Slightly Regrouped

It wasn't just the pie, but that definitely had something to do with it.  It might have been the four day weekend.  Or maybe staying home with our modern family (our friends) did it for me. Quite possibly it was simply sleeping for more than 5 hours a night.  Whatever it was, I can feel some of my mojo coming back. And yes, this pie had a lot to do with it.

Maple makes me happy.  In a delirious sort of way.  I fully admit to taking swigs of maple syrup from the bottle.  I will find any excuse to include it in a recipe from baked beans to oatmeal cookies to lamb stew with dumplings. The sight of a real sugar maple is enough to make me start salivating. So this Rustic Maple Pecan Pie indeed made me happy.

It made me happy to read about it in the first place.  It made me happy to make it yesterday afternoon while the rest of the house napped.  It made me happy to share it with our close-knit friends after a raucous Thanksgiving dinner.  And it is making me happy to share it with you.  

Thank-you to Aimée at Under the High Chair for letting me share this with you. Use your favourite pie crust, I went with my standard Pate Brisée.

Rustic Maple Pecan Pie
(courtesy of  Aimée's Auntie Lynn)

1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell
2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 chopped pecans (I used a bit more than that)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2.  Beat eggs in a medium sized bowl.  Stir flour into brown sugar and add to eggs. Mix well. Stir in remaining ingredients.
3. Pour into pie shell and bake for 40 minutes.
4. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.  And more maple syrup drizzled on top.

Fall Quilt Festival

This is the first time I've shared a finished quilt with you that you didn't see anything of the process. I hope you aren't angry with me. I know, more than a little contradictory with the Workshop in Progress ideals. But I was testing the idea for a quilt along and wanted to be able to unveil it during the Blogger's Quilt Festival.

This is Gratitude (63 inches square).

Gratitude is for our neighbours. The neighbours who have saved our damn black dog during more than one thunderstorm - indeed, this is how we met them. The neighbours who always stop to say hi when they are out for an evening stroll. The neighbours who drew the plans for our basement and then refused payment for their work. And so we are giving them Gratitude.

Said neighbours, B and M, live in a renovated house in our 50 year old neighbourhood. They've added on and opened up and it really is an homage to late 70s design. Parts of it may be dated, but I love their house. So the colours in this quilt are inspired by their house. They have rich red carpet, beige walls, and terra cotta and brick. It is a warm house that inspires creativity and friendship. They are lovely neighbours after all, and an architect and designer to boot.

Victoria once asked her readers if there was any fabric that you wanted to buy on the bolt. I tend to get bored of a fabric, no matter how much I love it, after I've used it a few times. This red Kaffe, however, could change that. I did still see some at a LQS the other day and was tempted the buy the remaining yardage. I used it on the front as the red (along with another Kaffe in purple) and showcased it on the back.

You can also see the quilting on this photo. I did an all over swirl design, done free-motion. It was actually doodled from the scrollwork when I was in Banff. More hotel inspiration. I used my favourite thread, Presencia, in a cream colour. I actually wanted the quilting to be relatively subtle here, so as not to take away from the bold design of the top. I tried, but I couldn't just stipple it. I know there isn't anything wrong with stippling, but I wanted more. And more I got. As usual, it is heavily quilted. I swear, I don't mean to, but it seems I am unable to lightly quilt anything!

The binding was a lovely purple and red combo that matched so, so perfectly. I debated using a light brown so the red and purple on the top design popped a bit more, but when I found this fabric I knew it was meant to be. Funny, the LQS had it sitting right next to the Kaffe fabrics!

And finally, over a year after we received the plans from our neighbours and started the work to get the basement finished, here we are. Piles of concrete and wood. We've got the permits (renewed once already), picked the plumbing fixtures, and daydreamed about the master bath and quilt studio. But still it sits. (I took this photo today.) We're like the cobbler's kids with no shoes. Hubby works hard, the last thing he wants to do at the end of the day is put on the tools again. Sigh. At least I know that however overdue, Gratitude will be well-received.

Thanks for visiting, old and new friends. I am indeed going to launch this design as a quilt along. It is very easy, trust me. Stay tuned, I will launch the quilt along with a discussion about sizing and fabric choices on October 21.

Just Friday

If you've seen my mojo can you please give it back?

Maybe it was the turn in weather from our snippet of fall to pretty much winter.  Generally I would enjoy that, but this has just been a week to get me down.  The one thing keeping me going is the thought of Thanksgiving this weekend. Hands down, it is my favourite holiday. And I had grand plans for sharing recipes all week for some lovely dishes. Instead, I'm going to send you off to this site for breakfast. One day I will get the chance to really enjoy that first cup of hot tea and some hand pies in quiet contemplation of the last issue of Gourmet.  For now I'll scarf the pies, burn my tongue on the tea, and read a paragraph or two in the midst of screaming, Super Why, and dirty bums.

