Before I start this post, you have my apologies for missing my October 1 deadline for posting it. I came home from a ten-day teaching trip, and two days later, I had five more days tending to family matters -- that translated into five days away from my computer. I couldn't finish the post in those two days, despite having done a lot of the work ahead of time, and although I took an ipad with me, it was useless for finishing my post. Oh well... thanks go to all of you who commented and told me not to sweat it - I appreciate your patience. Now.... on to the post!
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The use of cheddar-colored fabric in quilts was perhaps found most commonly in the 1860 to 1880 timeframe - particularly in Pennsylvania. Antimony or chrome orange dyes were used, often from concoctions made of powder. This dye was often mixed at home using store-bought powder. Below you will find a multitude of old and new quilts, all using cheddar.
This first quilt is one of the most appropriate ones for this post; its outer border looks like a row of jack-o-lanterns to me. This quilt has birds, tulips, and hearts across it. For a paper-cut style of quilt, the colors are very unusual... until I tell you that this was a Pennsylvania Moravian quilt made circa 1900. It seems that cheddar was commonly used in Moravian quilts. This quilt measures 86 by 84 inches and sold for $4,029 at auction in late 2012.
This particular quilt was one that I made several years ago as a triple block-of-the-month. Chain Gang used three different monthly blocks: a chain, an appliqued flower, and a paper-pieced star block. There is certainly a lot of orange in this quilt! I had always been warned not to use black fabric as a background because it is difficult to quilt, but I had no trouble. The bonus is that any mistakes don't show up, right?!
The floral applique quilt below is another Pennsylvania Moravian quilt made circa 1900. It measures 88 by 90 inches. The Moravian Church is one of the oldest denominations in the world, having its start in the fifteenth century. The layout of blocks in the quilt below is interesting to me.
The log cabin quilt below was made in the late 1800s. Its sheen is attributable to the fact that it is made of silk. It measures 80 by 80. Even this quilt has a touch of cheddar in it!
This quilt was described in a catalog as a "log cabin blocked pineapple pinwheel." That description gave me a little giggle. What I'd like to pint out is that it has something in common with the second quilt (my Chain Gang quilt) with its zig-zag border, as well as the quilt above, with its log cabin variation block. And yet the quilt looks entirely different than either of those quilts. This quilt was sold in a farm sale in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It measures 94 by 78 inches and was sold in 2012 for $533.
Another log cabin pineapple block quilt is shown below - this one is done in cheddars, reds, and teals. It is an Amish quilt from the early 1900s and measures 83 by 82 inches. Isn't the difference between the colors of this quilt and the one above striking?
Here is a small log cabin quilt that I made many years ago that I called My Blue Heaven. Each of the logs in the quilt measures 1/2-inch wide. I made it by cutting up all of my "ugly" fabric into tiny strips and then throwing some rich ones (purples, reds, blues) into the mix. I wanted to show that not all fabrics have to be beautiful. If they were all gorgeous, their combined beauty would be dimmed. It's the variety that makes the difference.
Here's a close-up of My Blue Heaven. Can you see how much cheddar there is? As well as how many really ugly fabrics there are? At the time I made this quilt, I thought cheddar and orange were really ugly fabrics in a quilt. But I have always said that if you make an ugly fabric small enough, you can use it in a quilt!
Here is another quilt that I made a long time ago, called Night Angels. This quilt, too, uses its share of cheddar-colored fabrics. What is there about orange that makes it so wonderful to pair with black?
When I made this quilt, I was playing around with using lots of scraps. I have never fallen out of love with scrappy quilts; I think they make the face of a quilt sparkle.
Here is another close-up of some of the blocks. See, again, how many cheddar fabrics there are! Isn't it amazing how many quilts can use cheddar fabrics effectively?
Here is an 1800s quilt from Pennsylvania that uses cheddar in a star variant block. This is an interesting block, one that I have not seen before. The cable quilting in the border is wonderful; in its day, it was probably a knockout quilt. It still is, for me, as I love old quilts! This quilt used two different blues which show up in the uneven fading of the border fabric. You might also note that the facing is uneven across the quilt - with folds fading more due to sunlight falling on the folded quilt edges. Bear that in mind when you place your own quilts near a sunny window.
