Turkey Day

When I got married 10 years ago, I inherited a new-to-me Thanksgiving tradition. My husband's family gets together and does the usual - eat, gab, watch football, and repeat! This isn't just a few immediate relatives - this includes ALL of my husband's family, aunts, uncles, cousins, and all their kids, pretty much. Before too long, three generations will become four, and there will be even more hungry relatives at the annual gathering. I grew up with a much smaller immediate family Thanksgiving meal and celebration.

With all the guests at the feast, and with most of the food elements covered, I often struggle with what to bring to add to the meal.

To save the day, about two miles down the road from my house, a new cookie bakery recently opened, called ICJ cookies. ICJ stands for Italian Cookie Jar, and boy-O-boy are the cookies yummy!

Okay, I know Thanksgiving is all about that 'family thing' - and the pies - not to worry. The pies will be well-accounted for. But who can resist a yummy Italian delight?

There is always room in the tummy for just one cookie! Or two. . .

And the best part is I didn't dirty one dish or bowl in the process!

I'm making a small turkey with most of the fixin's on Friday, so Dave and I can have some leftovers!

Maybe I should get another tray of cookies just for us too!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Joan

Best in Show

Okay, I'm not an official judge, so that would be in my opinion. I love to walk the aisles at Quilt Market in Houston seeking out new gadgets and ideas. Sometimes a booth strikes my fancy. This one, I thought, was really original.


Don't Look Now! That's not an order, that's really the name of the pattern designers based in Melbourne, Australia. These pictures really don't do justice to the exquisite detail and dense quilting in all the samples. The booth was light, modern, and fresh.

Loved the border treatments on the quilts. Scattered appliqued flowers, or a combination of pieced and appliqued color.

And yes, one or two of the patterns may have made it into my shopping bag! A little indulgence never hurt anybody!













Happy stitching!
Joan

PS:
Retailers, don't forget to subscribe to the no-obligation newsletter for the latest news on patterns from the Hummingbird Highway - ScrapTherapy patterns and Snap Sack packs. Lotsa changes coming!

Exciting Times!

I can't believe it's already the end of October and I'm headed off to Houston for Fall Quilt Market in the morning. Unlike many of the past trade shows, this semi-annual show finds me in a bit of a transition.

Exciting changes are happening for the ScrapTherapy program - no longer autoshipped to enrolled shops - retailers may be pleased to know that absolutely nothing is required for the quarterly inventory purchases. The same great patterns, recommended notions, and tips - the best parts of the program remain unchanged! In fact, I'm working on the next project right now. Here it is, in progress. Isn't it beautiful! (At least it is in my head!)

And the Snap Sack Small Quilt Kits are changing too! Shops may now purchase kit-your-own packs in two quantities - 24 packs and 12 packs. So smaller shops can play, too! I can't show you what the next Small Quilt will look like - don't want to spoil the fun. It's due to start shipping in early November (oh my gosh, that's next week!). Alright, here are some hints - it's featured month is January, named Winter Chill, and includes four shades of icy blue! Love it! Ask for your kit at your favorite independent quilt shop!

Two brand new patterns are available. Chunky Quarters and Chunky Halves starting this Market. Almost too easy, and definitely way too much fun to assemble! Your favorite quilt shop can prepare kits for you so all you have to do is sew your lap-sized quilt together! A great gift!

If you are a retailer and want to know all the latest product information from the Hummingbird Highway, go to the home page of either of my websites, www.scrap-therapy.com or www.hummingbird-highway.com to subscribe to periodic e-nouncements! If you are a quilter, tell your LQS to get on the list so you don't miss one thing!

As if all this isn't enough! A new website is under construction, so watch for changes and be careful of the construction dust!

Scrappy Trails to you!
Joan

The Week in Review

Dave and I finally had the chance to run away for a little week-long vacation. So, if you aren't bored with stacks and stacks of vacation pictures from this past summer, here's a few more.

We first headed to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. We stayed at The Brickhouse Inn, a wonderful bed and breakfast right in town. There are two buildings on the property, one dates to 1863 and has the bullet holes from the first day of battle in the brick to prove it. Daily breakfast included your choice of dessert! So I started each day with a slice of Shoo-Fly Pie, a Pennsylvania Dutch classic!


We started our journey into Civil War history with a trip to the Visitors Center. Amongst the many artifacts, a pair of gloves worn by General Lee intrigued me. They were grey, of course. Each day of the three-day battle was reviewed in depth. One room was completely dedicated to the Gettysburg Address, shown here dramatically printed on frosted glass.


Later that day, we toured the battlefield, specifically seeking out the 122nd New York Infantry monument at Culps Hill. Why, you might ask? On the side of the monument it reads "Organized Onondaga County, NY. Mustered into service at Syracuse, NY August 28, 1862." Hey, that's home!


A couple days later, on our way out of town, we stopped at Boyd's Bears. Four floors of stuffed bears and animals. Wow! This little guy with the blue ribbon found his way into our car for the trip home!

