Maple Leaf Quilt Top from Ugly Fabric

Proof that if you start with some ugly fabric you can still make something beautiful.

Back in the spring I was hosting a Quilters’ Playcation Playdate. The focus that day was on finding an ugly fabric in your stash and seeing how we could make it work for something. When you let the fabric be your guide, as opposed to forcing the fabric to be something else, it usually works.

These were some of my initial pulls. It isn’t that each fabric is really ugly. You may love them, in fact. Ugly is in the eye of the beholder. But I’d had that leaf fabric forever, I have no idea where it came from as it isn’t something I would generally pick, and it had never been used. So that became my challenge fabric.

The fabric is so very cliche fall fabric. I leaned in to that. If it’s going to scream fall, I will let it be what it wants to be and turn it into a maple leaf block. I paired it with another bold fabric that had a lot of the same colours, save brown, and got to sewing. And what happened? It made a very cool quilt block! In fact, I loved it so much that I kept going and made more blocks to coordinate. I picked all the fabrics from my stash to coordinate in the colour scheme started with that first block.

In the end I made 25 blocks. They are 12.5” square so the quilt ends up as a small lap size. I’m not sure it will be finished for this fall, but that’s okay. I finished the top back in June anyway!

A Cheryl Version of a Fall Quilt

We had our first overnight guests since the pandemic started last week. That meant I really had to clean the sewing/guest room for my SIL. Thank goodness she is a quilter so she gets it! In doing so I unearthed a few projects. This particular one started as class demos for one of the Quilters’ Playcation Playdates back in the spring!

After my SIL and niece left I decided to scratch the itch to sew and to sew without project purpose so I grabbed the stack of fabric set aside with the already made blocks and started sewing more. Without thinking about it I had 50 blocks! My sewing for the sake of sewing blocks suddenly actualized themselves into a potential quilt.

A little bit of math and inquiry into my stash and a plan was confirmed. I will aim for 100 blocks. I make them in groups of 5, each set made with the same fabrics. The blocks themselves are all improv square in a square blocks. So the sewing is a bit repetitive but very low stress, and playful in my fabric selection. Pretty much exactly what I need at the moment.

Out for a walk the other morning I was admiring the fall foliage. I started thinking about how I’ve never made a ‘fall quilt’. I know why, earth tones aren’t really my thing and fall quilts seem to love a good ochre and rust combination. But when I was putting the blocks up on my design wall yesterday I realized that a fall quilt was exactly what I was making. A Prairie fall, that’s for sure, because all the leaves look that much better against our gorgeous skies. See?

I rest my case.

Go! And Stop

"Can I have some candy? I don't care, I'm going to pull down your underwear!"

"Trick or Treat. Smell my feet. Give me something good to eat. Not too big, not too small. Just the size of Montreal!"

These and the the screams of More Candy! More Candy! are echoing in my ear. The girls are off, speeding through the neighbourhod as fast as their costumes and legs will let them, trick-or-treating their hearts out. It may seem a little young at 2 and 4 to let them go. If you've got a problem with that, keep it to yourself.

Besides, who do you think gets all the candy?

Before I sent them out they were fed with a proper dinner. I'd love to say it was quick but, despite their impatience they still spent a half hour chatting and practicing their Halloween chants. This wasn't the night for a huge Sunday dinner. Roast, potatoes, and cake for dessert? Not going to hold the attention of my girls. Or frankly me, after a 10 day stint on single parenting.

Instead, I pulled out a weekday favourite: calzones. With a puffy, light dough that comes together quickly I can make dinner in about 20 minutes of active effort. It only needs an hour to rise and about 10 minutes to bake. The hardest part is waiting for them to cool so you don't burn your tongue on the fillings.

The recipe was developed for an article on after-school snacks for What's Up Families. Since then it's become our go-to pizza crust recipe in addition to the calzones. For pizza, stretch out the dough, top with sauce, tomato marmalade, garlic oil, or pesto and all your favourite toppings.

Calzones

Makes 8 hearty calzones

Dough

Fillings

Tomato Sauce

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Toppings - peppers, ham, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, fresh tomatoes, onions, olives, pepperoni

1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. One section at a time roll into a rectangle about 8 inches by 6 inches. Cut in half at the 4 inch mark.

2. Top each half with a tablespoon of tomato sauce, leaving a half inch without sauce around all the edges. Add a half cup of shredded cheese and toppings of choice.

3. Fold each calzone in half, pinching and rolling over the edges to seal. Brush each calzone with the beaten egg.

4. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely before eating as fillings will be very, very hot.

BS

Brussels Sprouts. There I said it. The big, ugly, cruciferous vegetable. And one of my favourites.

The only thing that makes me more excited than the arrival of Honeycrisp apples in the fall is the arrival of those thick stalks, heavy with their tiny cabbages.

Truthfully, I'd never had a brussels sprout until I was an adult. What my mom didn't like, we didn't eat. Not so for my girls. They don't start salivating at the sight of green, but they will eat a nicely roasted sprout topped with hazelnuts. And what they don't eat Hubby and I will gladly devour.

With Thanksgiving coming I have a proliferation of CSA veggies to use for dinner. I won't be shopping for any specific dish, just using what my farmer has so carefully grown for us. So I'll pick up my turkey at the market, maybe grabbing some sausage for stuffing. But I cannot, will not, forego my brussels sprouts at dinner.

Our favourite way to cook the sprouts is roasted. Simply cut them off the stalk, trim any errant leaves, and toss with a bit of olive oil. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size. When they are done drizzle with a bit of good balsamic and sprinkle on some toasted hazelnuts or pecans. Even better when you throw some pancetta in the mix.

Here are some other good brussels sprouts recipes to share. Some I've made, others I just want to get to, maybe this weekend?

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Walnuts and Pecorino (fantastic!)

Brussels Sprouts Chips

Scalloped Brussels Sprouts

Garlic Sauteed Brussels Sprouts

Cream Braised Brussels Sprouts (oh wow! these are good)

And speaking of Thanksgiving, I had two other posts this week talking about my favourite holiday. One on survival tips for the big dinner, and another on the second most important side dish (after brussels sprouts, of course), mashed potatoes. Seriously, it is my absolute favourite. What's your favourite holiday?