There is a slight resemblance between the block in the quilt above and the block in the quilt below. This star variant quilt was signed "Emma 1845." This quilt was also made in Pennsylvania. Note that the center block coloration is different than the others, with its red ring in the center and green diamonds/center.
The quilt below has a series of Ohio Star blocks in it and some of them have cheddar in them. Cheddar is often found in red and green quilts in place of where many of today's quilters use yellow. As long as you like cheddar, I believe that the addition of it to a quilt adds a richness that yellow can't really match. Note that in this quilt, there is again one block that has green in it, while none of the others do.
Speaking of yellow, here's a yellow cheddar quilt. Yellow cheddar is just a very pale orange color. Okay - I have to admit that what I find striking about the quilt below is NOT the use of cheddar, but the piecing job. Look at the triangles on those stars! Can you count the tips on more than one hand - the ones that are not lopped off? And what about that block in the lower left corner. What was going on when this quilter worked on that block?!! Too funny!
This next quilt uses Carpenter's Star blocks. I love that the center of the Carpenter's Star block is a Lemoyne Star and that each block uses two different fabrics on a background. And five blocks include cheddar. Whee!!! Also, note that the maker of this quilt was not timid in her choice of fabrics. Too often, I believe we tend to take safe and easy routes when choosing our fabrics. Not so, below. This quilt was made circa 1900 and measures 88 by 87 inches.
Not all quilts are big bed-sized quilts. The Ohio Star quilt below was made in Pennsylvania and is a doll quilt. It measures just 15 inches square and sold this year for a total of $111.
Here is a big Star of Bethlehem quilt purportedly made by Mary Justus of Philadelphia. Made in the 19th century, it measures 102 inches square. I love how the maker "tossed" Lemoyne stars into the background of the large star. And I also love the effective use of cheddar mixed in with other solid fabrics.
Here is another Star of Bethlehem, below (in Texas, we would call this a Lone Star!). Look at the use of cheddar in this quilt in both the large star and the smaller "cornerstone" stars. You might also notice that the inner half-square triangle border seemed to have trouble "fitting" in its allotted area, with the end triangles of each border just being hatcheted away! This quilt was another Pennsylvania quilt and was inscribed, "Clarence J Spohn 1907 born in Oley July 1901." It measures 75 by 77 inches and sold in June of 2013 for $152.
And take a look at this Lone Star quilt with the floral baskets in the setting triangles and squares. Made in the early 1800s, it is very large - 108 by 111 inches. The bed covers back then were large and high, and the quilts covered them well. Note the cheddar placement in this quilt. Who would have guessed that a broderie perse quilt that used chintz fabric would manage to include cheddar?!
This gorgeous broken star quilt was made in Pennsylvania circa 1900. It measures 83 by 93 inches. It sold at auction in December 2013 for $420. It actually has two different cheddars in the diamonds.
And how about this Lone Star variation with the diamond border going around the outer edge? It was made late in the 1800s and measures 74 by 76 inches. The use of a lot of background fabric in the stars makes them sparkle all that much more.
Here is a very decorative and vibrant Radiant Star. Check out the cheddar in the center - and the plaid ring of diamonds. The appliqued border and setting triangles are amazing! It was likely made in New England and measures 81 by 75 inches. It sold earlier this year for $2,880.
This Amish Jacob's Ladder was made in Bellville, Pennsylvania in the late 1800s. It has "A.P." initials on it, standing for Amanda Peachy. If you look at this quilt long enough, you see different things: the two black half-square triangles that make a butterfly shape... and sets of diagonal black triangles that, together, form a squatty star... and the diagonal lines of 4-patch squares water-falling across the quilt top. Those kinds of things are part of what I look for when I am trying to decide what pieced quilt I might want to make: what alternate geometrical formations are hidden in the layout? Will different colors change the look? In this quilt, you hardly see the cheddar geometrical shapes.
Now, here is a bright quilt! This Pennsylvania friendship sampler probably was made with some strict instructions about what fabrics each maker should include in her block! And plenty of cheddar fabrics were included across the quilt. Can you pick out a favorite block? As I study them, I am fascinated by the variation in block choices. There is such a great variety here!