In the Workshop Today

Have you been following along with the Workshop in Progress participants?  There are some really interesting projects out there. I'll admit that I've been behind on my blog reading so I missed the initial posts, but I encourage you to still visit the blogs and gain some insight into the personal creative process of these artists.
Yes, I said artists.  Those who create are artists, even if you sew on the dining room table after the kids got to bed. Even if you never share a piece of your work.  I truly believe that process is integral to the notion of art.  I was never able to answer the debate in my History of Art class as an undergrad on whether art is about the artist and their process, the finished piece, or the audience. All I know is that there is no art without some combination of the three.  With an on-line presence you are choosing to share both yourself and your process, in addition to the finished work.  Would you still create without the blog audience?  Most likely, right?  But you must get something out of sharing the work and bits of yourself, hence the third aspect of art, the audience.
I hope you take the time to participate in the Workshop as a poster and as an commenter.  We aren't trying to replace the energy of a whole bunch of people standing in front of a design board, but we can foster the community of creativity and a supportive environment for trying out new ideas.  So please, take a look at what our fellow artists are doing.
Over at Katie's Korner she is showcasing the finished Frenchy bag.  She is ever so thankful for your tips and opinions on choosing fabric. And I love the end results. I'm not generally one for fabric bags (please don't hate me for that) but this is such a fabulous pattern.  I might be tempted to try one myself.

Cristin at Sew This is My Life is playing around with half square triangles. A few posts back she'stried out a few layouts and your comments helped her decide where she wanted to take the quilt.  Personally, I think she may have had a specific one in mind, but the feedback to confirm can be just as important as the feedback to challenge.  She's now squared up her blocks and is on to sewing.  Keep checking back with her to see the finished project.  I hope she knows how to quilt it. 

Have you seen the wonderful quilt Sue has been sharing with us at Share the Love? The lovely progress on her Snippets quilt, now finished, was insightful and showed how we quilters often fiddle over the smallest decisions. And then you do something and it just works.  And then you applique ateeny bird and the whole thing is perfect.  I can't wait to see what she does next. 

What KT Made Next has been very honest with every step along the way of designing and completing her Roses for Rosa quilt. I've really enjoyed helping her work through fabric shortages and layout options.  And because she's been teasing us by posting without pictures I can't wait to see what the finished product looks like!

Now, on to my next Workshop project. I haven't shared with you yet that I am participating in an on-line course hosted by Marisa Anne from Creative Thursday. It's been a personal challenge to not only accept the creativity inside me but to find a way to express it and share it with others, all while staying true to my family and myself. Taking the In the Fish-Bowl course is one of those things that forces you to be quietly reflective while slapping yourself across the face a la Airplane.  What's the equivalent of a man-crush for women, because that's what I have for Marisa?
This week's class was about our on-line identity. To be honest, I feel a bit schizophrenic about my on-line identity because I have all my quilting, then all my food writing. In my head they mesh together well most of the time, but as an on-line brand I struggle.  As part of my own challenges I am taking another look at both blogs.  To start, with the overall look and layout.  At the same time I am going to examine some of those larger identity issues, but that requires a lot more reflection and perhaps and shot of non-existent lottery winnings.
So, I am asking you for your opinions on what works and doesn't work on blogs.  Mine, yes, but others too.  What bugs you that people do no naming names)?  What features do you love?  How do you search through a blog?  What do you want out of a quilting blog? And anything else you want to share. Updates and changes will likely be ongoing for now.
Oh, and the pictures?  Just because I have a hard time posting without a picture, that's all. Besides Marisa encouraged us to think of our on-line space as a home or office, or even a specific room.  Immediately I thought of my dining room, where so much of my creative process gets realized, in food, in writing, in family dinners, pajama painting, tea with friends, and conversation.

(PS I am fully aware of the irony of a post about on-line presence where my formatting is completely messed up.  I'm trying, but I don't know how to fix it.)

Keep Your Eyes Open

The past few days took me out of town for my desk job.  There are worse places in the world to go for work than Banff.  Especially when you get the added luxury of staying at the famous Banff Springs Hotel.  The work stuff was okay, even interesting at times, and the food was sadly only mediocre.  But the inspiration in the Rocky Mountain Setting and this fabulous historic hotel more than make up for any disappointments.

Once upon a time I travelled quite a bit for work.  I've seen a lot of hotel ballrooms and meeting rooms.  I've stared at a lot of carpet, wallpaper, and over the top ugly mouldings.  And in that time I've doodled a lot of quilt designs. While the curlicue stuff isn't generally my cup of tea, the designs and impressions can serve as wonderful inspirations for even modern designs. So, next time you are at a boring work meeting or stuck in the speech portion of a wedding, take a look down, up, and around at your space.  See what graphic images can inspire.

