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U.S. Navy Retiree Writes Book About His 20 Year Career

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

Bob Rotruck

Robert R. Rotruck, Chief Warrant Officer, U.S. Navy Retired

Robert R. Rotruck, Chief Warrant Officer, U.S. Navy (Retired), has written a book about his 20 year career from 1959-1979. This 162 page autobiography, published as a paperback by Wheatmark, Inc., recalls incidents that made his life away from home both a challenge and a joy. Full of gratitude for the opportunities that the Navy afforded him, Rotruck aptly titles his book, Thank You, America: Autobiography of a Naval Career.

In all the time he spent in service, he recalls only meeting “a couple of bad apples.” In considering why anyone would choose to join the Navy, he says “It certainly wasn’t for the money or notoriety. It is simply because they swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States and to follow the orders of those appointed over them in their chain of command.”

This book is loaded with charming, insightful, and sometimes humorous stories. Turning points in the author’s life are noted, and one can readily see how the Navy helped to shape the man he became. This book is a page-turner. The reader is eager to read the next story! The author is now busy at work on his next book, an historical novel about Navy Seals. Writing seems to get in the blood!

Bob’s book is available from three sources: amazon.com (see link below), Barnes and Noble, or in pdf form. To read book excerpts and to become a “fan” on Facebook, please visit his website:
http://www.thankyouamericabook.com

Visitors to Quilter’s Muse Publications website will recognize the name “Bob Rotruck” as a frequent guest poet whose work we were happy to publish! His poetry is still available to read in many files still posted there. To locate various pages, use the “search” function on the home page.

We wish Robert R. Rotruck, “Bob,” the best of luck in all of his future writing endeavors! God bless you, and God bless America!

Patricia Cummings

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Former NH Commissioner of Agriculture Presents Bovine Talk

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

We drove all the way to Tamworth, NH tonight to listen to a presentation by Steve Taylor on one of his favorite topics: cows. This man knows more about cows than most anyone you could meet. He should know. He is a dairy farmer with about 60 milk cows in his herd.

This was the second attempt to hear this talk. The other time, last year, we had traveled to Bradford, NH and come away with nothing more than some photos of a covered bridge, and the memory of a ready-set audience who was disappointed when illness prevented the speaker from arriving.

Tonight, the library hall was packed with interested people who were eager to hear the talk. I am especially fond of cows. My brother, the late Steve Grace, earned a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture at UNH, and worked as a herdsman for several NH dairies, after giving up on the idea of teaching agriculture. Steve was first introduced to vocational agriculture at Alvirne High School in Hudson where he was able to have hands-on experiences with raising heifers and performing farm chores.

Taylor’s talk tonight covered a broad time period, from the arrival of the first cows, to present-day breeding methods and care of livestock to prevent disease, and to provide adequate nutrition. He referred to a time when the family cow was so important, she lived inside the home (“hovel” he called it) with family members. Taylor knows a lot about processing milk, product safety, and the major distributors in New England. He pointed out how industrialized the process of gathering and packaging milk has become, and also the dangers of the new trend to consume raw milk that is not pasteurized to kill bacteria.

The talk was very informative and we are so happy to have heard it. We enjoyed Steve Taylor’s lecture about sheep last year in Francestown, an extraordinary affair that I wrote about here, at that time.

These events, sponsored by the NH Humanities Council are priceless, although they cost the public nothing to attend. They are always an enriching experience! For more information, please visit: www.nhhc.org

Patricia Cummings

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Bicentennial Quilt – 1976

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

In 1966, Deerfield, New Hampshire celebrated its Bicentennial with a variety of activities. However, in 1976, the town celebrated the National Bicentennial with the rest of the country. One way they did this was to make a community quilt that depicts various buildings, businesses, the Liberty Bell, and of course, a deer in the field. I am always pleased to return to the town where I spent some of my formative years and today was no exception. The reason for the trip today was to see that quilt and to attempt to photograph it where it is mounted permanently, behind glass, in the old Town Hall.

Light was streaming in the long, uncurtained windows today, a sunny day. The shape of the glass in front of the quilt makes the light reflect in a funny way, when photographed, so that is the reason for the white streaks in the photo below.

Bicentennial Quilt

1976 Bicentennial Quilt

name plaque

A lovely plaque hangs on the left side of the quilt and describes each block and provides the name of the quilter who created it, a lovely and lasting tribute.

What fun to see some folks that I have not seen in a coon’s age! I stopped in at the library and had fun visiting there with an old friend, whose son was a childhood friend of my son; and a newly-made friend who is a writer and owns a networking website for New Hampshire artists: ArtSpider.net. What a pleasant trip!

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

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Website To Inspire Those Who Love Appliqué

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

Today, I have received an e-mail from Margaret Mathews who told me that we have a wonderful site and she likes what we have done with it. Thank you, Margaret!