Do any of you recognize this little cheddar quilt? Ha - it is mine! One of the bees that I am in has a challenge every other year, and we hang the results in the guild's quilt show as a special exhibit. In the last quilt show, we were all feeling a bit behind on our projects so we all decided to make a "footsie" quilt -- a one-foot square quilt. We delighted in how easy it was to finish these quilts... and my "friends" delighted in the fact that I did not get a ribbon while three others in the group did! I used cheddars and browns.
This next quilt is also one of my quilts: Twirly Balls and Pinwheels. It has a good amount of cheddar prints in all of the little 1-inch half-square triangles.
Here's a close-up - you can see some of the cheddars better in this picture. Cheddars do not always have to be garish; they can be warm and golden when combined with gold, brown, and rust prints.
This coxcomb variant definitely is proud of its cheddar fabric! Note the tiny little hearts in the base of the flowers - aren't they cute? Made in the 19th century, it measures 71 by 73 inches. That makes those coxcombs pretty darn large!
The Princess Feather quilt below has its share of cheddar. The teal blue in it may have been green in its better days. To have this quilt, you would definitely have to like these colors in your house. Oh my!
The quilt below looks like a variation of the quilt above, but the fabric in this one remained green. I normally love princess feather quilts and while I like this one, it's not my favorite. It reminds me of a bunch of octopus (I know this should be octopi but that looked weird when I typed it).
But if the quilt above isn't enough for you, how about this one? I tend to believe that the makers used the same pattern. Wouldn't you agree? Okay... does anyone notice anything odd about this quilt? How about the direction the princess feathers are swirling? The lower left one is swirling counter-clockwise. I wonder when the quilt maker realized she'd reversed the spin?!!
Here's a close-up of the errant princess feather. These were not easy blocks to applique with all of those ruffled edges.
This princess feather shape is more to my liking with the "feathers" being a bit more prominent. Of course, I'd rather see it in red and green on white... even I am not that wild about THIS much cheddar! But I have to remember that, in person, this is probably a very striking quilt. I have never seen a quilt in a picture that did not look incredibly more beautiful in person.
And this Princess Feather quilt has both red and green feathers... but it's still a bit too cheddar for me. Maybe I'm in cheddar overload? That would be a switch for me! Note in the princess feathers below, two of the blocks swirl clockwise and two of them swirl counter-clockwise. I just have to sort of wrinkle my eyebrows in wonder about how these choices are made....
Here is a close-up of the center of the above quilt.
And here is one more princess feather -- half of the feathers in it are CHEDDAR this time - and they are all on a blue background. Go figure!
And look at the center motif with the little cheddar and red berries. And guess what? It is spinning clockwise while all the big princess feathers spin counter-clockwise.
I'm only showing two more princess feather quilts -- this one, which is often called Crossed Tulips, and another one. Here, again, the use of a yellow-cheddar is more minimal - and the green has changed to blue over time. And... oh no! Once again, ONE of the princess feather blocks is spinning clockwise while three of them are spinning counter-clockwise. Ha!
Note that some of the leaves on the tulip stalks are half-red. That's an unusual touch that I've never seen before. If you've never made a princess feather quilt before, by the way, be aware that they are not for the feint of heart; there is a lot of "perimeter" in each of the feathers so they take a good amount of time to applique.
And finally, here is one more Crossed Tulips quilt -- it is a crib quilt and with that perspective, it's an adorable quilt. How do you think a baby would feel about sleeping under red and cheddar tulips?!! At least, with only one princess feather/tulip block, you can't have princess feathers spinning in all different directions!
Here's an interesting quilt that uses cheddar in an assortment of blocks. This tulip and bird cradle quilt was made in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in the late 1800s. It measures 42 by 47 inches. I think this is a really sweet cradle quilt.
But I'm glad that it was popular because it inspired me when I made my own tulip quilt, Tucker's Tulips. This quilt measures 83 by 83 inches... and when I finished it, it was about as garish as you could ever imagine. Like hide-it-in-your-closet ugly.
And then I decided to quilt it richly... and it completely changed the quilt, taking away the upsetting garishness of the cheddar. It was then all about the richness of the quilt.