The entire exterior of the hotel is covered with stone.  I adore the juxtaposition of the lines in the archways over the windows and doors and decorative spots like this.  With simple fabric choices this could be very effective on a quilt.
Oops, I just noticed my toes peeking out there.  Another candidate for the Toe Catchers group. I like the radiance of this carpet.  You could use a single fabric in the center, or some applique, with strips coming out from behind. With a bolder choice of fabric this would be a very striking quilt.
I really liked the angled panes of these chandeliers in the lobby.  It could be a very interesting take on a charm quilt.  Angle one section one way and flip it around again to still ensure a square piece. I actually did another sketch from a different chandelier, but I didn't take a picture of that one.  It was in the ballroom where half our sessions where and I didn't think people would appreciate me standing up and pointing my camera to the ceiling in the middle of a session by a Microsoft exec.
Isn't this a fantastic chair? Those perfect semi-circles!  Oh the possibilities for a circle lovin' Mama like me.
And look at the colours on this carpet. It was one of the brighter carpets in the hotel.  As I look at this picture now I know I have a fabric in those exact colours in my stash. Hmm, what to do with them?  Pick one of the inspirations above or even try something different?
This grill work was part of an extensive decorative system in the Conservatory at the hotel.  I can picture copying that design in one strip down a quilt.  Just a little to the left of center and with these exact colours.  Now that's a way to take something historical and turn it into something modern.
Lest you don't believe that I was actually there, I'm including this photo. I went for a short hike after the day's activities and snapped this by the Spray River.  I also snapped a whole bunch more photos.  I think my next nature inspired quilt will be Mountains. I think I need to go shopping for some grey fabric to round out the stash before I start that project.

Another Condiment Obsession

I’ve had a mild obsession with tomatoe marmalade since out weekend in the Okanagan.  After our trip to the market the clouds broke and we ventured to the aptly named community of Summerland.  There we drove up the mountain to the colourful Valentine Farm.  Our hosts, Kim Stansfield and John Gordon, met us in the yard of their compact property, next to their fantastic home and guest house. 
After introductions we gathered our lunch from the generous garden of Kim and John, under the watchful eye of an odd looking llama, a couple of horses, and a friendly guard dog names Asta.  We picked a half dozen types of greens, beets, radish pods, corn, flowers, and lots of tomatoes (minus the ones Hubby scarfed while picking).  
 
Kim and John are more than mere gardeners.  They are grape growers too.  But unlike every other wine maker or grape grower in the region who fears their wine spoiling), Kim and John intentionally infect their wine with acetic acid to turn it into a pungent and flavourful vinegar John showed us their small production facility (a very nice looking and obsessively clean garage) then set to finishing our lunch in the outdoor, wood-fired oven.

Our gathered items made their way into the most diverse salad I've ever had, dressed, of course, with Vinegar Works organic vinegar. We were also served a large platter of sliced heirloom tomatoes reminiscent of a sunrise.  Smaller tomatoes made their way on to the wood fired pizzas.

Oh, the pizzas.  The most tender yet crispy and somehow bulbous crust (yes, all at the same time) covered with tomatoes, sometimes chard, feta, and my newfound obsession: tomatoe marmalade. Can I just say I will never made a pizza without tomatoe marmalade ever again?  I would love to say that I will only ever eat pizza from a wood-fired backyard oven, but I don't live in Summerland or here to make that happen. But so long as I can hit 450 degrees F on m home oven I will be using this as my sauce.

So when my mother-in-law showed up with 20 pounds of Romas last week I set to work. The girls helped as much as it held their interest.  For Smilosaurus this meant transferring tomatoes from the box to the sink for washing, sampling along the way. She also had a special job of stealing the cloth for cleaning the jars. For The Monster helping meant transferring blanched tomatoes to the ice water, stirring the marmalade as it cooked, and helping label the finished jars. See, you can can with kids underfoot. Okay, it helps if your mother-in-law is around for bike rides and swing pushes when it gets a little boring for the little ones.

This marmalade sweet and just a little bit spicy.  It sets about as much as a runny jam.  I'm saving mine for pizza, but The Monster has already claimed some for dipping fresh bread.  It isn't Kim Stansfield's recipe, but I think it is nearly as good.  Then again, I'm not sure I could ever recreate that lunch and the taste of sunshine in every bite of our meal.