I visited the link she provided at the end of the note and found a very rich blogspot with all kinds of beautiful images of appliqué work and opportunities for ordering pattern designs for quilt blocks that are based on authentic antique designs, many of them Baltimore Album reproductions or made in that style.

It was refreshing to see ladies meeting together in a private home to share the fun of quilting, just like the “old days.” One woman is seen holding up a beautiful quilt block. Fun to see all the smiling ladies.

Be sure to see Margaret’s fine blog:
http://margaretmathews.blogspot.com/

We have five files on our website about Baltimore Album Quilts and their origins. An Index of the files is available by clicking on the word “Baltimore Album” that is located on the left side bar of our main website, Quilter’s Muse Publications. (see live link at the bottom of this note).

I love needleturn appliqué and “test drove” a few patterns for Future Heirlooms Co. about 10 years ago. Here is a link to one that Margo Rose calls “Tudor Rose Medallion.”

I love to hear from those who enjoy our website. Words of appreciation are welcome and I consider them my “paycheck.”

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

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Ancient Mayan Stamp Designs Turned into Quilt Patterns

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Linda Laird is nothing, if not resourceful and ingenious. She was first exposed to ancient Mayan designs while a student of Anthropology at the University of Arizona. Today, she is creating state-of-the-art appliqué designs for quilts and quilted wall hangings, that if cut carefully, are reverse images, and can be used to make two quilts!

Please visit her website and see what she has been doing. I am tempted to order one of these patterns, if only I could make up my mind which one I like the best!

Mayan Birds and Butterflies pattern - Linda Laird

“Mayan Birds and Butterflies” quilt, available as a pattern on Linda Laird’s site. photo courtesy of Linda Laird; edited for this blog by Patricia Cummings

Good work, Linda. We will watch for even more of your original, Maya-based designs, as time goes on.

Linda Laird Designs Website

Patricia Cummings

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Public Television

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

When I was a young teenager, the television happened to be on, when I noticed that an instructional program was about to be shown to teach how to play “Folk Guitar.” I ran upstairs to find my brother’s guitar that he had always intended to learn to play.

The series was only a few lessons, but I learned the names of the guitar strings, basic chords, how to strum in different ways, and how to do runs, along with a little bit about reading music. I ordered the instructional booklets so that I could keep the information and the words to the songs demonstrated. I still have two or three but lost one or two, having loaned them to someone else.

The series was created by Laura Weber and Virginia Duncan in 1966. At the time, this video series was cutting edge technology, and was recorded long before the first how-to-videos for quilting were ever done. I would call this a pioneer program and have never seen anything like it since! While I have sometimes said that I received virtually no formal musical training, actually I learned a lot through this free, educational folk guitar series. Of course, I also learned a lot as a member of the Glee Club in high school!

There is a lot to be said for sharing information freely. Apparently, Jim and I believe in that theory as you will notice, if you view our website. Information is the best resource known to man. Often, it helps to guide our ways, or inspires us to new levels of creativity.

I am a strong believer in public television. One can count on the stations for unbiased presentation of material. When my son was small, he devoured every episode of Sesame Street. When he was grown-up, he enjoyed “Pride and Prejudice,” and other Jane Austen movies. There have been wonderful and enriching musical programs from “Celtic Woman,” to “Andrea Boccelli,” (my personal favorite).

Whether you like music, drama, quality programs for kids, or just want to learn to cook, turn to Public Television. In these hard economic times, think about sending them a few dollars of support. You will feel good about that, knowing that every dollar is used wisely and helps them to continue in their educational mission.

The local call letters for public television are WGBH in Boston, and New Hampshire Public Television, NHPTV. Please be generous.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

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Jim’s Cooking Blog

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

I am happy to say that my husband not only “brings home the bacon,” he cooks it, too! In fact, he cooks a lot more than bacon, and he has started a new blog to reveal all of his cooking secrets.

He hopes to add new items, daily, with wonderful photos to tempt you to try the recipes for yourself. New England regional cooking is a bit different than elsewhere, and was always based on what could be grown or raised, here.

Here is the link: Jim’s Cooking Blog

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More Textiles from Pakistan

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

Today, I received this note in my mailbox.

Pat,

I thought I would pass on some pictures to you that I took of things given to me while I was in Pakistan. I am also the owner of a small home-based business called The Lost Caravan, and I sell imports from Pakistan, to help me be able to work on projects within Pakistan. I started a non-profit organization in the N.W.F.P. of Pakistan called The Roshni Centre for Women (www.roshnicentre.org).