Below is another Moravian quilt (they seemed to REALLY love cheddar!) from Pennsylvania. This President's Wreath quilt was made circa 1900 and measures 82 by 82 inches. It sold at auction in 2012 for $486. Do you think that the brightness of the cheddar might have brightened an otherwise difficult and dull life? That is probably making assumptions that have no basis in fact, so let's say no to that thought.
And yet here is another incredibly cheery cheddar quilt. This pieced Carolina Lily quilt was undoubtedly green and cheddar when it was made, but the greens have all faded. It was made early in the 1900s and measures 82 by 69 inches. It sold at auction in 2015 for an incredible $123. Somebody walked away with a bargain!
This next quilt - a Pride of Iowa variation - showcases one of my favorite blocks. I've never made a quilt with this block design, but maybe someday I will. It's just so pretty to me! And look: this version contains a bit of cheddar in it. It just makes me smile to see this quilt. The greens have faded to tan, but the reds and cheddars are as vibrant as ever. Look at the birds in the bushes, eating little berries, too. This quilt was made circa 1880 and measures 74 by 77 inches.
Earlier, you saw a President's Wreath quilt that had a cheddar background. Here's another on a white background; note that the roses in it use cheddar and red fabrics. But here is what tickles me about this quilt. Look at the grape clusters in the border. Every second or third cluster has ONE green grape in it. Those kinds of little details make me smile. What was the maker thinking? Was she just adding a bit of quirkiness to her quilt? It's something I could imagine myself doing for just that reason: visual interest. But with a sense of whimsy.
This Whig Rose quilt was made in Pennsylvania in the late 1800s and measures 89 by 90 inches. The maker added her bit of cheddar in the center of the blocks as well as in the center of each rose. The outer border is an unusual one that I've not see in other quilts. Its linear symmetry matches the "straightness" of the stems in these Whig Rose blocks. This quilt sold at auction in 2012 for $1778. It's a real beauty.
And here is yet another Whig Rose - done in unusual colors on an unusual color of background fabric. This quilt was made in the late 1800s and measures 86-1/2 by 84 inches. It sold at auction for $1007 in 2013 - red and green quilts seem to always trump others when it comes to an auction, though a dealer in antique quilts told me that the most popular antique quilts are actually blue and white quilts, not red and green quilts.
I like this floral applique quilt. It has little cheddar pineapples (or something akin to them?) and a primitive grape vine surrounding the blocks. Is this just silly cute or what? It was made circa 1900 and measures 92 by 90 inches.
This flower basket quilt has plenty of cheddar in it, along with red and green. But can you imagine how long it took to make all those grapes?! Oh my! I don't even want to try and count how many there are. This quilt was made in the 1800s and measures 82 by 92 inches. In 2012, it sold at auction for $7,110. And my guess is that it was worth every penny.
Here is another quilt that uses cheddar in the sashing strips and the center of the flowers. This 19th century quilt measures 82 by 64 inches. I still wonder: what made cheddar so popular? Why not pink or yellow?
This floral applique quilt, below, has an interesting cheddar and red flower spray in each block. It was made circa 1900 and measures 78 by 74 inches. The flower is a variation of a tulip, though it takes a minute to recognize the shape.
Below, the Crossed Pomegranate block quilt was made in the late 1800s. It measures 86 by 92 inches. The outer border is unique - are these crossed leaves? Again, I love the use of cheddar.
The quilt below is a fairly simple one. Made in Pennsylvania in the 1800s, it measures 77 by 100 inches. And... ta-dum: look at the cheddar in this one!
But the cheddar in the quilt above has nothing over the cheddar in the quilt below! This quilt is a Mennonite oak leaf applique quilt made in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania in the late 19th century. The beauty of this quilt is in its simplicity and symmetry.
And this quilt is fascinating to me. Look at the cheddar cats in the center, the cheddar hands in the corners, and the cheddar flower centers. I have no details about this quilt except that it has trapunto in it. But look at the big berries or circles in the outer edges of the quilt: bunches of six on the sides but bunches of four on the top and bottom edges. Go figure!