Tomatoe Marmalade
(makes 7-9 250 mL jars)

12 cups peeled, chopped tomatoes (drained of liquid)
9 cups sugar
1 orange, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon whole cloves
6 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 green cardamon pods

1. Mix the tomatoes and sugar together in a large pot. Place the remaining ingredients in a bag made from cheesecloth.  Put the cheesecloth bag and tomatoes together in a large pot and set on the stove.
2.  Bring to a strong simmer and cook for 45-60 minutes, until mixture thickens and the juices are syrupy.  Test for gel by placing a plate in the freezer.  When the plate is cold place a spoonful of the marmalade on the the plate and replace the plate in the freezer.  After a few minutes, run your fingernail through the marmalade.  If it doesn't immediately fill the space left by your finger it is ready.  If the liquid runs back on itself cook the marmalade for another few minutes.  Test again.
3.  Meanwhile, wash and sterilize your jars, lids, and screw tops in boiling water. Keep the jars hot until ready to use.
4.  When the marmalade is ready fill the jars to 1/2 inch from the top.  Wipe the rims clean with a hot, clean cloth.  Top with the lids and screw tops.
5.  Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (start timing once the water has returned to the boil after adding the filled jars). Freeze or immediately use any jars that don't seal.


SCRAPS!

Okay, like I need another project.  I have a project yet to reveal, a baby quilt started that will probably be late, my water quilt, and a million ideas racing around in my head.  And those are only the active ones, not the pile of UFOs hiding under the bed (literally). But I really, really like the Values quilts that Katie does over at Willy-Nilly.  And now she is hosting a quilt-along.

Shocking, I'm already behind.
  
The other day Hubby had The Monster our running errands so Smilosaurus and I played in my stash.  I decided that this Values quilt would only be scraps.  But in truth, my definition of scrap has changed over time.  Originally, anything smaller than 6 inches was a scrap.  And everything else got thrown back in the colour-coded bin as stash.  For this project, however, I was going to need bigger pieces.  So I refined my definition to anything I'd used before and might be less than a fat quarter.  A pretty generous definition if you ask me.

I must confess that this pile was not even close to everything that fit my refined definition.  I want to really like this quilt so I picked out only those fabrics that I still really like.  Or, at least the fabrics that I really liked that day.  I'm going to cut one of each and see where that gets me.

Let's see where this one goes...

Refreshed and Recharged

Hubby and I had a fantastic weekend away sans kids and dogs. I am ready to take on the world now! Of course, I can only do that after feeding the family, cleaning house, working on my second and third careers, and maybe just maybe getting some quilting in. And a little exercise.

The above image was taken on our trip, a Food and Wine Writer's Workshop in the Okanagan. Now you know why I need the exercise. For more details of the trip, follow me over to Backseat Gourmet. And while you're there, learn more about my TV experience this week.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, I totally know what I'm doing with the water quilt now. I just need to find the time to get it done!

Pears, Pears, and More Pears

While I'm not sure if any food makes me as happy as a warm strawberry plucked right off the plant I must admit that this pear comes deliriously close. It isn't quite right off the tree, but you don't want that anyway. Rather, a pear does better with a few days on the kitchen counter to mellow into its juicy, sexy sweetness. In the case of this pear it excelled with a couple of days in the Mission Hill Family Estate kitchen, a 7 hour drive in the backseat, and a few more sultry days on our kitchen counter.  Then it turned into a TV star.

Before we ventured to the Okanagan last week I booked my first TV appearance on Breakfast Television. The timing was perfect and I spent some of our time at the Penticton Farmers' Market searching for the perfect pears to bring home. The pears at the market were perfect, if I wanted to eat them that day.  Our guide, Matt Batey, heard my lament and offered up some Mission Hill pears.  They'd been picked the day before and would I like to stop by the Estate and pick them up when we were on our way home?

What a no brainer.  Of course, it meant that we didn't get home in time for the girls' bedtime. Ah, they'd hardly noticed we were gone anyway.


After days of touring around the Naramata Bench and visiting people in their homes, garages, and vineyards it was quite a shock to our senses to arrive at the Mission Hill Family Estates sprawling grounds.  From the second you pass through the gates at the end of a residential drive the entire experience is choreographed. You pass through the keystone (above) and enter the grounds.  Your view is filled with the sky, lake, and mountains behind, all framed by the Terrace restaurant, Bell Tower, Visitor Center, and the overwhelming feeling of luxury.

Then Matt greeted us in his chef whites and brought us back to reality with a tour of the gardens, kitchen, and food experience of Mission Hill.  The place may be all about the wine, with gardens and menus built to frame that wine, but the passion in the food and in Matt was evident.  I am dying to go back and try a winemaker dinner or culinary workshop. Another trip...

Here is Matt in the garden.  One of the fascinating things about the gardens here was that they are planted by grape varietal. It was like food and wine pairing for idiot cooks.  Well, probably a bit fancier than that. But in case you didn't know, Chardonnay works with cilantro, lily, corn, beans, squash, mint, and yes, pears.