Sincerely,
Rabia

“Is your Caravan Lost? It is, if you no longer weep from gratitude or happiness, or weep from being cut deep with the awareness of the extraordinary beauty that emanates from the most simple act and common object.”

from “Someone Untied Your Camel” — Hafiz (1320-1389)

Black and white Sindhi quilt - close-up

Black and white Sindhi quilt, close-up

Bodice embroidery on red satin dress

Embroidered bodice of red satin dress

Brightly-colored Sindhi quilt - close-up

Brightly-colored Sindhi quilt, close-up

Detail of Balochi bodice panel

Detail of Balochi dress panel

Pakistani embroidered veil - close up

Pakistani embroidered veil, close-up

Many thanks to Rabiajehan Sher for sending these images. I hope you have enjoyed them and will check out her website.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

To view more textiles from Pakistan, visit our website.

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Rubia: An Effort to Aid Literacy in Afghanistan

Monday, January 12th, 2009

Afghan peacock pillow

Above is a photo taken by James Cummings: a pillow made with all natural fibers that originate in Afghanistan. The peacock pillow was created by a member of the Rubia organization, a group that raises money through the sale of Afghan-made embroideries. They are sold in Kabul and in the United States. Rachel Lehr, an American woman who is fluent in all of the dialects spoken in that far away country, has been instrumental in working with Afghan women in their attempt at a better life via literacy for themselves and their children. Travel is not safe in that country, yet Rachel has visited there on numerous occasions, under the shield of a burqa.

Several years ago, we had a chance to hear a talk by Hafiza Malikbaba, translated by Rachel Lehr. This resulted in a magazine article for The Quilter, and the following file that is presently on our website: http://www.quiltersmuse.com/afghanistan_embroideries.htm

To see updates on current Rubia activities, please access their current newsletter at: http://www.rubiahandwork.org/newsletter.html

Their annual calendar is now available. The calendar features the poetry of the women of Afghanistan. “They are songs of nature and earth, life and death, love and war.” See: www.rubiahandwork.org/calendar.html

This is a worthy cause.

Patricia Cummings

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Susan B. Anthony Personified

Thursday, October 30th, 2008

Dear Friends,

Today was an exciting day! We attended a presentation about Susan B. Anthony, champion of women’s rights, equality and the right to vote. Actress Sally Matson dressed up in period costume, in a high collar, long dress, and bloomers, made by a former colleague at the American Textile History Museum. She gave a flawless and flowing performance to students, faculty, and guests, for 45 minutes. One could have heard a pin drop in the audience.

She provided many details about the events in Miss Anthony’s life as noted in her letters, diaries and other ephemera. Such information included correspondence with her associates, especially her famous friend, Harriet Cady Stanton, Susans’s objections, in court, to a judge’s ruling, and her cross country travels to present 149 talks each year, in the cause of Suffrage.

Matson also travels extensively to bring the work of Anthony to the public eye, once again. She offers this dramatization to groups such as corporations, schools, churches, libraries, retirement homes, and others places. Her chatty, first person account of the life of Susan B. Anthony is a glimpse into another world, a time when women were simply thought to be baby makers, house decorations, or at worst, “brainless.”

The talk triggered my memory bank to recall the “Cult of True Womanhood,” a.k.a. “The Cult of Domesticity.” The concepts surrounding these so called “cults” involved the ideal behaviors of women, according to William Ruskin and other nineteenth century British philosophers. Picture a demure woman in a rocking chair, knitting booties, crocheting a doily, or sewing. All is just-so in her world, one that is not weighted down by any concerns of the world, including voting, something for which she is too stupid, anyhow.

In costume, Sally Matson becomes a believable “Susan B. Anthony.” Sally’s research for this program was carried out at “the Huntington, Schlesinger, and Boston Public Libraries,” according to her lecture brochure. She graduated from Northwestern University School of Communication, and her resumé of interpretive work in reenacting Anthony’s life includes a program for the Department of Defense. She has worked for Connecticut Cable TV as a writer and interviewer, and has had a career as an actress, as well.

In her presentation, one that is far more exciting than I am able to impart to you with mere words, and/or without “giving” the show away, Matson shares facts and information about her subject, but moreover, she shares insight into the “character” of Susan B. Anthony, and has some thoughts on how important it is for women to vote in elections, these days. She reminded us all to “VOTE!”

I was thrilled to be back on campus again. Jim and I both attended UNH. Seeing the (new to us), Memorial Union Building was quite a pleasant shock. It’s beautiful, spacious, and ambient, with elevators, snack vendors, the UNH Bookstore, student lounges, etc., a far more luxurious area for students than in the 1960s/early 1970s! We both love the campus and have very fond memories of our studies there. We came home feeling quite happy, and very eager to share Sally Matson’s website with you, in case your group is ever seeking a wonderful presenter of historically-based material.

Sally Matson, e-mail: Ssmatson at aol.com, or visit: www.susanbanthonytheinvincible.com

Patricia Cummings, Quilter’s Muse Publications

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