Okay - remember that this started out as my ode to Halloween? So here I am, back to the Fall and pumpkins and such. This is an old quilt of mine called Shine On, Harvest Moon. It has an applique panel across the top with pumpkins, a big harvest moon, sunflowers, and leafless trees. The bottom portion of the quilt has Fall-colored Maple Leaf blocks. And all of it is surrounded by a border of flying geese. And everywhere: cheddar, orange, and yellow-golds. Happy Fall! Happy pumpkins!
The quilt below is a summer quilt, meaning there is no batting in the quilt. Likely, there is also no backing. Instead, everything was appliqued onto the quilt top... and then it was bound. It was meant to be put on a bed when the summer weather made it too hot to cover oneself at night with a heavy blanket. Look at the splash of cheddar in this quilt - birds and flowers! This quilt is interesting because it has so much going on -- birds and trees and tulips and grapes and berries. But it also has all kinds of colors in it. Unusual colors. I wonder what this quilt looked like back in the early 1900s when it was made. It measures 89 by 86 inches and sold at auction in 2013 for $5,688. It's another beauty but is value may have derived from its uniqueness!
If you have seen antique eagle quilts, you have probably seen your share of cheddar. Here is an eagle quilt that has the usual four eagles on it - each with a cheddar shield at its chest. This quilt was made in the late 1800s and measures 76 by 76 inches. Note that these eagles are rather simple: no legs, nothing in their beaks, and only some dogtooth rings and four stars in the center of the quilt.
By comparison, here is a five-eagle quilt. The eagles are colored a bit differently - and they are each holding an olive branch and arrows. This quilt was made in the early 20th century and measures 73 inches square.
This particular eagle quilt is unusual in its coloration. The eagles are very pale, as is the background fabric. But guess that shines out? The cheddar flying geese border, dogtooth ring, and eagle feet! This 68 by 70 inch quilt is unique in a field of many eagle quilts.
The eagle quilt below is perhaps a bit more classic - at least for eagle quilts made in Berks County, Pennsylvania. It measures 77-1/2 by 91-1/2 inches, has a half-square triangle border, and a cheddar background. What it also has is eagles with feet... and a cherry in its beak. Of course, I prefer to say the eagle is smoking a cigar. Right? Well... it's a thought, at least! The quilt was made in the 19th century.
Below is another one of my older quilts: Monsters. I had so much fun making this quilt... and several of the monsters are cheddar-colored.
Take at look at this guy - I especially like his cheddar eyeballs.
I even made pillowcases for the Monsters quilt, complete with cheddar bars and stars.
But lest you think that the cheddar showcase is coming to an end... it isn't! Here's a few Victorian crazy quilts. This one was made of silk and velvet and measures 69 by 68 inches. Look at the cheddar buried in it. Much of it is a rusty cheddar.
But this classic Victorian fan quilt has plenty of cheddar in it. It was actually a child's quilt, measuring 48 inches square.
And here is another Victorian quilt; it has flying geese in it and measures 70 by 67 inches. And it has cheddar in it!
Below is a Trip Around the World quilt made in the early 20th century. Look at the cheddar in it. This quilt measures 80 inches square.
And look at this Trip Around the World Quilt. Its blocks are set on point, but it also incorporates two cheddar borders (not including the square in the very center of the quilt. This quilt measures 66 inches square and was made circa 1900.
Here's another one of my quilt designs - The Walkaway Stars quilt (it got its name because I always said you could sit down to make this quilt and walk away with a finished quilt in no time at all). It definitely has cheddar blocks in it. I'm not shy about using cheddar in just about anything!
Below is a Tennessee Mariners Compass variation. Made circa 1875, this 100 by 86 inch quilt sold at auction earlier this year for $1,080.
The quilt maker who put this Schoolhouse quilt together in the early 20th century used cheddar, too. This quilt measures 74 by 91 inches. Is there any quilt where cheddar cannot be used?!
Okay - are you getting tired of cheddar? Here is one last quilt. This Compass variant was made in Pennsylvania in the 19th century and measures 74 by 84 inches. This particular block is not easy to make because of the inset diamonds (which are cheddar) in each block. The layout of the whole quilt is unusual - and warm-looking.