Then there were the pears.  After pulling out a few crates Matt and I packed out one full crate of Bartletts, Bosc, and Asian pears to take home. Thank-you Matt, you're just lucky that they survived the drive home. He and Hubby seem to share a certain propensity for big, bad cars and heavy feet.


Yes, that is the seatbelt getting good use on the Old Okanagan Highway. No carseats on this trip, but safety always comes first!

So my precious beauties arrived home safely.  They were the perfect inspiration for the some lovely dishes. Hubby watched the girls last night and I baked, kneaded, and chopped to prep for this morning's BT appearance. I made Pear, Gorgonzola, and Carmelized Onion Pizza, Asian Pear Slaw, Upside Down Pear Gingerbread Cake, and Cardamon Hand Pies. The Monster helped me with the ultimate recipe, the Honey Pear Cheesecake.  It was a good thing she helped me last night because apparently she had a fit this morning watching me on TV.  "I want to bake a cake with Mama on TV!"  Maybe next time, Sweetie.

Honey Pear Vanilla Cheesecake
(Serves 10-12)

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (or crushed Nilla wafers, gingersnaps, or plain biscotti)

¼ cup butter, melted

2 tbsp sugar

3 (8 ounce) blocks of cream cheese, room temperature

½ cup honey

3 large eggs

1 vanilla bean

¾ cup pear puree or ½ cup pear nectar

½ cup flour

1 pear, peeled and finely diced

1 cup sour cream (optional)

¼ cup honey (optional)


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Boil a full kettle of water.

2. Mix together the cookie/cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until the consistency of wet sand. Press into a 9 inch springform pan, across the bottom and coming up the sides slightly.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Cool slightly and wrap the bottom of pan in two overlapping layers of aluminum foil.

3. Combine cream cheese and honey and beat until smooth.  Add the eggs, one at a time, incorporating after each addition. Slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and using the back of a small paring knife scrape the seeds from the bean.  Add the seeds to the cream cheese mixture along with the pear puree or nectar and the flour.  Mix until smooth. Finally, stir in the diced pear.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared crust and place in the springform pan in a larger pan. Transfer to the oven.  Before closing the oven door pour water from the boiled kettle into the larger pan until it comes about halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

5. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until the cheesecake seems firm but still slightly wiggles in the center.  Turn off the oven and close the oven door.  Keep in the oven for another 60 minutes. Remove and cool completely in the fridge.

6. Optional topping: Before serving mix together the sour cream and ¼ cup honey.  Pour over the cheesecake. (A nice touch or a way to disguise surface cracks.)


(Doesn't Dave Kelly look so enraptured by something?  Probably not me or my pears  - although I did manage to call them sexy on morning TV - but the segment went well.)

Backseat Adventure - Penticton Farmers' Market

The Backseat Gourmet really took the show on the road last weekend. Well, Hubby and I did. Our little eaters stayed home while we went to the Okanagan Food and Wine Writers Workshop. We lived up to the Eater title, and then some.  Throw in a lot of drinking, laughing, touring, sabering, and foraging and you've got a lovely four day Mommy and Daddy vacation.

The highlights from the trip are many.  Sublime meals, foraging our own lunch, actually learning how to taste and describe wines, and learning from other fascinating writers and editors.  Today I'm going to bring you our rainy morning excursion to the Penticton Farmers' Market.
 
I was eagerly awaiting our trip to the market after a particularly splendid and gloriously special meal on our first night of the workshop. Catered by Joy Road Catering the meal featured some spectacular food - lamb, a ridiculously good Santa Rose plum tart, and the most phenomenal green beans ever to have grown.  I couldn't stop talking about the beans for days. Simply steamed and tossed with pickled cipollini onions they were the pure definition of fresh and tasted like the colour green. When I found out that I could buy them from a vendor at the market I repeatedly told my fellow participants that any and all beans were mine, and only mine.  I'm sure it did little to ingratiate me to them, but I needed those beans.

When we arrived for breakfast the rain was looming.  And by the time we finished there was quite the downpour drenching the streets.  A few brave souls that actually thought to bring umbrellas started the walk while the rest of us remained behind, waiting for our short bus. By the time we reached the market and got underway the anxiety was creeping in. Coffees in hand and introductions made we ventured down Main Street to visit the stalls.  

Vans and trucks parked behind white awnings.  Some vendors without tents with drops of water glistening on the squash and apples.  Water dripping off the hats of grizzled men committed to their product. Two simple blocks of vendors selling their own veggies, garlic, herbs, sausage, coffee, and baking. Nothing fancy, little in the way of crafts, and more organic produce in one section that the largest Planet Organic in the country.

With the Similkameen Valley as part of the catchment for the market the number of organic producers was a significant portion of the vendors.  The Similkameen Valley has a disproportionately large number of organic producers.  I made the observation that there were more organic vendors than conventional in the market. It was a refreshing change.