On to Washington DC. Museums, museums, museums! Spies, portraits, American Indian, and News. And a new monument. There sure is a lot to see in DC!

Our neighbors seemed nice. They were just across the street from our hotel in this little cottage. We didn't get to see them.

A couple days, and a lot of gushing rainfall later, we were on to West Point for a football Saturday at Michie (pronounced like "Mikey") Stadium. What an experience!

The cadets, dressed in white uniform, sit in a large section of the stadium. When the Army team scores, the cadets jump out of the stands to do push-ups - one for each point on the board, while the announcer says, "Drop and gimme [fill in number here]!" At the end of the game, both teams stand at attention for the school anthem (below).

Final score: Army 35, Temple 42.

Too bad the home team lost, but it was great fun and perfect weather.

Back home again, and back to business!


Happy travels,
Joan

Service and Remembrance

Once a month, I get together with a few of my quilty friends to work on unfinished objects (UFOs). Yes, I am a finisher, but I will admit, a stray project (or several) have landed on a 'short' to-do list.

Last week, during our group quilting catch-up day, I pulled out a little project I started quite some time ago and added a couple of mitered borders to a pieced quilt center. This particular project was one of the last ones I brought to work on, so I didn't quite finish it before it was time to go home. It was placed back in the stack of unfinished projects for next month.

This morning I assessed, what seemed like a massive stack of quilted projects that need to get done - several holiday place mats, a few wall hangings and a full-sized quilt. All samples for the local shop. But one little project called to me. All it needed was a plush backing and some quilting.

Like so many others, I was profoundly affected by the events of September 11, nine short years ago. And today, it seemed appropriate to dedicate my time to finish something for someone else. Someone in need. My friend Beth is director at Interfaith Works. One of the programs she supervises assists refugees resettling to this country. And one of the families due to arrive in the near future includes a baby.

I hope the family enjoys this little baby quilt as much as I enjoyed the feeling of doing something - even something small - to welcome others to this great country we call home.

In service and remembrance,
Joan

P.S. Beth has LOTS of UFOs!

On the way . . .

The two newest ScrapTherapy patterns are getting packed into boxes, headed to your favorite participating quilt shop in the next week or two. Want a preview?

Stained Glass is a cool twist on the nine-patch theme. For this project, each element of the nine-patch is a pieced on-point scrappy square with narrow lattice in between the scraps. If your stomach gets all twisted in knots with concern over sewing those skinny strips, fear not! Sewn lattice strips start twice the size and incorporate a unique piecing and cutting method to avoid the stress. You're gonna love it! The pattern includes both lap and bed sized projects.

Flower Ballet incorporates machine-appliqued flowers with three-dimensional petals. Here's a super-sized table runner that will dress up any decor.

And, of course, I do love my gadgets! You just have to have the new trimming tool by Studio 180 Designs, Square-Squared to make the on-point pieced squares for your version of Stained Glass. Plus, circles used in the table runner are fast and fun to make with the Olfa Circle Rotary Cutter. Or try my newest favorite notion to make half-square triangles, the Fons and Porter 6" Square Up Ruler!

By the way, did you know that the first sixteen ScrapTherapy pattern releases are now available to all independent quilt shops, even if they've never been 'officially' enrolled in the program? Just ask for your favorite scrappy projects, such as Bloomin Steps, the Scrap Sack, and Pick-A-Pair Pot Holders at your local quilt shop.

As a reminder, the ScrapTherapy program is a method to cut your unused fabric scraps leftover from finished quilt project into sizes that make sense. Then use those cut-up scraps in quilted projects.

Happy quilting!
Joan

A Good Idea. . . I Think!

A few months back, I wrote that I would be participating in the Nine-Patch Project. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I have tons and tons of scraps I can use to make nine-patch blocks. And Karen Montgomery suggested that it would be fun, and she always has some pretty good ideas. So . . . .

I settled in and started sewing tiny nine-patches, each made from one 2" scrap square, which was cut in half twice to make four 1" squares. All batiks. Really pretty! (But small!)

Then I dug around in my stash for some fabric, big stuff. Determined to use fabric on hand, I found a cream-on-cream print. Probably about three yards, I'm guessing. And started cutting 1" strips, then 1" squares. In between other sewing, I made 2" unfinished mini-nine-patches with light centers and corners.

I know it sounds crazy, sewing all those small pieces. But I think sewing the small pieces makes sewing bigger pieces more accurate. I will admit, about two-thirds of the way through, I kinda got sick of sewing the small pieces. But I digress. . .

Then, I added either four or five 2" batiks to make 5" unfinished nine-patches, with alternating patched centers and whole centers. These were fun!

Sewed nine of the resulting nine-patches together for a nine-nine-nine patch that is about 13" square. I made twelve of these. Each one incorporates a total of 51 nine-patches - 41 teeny nine-patches, nine medium nine-patches, and the big momma nine-patch. The goal was 80 blocks for the summer. I guess I over-shot that goal, huh?

Now what?

I suppose that's my project for the fall. Stay tuned!!

To the 'nines!'
Joan