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That's enough of cheddar for a while; you'll see your share of more of it on Halloween night! let's move on to some other pictures. Below is a quilt made by Gail Smith, an extraordinarily skilled applique artist. She used my Sarah's Revival pattern to make her quilt. It was quilted by the equally talented longarmer, Karen McTavish. It won a ribbon at the big quilt show in Madison - congrats to Gail! I think it is especially tough to make ANY quilt that uses only blue fabrics, as it is terribly difficult to find blues that go well together.
Here are some close-ups of Gail's quilt. Note all of the trapunto in the quilt. Oh my goodness!
Here's a few more photos...
Gail and Karen's work is truly stunning!
In the meantime, I had the pleasure of opening up an email from Fern Hamlin who sent me a picture of her Omigosh quilt based on my pattern. She said, "What an amazing quilt! And many of the people who have seen it said, 'Oh my gosh,' just as you reported from the first time you made it." Thanks for sending the photo, Fern!
Another quilter, Rebecca Hoffmann, sent me this photo; it is based on my quilt pattern, Afternoon Delight. What a good job she did on this quilt!
Becky Stephenson brought this quilt to a bee a few months ago... but I did not post photos then, as it was made as a surprise for her husband, who served in the military during the Viet Nam war era, and she hadn't given it to him yet. This quilt was beautiful and was to honor her husband - and his history.
The quilting on it was wonderful...
Here's a close-up of the center. I like how her quilter made stars across the star blocks.
And in perfect harmony with the message of the quilt, here is the backing fabric Becky used on her quilt.
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My friend Marsha Fuller sent me this picture. Hmmm a bunch of rulers. What gives??!
Right... WHAT GIVES? Scroll back up and at where 36 inches lines up against Marsha's white mat. Hmmm. We all need to check our rulers when we use them to make sure they actually MEASURE correctly! Using each of these rulers in different parts of her quilt could have led to disaster.
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Someone mentioned that they had not seen my post the finished Bean Soup quilt that I was making with my daughter. Here were the blocks...
And here they were on my longarm, waiting to be quilted...
And here was a close-up of the quilt after it was quilted....
And here, I auditioned various quilt templates for the border.
And here is what I did...
And here was the finished quilt. Ta dum!
And then I had to quilt my daughter's quilt.
And the blocks in her quilt...
And here is Jenny Arkinson's finished quilt. She chose to not insert a floater strip in the outer border and it still looks great.
We took the leftover blocks and put them in my guild's auction. They drew a tidy sum!
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Now... one of my favorite blocks is a feathered star. Here's one.
And another...
And a few more...
So why am I showing you all of these blocks? Because a group of us put them together, along with other blocks, and made this quilt. It was a nice quilt, as quilts go... but not spectacular. We wanted a spectacular quilt because this quilt is our guild's 2016 raffle quilt! It needs to be able to make people want tickets to win it! So how does that happen?
We chose a wonderful guild member to quilt our quilt for us. Oh my goodness. She raised this quilt out of the world of "ordinary" and took it up to the level of spectacular! The quilter, Cindy Gravely, sees quilts in geometric terms. So she doesn't always quilt in the ditch; she "creates" ditches to quilt in. So look what she did for the guild's raffle quilt. I love it!
Here are some close-up views of the blocks and the quilting. See how Cindy creates her own ditches? She just quilts right across those sashing strips.
I love this quilt so much that I almost could not stop showing you photos of it! Here's one last one...
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Is that all I have for this month? Not exactly. It's all I have TIME to post this month. I could post all the photos I took of various quilts while on my travels; I saw some beauties. But then it would take another week. So for now, I'm going to say that I will have more to show you next month... or maybe I'll just point you to something and only post a few pictures because, AFTER ALL, THE BIG QUILT SHOW WILL BE HELD IN HOUSTON AT THE END OF THIS MONTH!!!! Honestly, I don't know how I'm going to find time to post my November 1 post at the end of October, because I'm going to be at the quilt show!!! Somehow, I'll just have to figure it out.... as I have a bunch of new quilts in the works that I'd love to have you peek at - and I have a bunch of pictures from my travels and bees and more that I'd love to show you. And lest I forget or don't say it often enough: THANK YOU for all your comments. They mean a lot to me!
Until next month... happy quilting! And happy cheddar Halloween!!!!
Sue
(c)2015 Susan H. Garman
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