It was also refreshing to know that of the vendors we stopped at we were actually meeting the producers.  They could tell us everything about each particular tomatoe or apple.   Their hands were dirty from picking that morning, their trucks low on gas from the trip into town. This one tomatoe guy from Naramata knew the name of each and everyone one of his probably 20 different kinds of heirloom tomatoes. He told us about the complex pen pal relationships he and other growers have to exchange and save seeds.  He entertained a curious four year old with trick tomatoes and dancing gourds. And when I went to pay I finally noticed his classic scale. How cool is this?

But what about those green beans? At every stall I thought, "this is it!"  We met lovely farmers and oohed and aahed over persian cucumbers, tiny tomatoes, and juicy pears.  Finally, finally we got to Gabi's stall. I pored over her pretty baskets of cute little veggies, desperate for those beans.  Someone grabbed the last bunch of cipollini onions while my eyes wandered over every basket and bag in the intense desire for those tender strings of green.  It may have been the rain, but I think I cried a little when told that the beans were sold out.

Sigh.  My heart was marginally mended when Julie shared with me one quarter of the last plum tart from Joy Road Catering's stall.  The tart they saved just for her. We joked about our tears of joy having calories that weekend, but mine at that moment was just a little bit sad.

I would be remiss if I did not thank Jennifer Cockrall-King for organizing such a fabulous workshop.  Wow, this Food Girl rocks! She organized a tremendous slate of events, with meals that can hardly be described by my words.  She brought together a fantastic and diverse group of people that were teasing each other and sharing glasses by the end of the weekend.

I also have to thank our host that morning, Mathew Batey, the executive chef at Mission Hill Winery.  More on him to come.

PS  What are you doing on Wednesday morning? I'll be on Breakfast Television here in Calgary, cooking with some lovely pears that I brought back from our trip. I hope you'll join me.

Well then

As a parent I often question the sanity and relevance of what I'm doing.  Daily.  Should I force her to clear her plate, where are her manners, do time-outs really work?  Then, once in a blue moon, they say or do something that makes you stand up and applaud yourself.  Yay, something I'm doing in sinking in! Case in point, this morning.

The Monster: What are you doing Mama?
Me: Making peach crisp.
The Monster: Oh, can I have some? (picking at the topping)
Me: Just one piece, the rest has to go on top of the peaches.
The Monster: But Mama, I'm just an Eater.

I won't be changing the name of the blog anytime soon, but she quite handily settled the debate between Foodie and Gourmet.

Grass - Revealed

Okay, enough already.  Here it is - the Grass Quilt.  It was time to put Water aside and showcase something actually completed.  There was no trauma in getting this one together.  I knew what I wanted to do from the first scrap of green that I pulled. My ode to Grass, in 68 inches square.

This quilt is also my personal backlash against white sashing.  Yes, I love it and I've used it plenty, but I was getting a little tired of seeing wonky log cabins sashed in white. So I switched it up and made the squares plain white.  Some of these are plain Kona cotton, and the rest are whatever white on whites I had laying around to make 12.5 inch squares. One of them, you can see, photographs quite yellow but it isn't that way in person. The greens are all from scraps and stash.

The quilting process I've already told you about.  It uses a lot of thread and I did have some needle sizing issues.  But I am thrilled with the way it turned out and the quilt has a wonderful drape despite being so heavily quilted.

This is the back.  I took some more scraps and essentially made a runner. The rest of it is some Katie Jump Rope that I found on sale.  That fabric is so soft that it makes a lovely backing. What I didn't think of was that the softness would more or less be lost with all the quilting.  Oh well, it still feels good.

The label will eventually go here, but I print mine and I need to wait until I have another finished quilt so I can print two labels on one sheet.

And now, let the vacation begin.

Thoroughly Confused

I thought I had it all figured out.  Then you guys had to go and weigh in.  Gee thanks a lot. Actually, I am really grateful for the opinions because it has helped, but it has also made things very confusing.  I am really torn now on this water quilt.

When I first did the layouts v4 was my favourite.  It immediately stood out as the best option, as the one that represented where I felt I should go with a water theme. And even as I reviewed the comments and contemplated other layouts it still stood out for me. Then I started playing with other layouts.

Because I love v4 so much I tried v6.  From the get go I saw that it was a big fat NO.  It didn't work for me at all. No harm done, nothing was sewn.  Then I remembered comments from Dillpickle about making it all "higgly piggly" with the breaks. That's where v7 came from.  I fell in love immediately.  I imagined making some more strips and even how I would construct the whole thing. I think I would use some of the softer blues to make these breaks, to bring out more blue overall in the quilt.  Hmmm.


