As some of you already know (thanks for the notes!)...Cherry Baby has been included in the "This We Like" column in the February/March 2008 issue of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazine.
You may remember that I said a while back I didn't design anything with a cherry on it for for a really long time. When I saw cherries, I thought of Mary's work, and although she inspired us all, I just didn't want to "monkey see, monkey do".
So doing a whole collection that revolves around cherries is a big step for me...there has been "a lot of water under the bridge" in the last 20+ years as a designer. Like Alex Anderson (six degrees of separation?), I too have fond memories of cherries from Door County Wisconsin. Cherry pie was served with almost every meal we had at a restaurant or Fish Boil, and we also bought delicious pies at the roadside stands. When I was still a little pup, my parents and older siblings helped pick cherries (on really tall ladders) during harvest time at the Ray's farm outside of Bailey's Harbor. Younger kids passed their time by playing in the barn on bales of hay with the cats and their kittens. Those are some of the fondest memories an animal lover like me could have.
Do any of you have some vivid memories of cherries in your childhood? Any delicious recipes you'd have to share?
Back in two shakes...H2
I recently stumbled upon your blog and couldn't believe the things we have in common: grew up in the NW suburbs of Chicago, take in multiple homeless animals, especially the neediest ones, love of fabric, love of old stone houses, and best of all, love of food! Oh, and the homeless kitty I gave to my sister is named Puppy. Love the new fabric and can't wait to make something wonderful with it. My childhood cherry memory is climbing the cherry tree in my backyard, picking them, and then pitting them for hours for the pie mom would make.
Posted by: Vicki | January 09, 2008 at 02:07 PM
I, too, have those Door County memories. But my personal one is about the year I did a 4-H demo of cherry pie at the State Fair in Springfield, IL......I won a $25 savings bond presented to me by Gov. Walker.
He later served time in jail (as so many IL govs did....*L*)....and I'm sure I just cashed in that bond right away. But I still have the pic of me and the Guv.
Posted by: Sequana | January 09, 2008 at 02:14 PM
Yum Cherries! I don't have great family memories about cherries like you do, but I did have a cherry dessert that I started making when I was about 13 and in home ec that I loved. It was called Cherry Dream -- I think I made it a LOT until I got married and haven't made it since. It was a graham cracker crust in a 9x13 pan, followed by a layer of miniature marshmallows mixed with whipped cream, then a layer of cherry pie filling, then marshmallows with whipped cream and it was all topped by sprinkling a few Tbsp. of graham cracker crumbs. It was heavenly, although now that I'm much older, not sure I'd still love all those marshmallows!
Posted by: Thimbleanna | January 09, 2008 at 02:41 PM
Oh, those are just the sweetest cherries fabric. It's perfect for making dolls with. I think that I'll have to find a yard or two of it quickly. :-)
Posted by: Tami | January 09, 2008 at 03:55 PM
I don't think you can go wrong with cherries, at least by the looks of my stash! Love Cherry Baby.
We used to go to the u-pick farms for an outing and pick cherries then ride home spitting the pits out the window!!! I can't imagine how many pounds of sweet bing cherries I've eaten in my life.
Posted by: Pam | January 09, 2008 at 04:56 PM
Love the new fabric. I have been using cherry fabric in my quilts for more than 6 years, here and there. There is something so happy about the color, texture, taste and appearance of cherries that it jumps off the fabric and makes smiles. My parents had cherry trees and its hard not to eat until the tummy ache starts.
Posted by: Freda's Hive | January 10, 2008 at 09:07 AM
I love those fabrics, where can one buy them??? I must have some!
Posted by: Beth | January 10, 2008 at 09:29 AM
So cool when I opened up my issue of ME and there I saw YOU!
Ha... a friend of mine who lives in Door County refers to it as Dorc Ounty. Not that she thinks it's dorky... but what fun to shift one little letter and look what you get!
Congrats on the ME nod Holly! Way, way cool :o)
Posted by: happy zombie | January 12, 2008 at 09:52 AM
You rock! Lets catch up soon.
Gina
Posted by: gina | January 12, 2008 at 10:01 PM
Growing up in the Canberra suburb of Ainslie, I remember we had the most beautiful cherry tree right next to the driveway. Every year when it was covered in plump, ripe, luscious red cherries, Dad would take me out to it and hold me up so that I could pick my fill of them. It was then always a race to try to harvest them before the silver-eyes had their wicked way with the cherries.
Unfortunately when I was about nine, my older brother came home from a late night a "little under the weather" and parked his car in the cherry tree. Neither car nor tree survived the experience.
In Canberra cherries are very much part of the Christmas experience as one of the main growing areas is not far from the city and they come into season around late November. From early December, on many of the cities main roads you can see vehicles selling them buy the box or by the kilo.
Having now moved to the state of Victoria I found this was one thing I missed about living there.
Posted by: Jocelyn | January 13, 2008 at 11:34 AM
I love cherries...and not because of any cherry trees or Door County experiences, but because of Mary Engelbriet. I have loved her Chair of Bowlies for as long as I can remember. And, because of that I have moved on to collecting cherry fabric, cherry motif containers, aprons, ornaments. I don't have any recipes, but my Amish friend Wilma makes a great cherry pie!
Posted by: Heidi Kaisand | January 13, 2008 at 01:15 PM
Hey Holly! I have to "chime in", I too am a big fan of Mary Engelbreit, and also have fond childhood memories of picking cherries with my parents and siblings. I still drive by the house in town (where friends of my parents lived) and can't help remembering one summer in particular...., climbing ladders and picking for what seemed like, FOREVER! But the reward was, we had cherry pies and cobblers for months. My Grandma Bessie had a cherry creme puffs recipe that I included in one of my first quilt patterns. Thanks for the "walk down memory lane" for all of us.
Posted by: tammy | January 15, 2008 at 05:35 PM
I remember when I was little my Granddad had a few cherry trees, and those cherries were the best! He would let me pick them right off the tree and eat them. To this day I have never had any cherries that compare. I also remember that he hung aluminum pie pans in the trees to scare the birds off.
Posted by: Anita | June 10, 2008 at 03:28 PM