will give birth in their dens, barely aware of what is happening. The “winter birds” such as the (gray) juncos and chickadees, will be heard and seen again, as will the woodpeckers who will make frequent trips to the suet hung again for them, from a lilac bush.

I have no quarrel with autumn or winter: they are seasons of introspection, a time to take stalk of one’s soul and one’s roots and to sort out again what is important in life. As a Christian, I have come to despise the commercialism and therefore, cheapening of a religious holiday, and so I dwell on my religious training as a child, and find those teachings more and more of a comfort in trying to make sense of an insane world. On Christmas, I tend to like to read Christmas stories and listen to music. With my family “gone,” taken away by death or indifference, my day is often spent in solitude, or with Jim, on holidays.

“I’ll stoke the fire with kindlin’, pull the blankets to my chin, I’ll keep the vagrant winter out and bolt my wanderings in.” – Joni Mitchell

Autumn and Winter – bring them on. I’ll be here, quilting, reading, writing, and loving my dear husband, who is as precious as a found jewel. Rejoice! The seasons are yet again changing, and life moves onward to its invisible, unforeseen, and inevitable conclusion.

Patricia Cummings
s

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Saturday, October 24th, 2009

I have been aware of the Gollywog doll and its history for a number of years now. My doll was ordered from England, where they are still made and are popular, apparently. At the time I sent for one, I did not realize that there were any racial slurs attached to it. I’m not sure how I might have missed that fact. The doll’s image is still located in one of my related files online: .

This morning, I stumbled upon three interesting links:

1)

2) A quilt named “,” which won a blue ribbon at the Pacific International Quilt Festival and has the same design as the “Gollyville 1 kit” sold by

3)

The quilt, #1028, that won a prize for “Best Hand Workmanship” was made by Ruth DeBord and Wendy Reyes. The quilt was made from a kit that originated in Australia where Golliwog dolls are popular and are not meant to be derisive. To those who speak the King’s English, a “wog” is anyone of color: an Egyptian, an Indian, etc. You get the picture.

I would like you to think about this topic. When we make drawn caricatures or dolls that overexaggerate the physical characteristics of other humans, such as the emphasis on large lips, or curly hair, or skin color, does that always constitute racism or just poor taste? When, if ever, is that practice acceptable?

A second question is this: Should quilt judges award blue ribbons to quilts that are done perfectly, but carry a message that is contrary to acceptable and ethical social responsibility? In other words, is perfect appliqué more important than the message a quilt conveys, one that could be offensive to many others?

These are just words for thought on this dreary, rainy day. You would probably enjoy reading the file I prepared about , as well as the opinions of Dr. David Pilgrim, an African-American who finds many (most?) of these kinds of collectibles to be degrading and humiliating.

Touchy subject, I know. All comments welcome.

Patricia Cummings,
Quilter’s Muse Publications