Then I did v8.  Oh, v8. It was like I was some cheesy player in the bar who moved on from one potential conquest to the next with complete disregard to the girl he was just talking to. But this girl was hot.  The layout worked right away, and I knew it right away. Thanks to Marielle and Christine for making comments about going on the diagonal.  I don't know if I did what they suggested, but I think it worked out well.

But.

You knew there was going to be a but, right? It doesn't say water to me anymore.  The design works on so many levels, except for the original inspiration. Is that a problem?  Well, not a problem, but for some reason is does concern me. AmandaJean told me to just sew it up already and stop fretting, but I can't help but obsess over it.

I don't know what to do!  Good thing I'm going on a little vacation in a few days.  I'll have some time to contemplate design and water. Or just drink, eat, read, write, and enjoy a getaway with my Hubby. 

Eden in the Dust

So we finally get our grass in, our fence up, and have even hosted dinner once or twice. Then the City and Volker Stevin show up. They tore up part of our new front lawn, ripped apart the alley around our entire blocks, and now use our yard as the traffic line between alley and front street. Oh, and did I mention that my yard is surrounded by giant 20 foot deep holes? The noise and dust are constant. Thank goodness the girls can sleep through it. I only wish I could.

For two little kids the continual movement of machinery and big men is rather fascinating. We can watch at the window for hours and whenever we are heading out to the park or the men are taking a break we investigate the most recent digging. Apparently it is quite an ordeal to move a fire hydrant across the street. I can be amused by some new-to-me truck, but that's where my enthusiasm ends.

Then the pastry arrived.

Yesterday we shared some fresh cookies (baked to take the autumn chill off the house in the morning) with the builder men. The Monster was quite disappointed that not all of them were taken. Try explaining Ramadan to a 3 year old. Any and all sadness disappeared when one of the guys let her go in the giant hole today. And all my annoyance with the noise quickly shot out the backdoor when one guy arrived this afternoon bearing a tray of phyllo pastry. He insisted that we take half of it, and then more because some pieces were small.

At first we thought it was a variation on baclava. Phyllo spinkled with pistachios and honey. It seemed like a safe guess. Then we bit into it. The phyllo triangles are actually filled with some sort of mildly sweet, thick custard. It is not the same as the filling in a cannoli, being quite smooth and not tasting of cheese. But it also isn't like a typical pastry cream, being thicker and quite white in colour.

Unfortunately, our delivery guy couldn't tell us what was in it. Any clue out there?

Water Version 8

Some of you asked for diagonals, well, here they are. This is a departure from all the previous layouts. I find it both dynamic and calm at the same time.  Is it just me?

Of course, to do this I will end up with a whole bunch of offcuts, so I think I would make more as I'm hoping to make this a larger quilt. Not a big deal, just something for me to consider.  It also means there is potential for longer runs in the design.

Here is it flipped 90 degrees. (And without the use of flash photography.)

Don't forget to take a look at the other participants in the Workshop in Progress.  Some of them are already posted projects.  Elle is looking for opinions on salvaging an old project with a favourite fabric.  And Kate is hoping for some additional thoughts as she designs a baby quilt.

And me?  Well, it's been a long week with Hubby out of town and breaking in the new nanny. Tonight I am settling in with my newly arrived copy of Bend The Rules With Fabric, courtesy of Amy Karol at Angry Chicken. I won a contest a few weeks back and I can already feel the need for some uninterrupted creativity time!

Water Version 7

Okay, I really need a design wall! It wasn't until I sorted through this last batch of photos that I realized how hard it is to get a decent photo off my bed. I can't get it flat and the light sucks. If I don't use the flash the whole thing looks yellow and when I do use it the blues really stand out. My apologies.

I'm too tired to go through the previous comments on the first go around, but something someone said struck me and gave me this idea. Just little breaks in the flow of the horizontal strips. I could play with the colours more, make some softer than these.

What do you think?

Don't Judge Me


I refuse to give up yet.  Despite the fact that we nearly had frost the last two nights here in the city, despite the fact that it is already dark when the girls go the bed and the sun was almost eerily autumn-like at the park today, and despite the fact that yes, the leaves are starting to fall off the tree I refuse to accept than summer is over.  At least when it comes to my food.  So I'm still eating peaches and watermelon. I will grill burgers until my fingers freeze.  And I will still serve my kids ice cream for dinner.

We picked up this watermelon on the weekend.  With rind so dark that it looked like it was buried in the forest when it grew. And when we cut it open it was sweet and seedy.  I actually had to look it up, but did you know that a watermelon is in the same family as squashes and gourds?  The cut fruit reminded me of a squash, with ropy strands of flesh combining in a pulpy mass of seeds in the center of the fruit.  We scooped out the seeds rather than cut around them and were left with an inch of the most watermelon tasting watermelon I've ever had. I'm kicking myself that I didn't take note of the variety.

Aside from cutting slices and eating the watermelon straight - which the girls love - I prepared this watermelon the easiest way I know.  I made a milkshake.  Yeah, I said it, a watermelon milkshake.

In my house growing up we had the choice of two summer desserts - a raspberry milkshake and a watermelon milkshake. (Maybe a banana one if there happened to be a banana left behind in a house of three competitive swimmers.) Watermelon milkshakes were my personal favourite. Yet, whenever I mentioned it to friends they all got grossed out.  Like seriously grossed out.  I never understood that. What's wrong with creamy watermelon?  And really, that's what a watermelon milkshake tastes like. And there is nothing, absolutely nothing wrong with that.

It turns out the palest of pink.  A mix of equal parts watermelon puree and vanilla ice cream. That's it. Resist the urge to add more ice cream to make a thick milkshake, you will lose the balance of sweetness and fresh taste from the watermelon.

Oh yeah, and I fed it to my kids for dinner tonight.  Sadly, they only had a few sips and moved on to bread and baked beans.

Water Version 6


Continuing on with my Water quilt, I present v6.  When I did the initial layouts v4 was my favourite.  This is a bit of a change on that one.  I added the long strips of blue to separate the calm and the crazy sections.  And I made the center portion a little more hectic.

This layout initially struck me because it reminded me of my days as a competitive swimmer. 12 years in a pool will have an influence on you! Now, I'm only kind of meh about it.  Your thoughts?

(Apologies for the crappy photos this week.  The weather went from a late summer heat wave to decidedly fall and overcast yesterday.  Between that and Hubby mowing the lawn I was forced to use our king sized bed as a design wall.)

Thanks for the response to the Workshop in Progress! I'm hoping that the end of the long weekend here in North America will bring some more participants.  The first group is up there on the right.  Please take the time to post if you are participating and to visit and leave comments for the rest of you.  Your honest opinion delivered kindly is valued!

Workshop Launch

Asking for your opinions on the Water quilt layouts turned out to be a bit of an experiment. When the idea came into my head to share the design process with you I merely hoped to share with you my own thoughts and design development. To be honest, after playing with the layouts I was pretty sure what I wanted to do, or at least the direction I wanted to go (v4 was my favourite at that time). But by the middle of the week I was getting quite excited to read your opinions and insights. Fresh eyes on my work made me see things very differently.  Thank-you for that. I had new ideas to test out and I took a step back to evaluate my goals with the project as a whole.

Some people commented that I either had a thick skin or that I was brave.  Interestingly, I didn’t see it either way.  I saw it as an opportunity to get some input on a design struggle. Quilting can be such an insular activity these days – despite blogging and on-line quilt bees. Sharing my designs was a way to share a bit of me and hopefully solicit the opinions of other creative folks.  You know, two heads are better than one.

With such a positive experience I want to encourage you to open up your creative process to the rest of the blog world.  I'm launching Workshop in Progress today.

Workshop is Progress is merely you committing to being open to other people's opinions. Maybe you are stuck on a fabric choice or layout?  Maybe you ran out of the perfect border fabric and need ideas to help you finish the quilt?  Maybe you are stuck for ideas on quilting patterns?  There are an amazing number of talented quilters, artists, crafters, and designers out there who could help you out. All you have to do is ask. Welcome to the on-line version of a workshop.

Open up your process – pick one project, or all of them.  And instead of providing snippets or glimpes of the work, show it all.  The fabric choices, the pattern intent, the construction process, the mistakes, the struggles, the finished top, the backing choice, quilting, binding decisions, and finishing.

Once you've gathered the courage to open up, all you have to do is grab the button below by right clicking on the image, saving it somewhere on your computer where you can find it, and add a widget (if you are on Blogger or whatever it is on Typepad or Wordpress) where you can post the image and link back to this post. Then send me an email so I can add your blog to a running list here. 


This will only work if you also visit the other blogs and share your opinion there.  It takes a lot for many of us to open ourselves to potential criticism or simply to open up, so have the courtesy to share your opinion as well as ask for others.

A couple of basic rules for this, more matters of respect than guidelines.

1. Let me know by email (mamaark (at) gmail (dot) com) that you are participating so I can add you to the list here.

2. Be honest with your choices and your own thoughts about what you are sharing.  For example, if you are in love with some fabrics and will not entertain the idea of them not in the project then say that.

3. Be kind with your opinions, but be honest. You should say that something doesn't work for you in a design, but don't just say you hate it and run. Explain your opinion and be nice about it.

4. Be open to what people tell you.  It is amazing how it can change the way you see your work. 

5.  But don't feel like you need to change what you've done/are doing because of what someone else says if you really like it. This isn't high-pressure quilting.

6. Have fun, explore, create.