Holly Blog

My Favorite Things...238...Chalk Drawings on the Sidewalk

People ask me alot "What inspires you?"  Almost anything, anywhere.

I saw this recently while walking the dogs at a nearby school after hours.  The campus one of those idyllic California schools that are so very special.  Lots of gardens & outdoor space, covered walkways between small buildings, artwork hung in the classroom windows, courtyards filled with flowering plants, grassy lawns, sunshine and the evidence of kids & creativity blossoming everywhere.

This little drawing reminded me that I used to love to color up a storm on the sidewalks when I was a kid.  It makes me so happy to see a spontaneous use of color...

Summer is officially here...what inspires you?

:o)

H2

 

 

My Favorite Things...203...Fun Flowers Fabric!

For what seems like years now, people have been asking for "more brights", when are you going to do brights again?...By now, most of you have figured out that I LOVE COLOR...and that I refuse to be pigeon holed with one look or one color palette...The brights in this new collection remind me of my favorite 12 piece marker set (complete a carrying case and vinyl handle) from the Lillian Vernon catalog that my mom bought me back in 4th or 5th grade.

That color palette is still with me...

Here's the covers to the new Fun Flowers collection that will be going our to our distributors this week (to be shown to your local quilt shop owner shortly after that)...so make sure to ask your LQSO if she's seen the new Fun Flowers collection, OK?  You can tell her you saw a sneak peek of it on my blog.

Fun Flowers I (with White Backgrounds) & Fun Flowers II (with the Cocoa Backgrounds) along with our colorful Fun Flower Library of coordinates are slated to be in the stores this August.

Fun Flowers I (with White Backgrounds) & Fun Flowers III (with the Black Backgrounds) along with the same colorful Fun Flower Library of coordinates are slated to be in the stores this September.

Hope you all are as excited about this new collection as we are here...I LOVE to change things up a bit...and this new collection is just what I needed to lift my spirits, this stormy, snow covered winter.

I'll have lots more sneak peeks on Fun Flowers in the days & weeks ahead...magazine quilts, new (and not so new) quilting buddy's projects with the FFF (Fun Flowers Fabrics), so come back soon...

In two shakes...H2  :øP

My Favorite Things...137...Cherries Jubilee!

This little darling is by Cyndi Walker of the uber-adorable Stitch Studios  & Wishful Stitches blog.

I was tickled pink that Cyndi used the Cherry Toss fabric that we introduced at Houston market last year, in her little "ensemble".  Not only because she did an adorable design, but because I love that little Cherry Tossed fabric as much today as when I saw the first strike-off 2 long years ago!  Also because it a) goes perfectly with the new Doll Dress fabrics (and those of you who have been paying attention, know that that is TOTALLY ON PURPOSE on my part) & b) over the years that I have been active in the "quilt community" it's become very apparent to me that quilters LOVE anything having to do with  cherries, is it just me, or have you all noticed that too? 

I just love the mini yo-yo style cherries on this little "Cyndi original"...don't you?

Today while I was stuck in traffic, thinking about what to write about in this blog,I realized...Geez, I really don't know Cyndi all that well (even though I've been a big fan of her blog)...but using those cherries on her little dress...I could write a couple of good solid paragraphs on quilters and cherries...

A couple of years back, there was a cherry themed redwork project by Alex Anderson in American Patchwork & Quilting, she mentioned fond childhood memories of cherries and cherry pie in Door County Wisconsin on her grandparent's farm.  That was sort of a weird coincidence, since my family has been going to Door County and cherry picking there since before I was born.  I'd only met Alex briefly at Portland Quilt Market in Spring of 2003.  I was there to preview my first line of LakeHouse quilt fabrics.  I didn't actually have a booth at that market, but there were white room divider curtains up everywhere that market, so I used them to my advantage...I gave private viewings to all sorts of quilt industry bigwigs out of a gigantic suitcase that was loaded with my first collection of quilt fabrics.  Don't ask me where I got the nerve (Holly who?) to walk up to Alex and ask her if she wanted to look at my new fabrics, but I did (shock) and she couldn't have been nicer.  Business cards were exchanged, and a couple of years after that I just had to call her about our "6 degrees of separation" Door County connection.  She actually remembered me (double shock) and we talked about our childhood memories of Door County...

My other quilter/cherry story also involves Door County too.  When I was in Arizona back in January visiting Penny, Brenda and Cindy (Oates).  I also got to visit my mom and show her the Cherry Baby salesman sample cards.  I figured that she'd show them to her pals down in Arizona. I was half right on that!  Turns out a bunch of her friends in Arizona are from Door County!  I left a set of sample cards with her.  They got passed around, taken to some quilt guild meetings, and before I knew it, a little shop in Sister Bay Wisconsin named Quilter's Quest called to say that they just had to have the Cherry Baby fabrics for their store.  Small World.

So Cyndi, do you have a Cherry story that inspired your little dress?  Inquiring minds want to know!

Meantime, go check out Cyndi's pretty little blog and see what she's up to for fall market too.

Back in two shakes...H2

A Dozen Darling Designer Dolly Dresses   LakeHouse Dry Goods Doll Dresses Collection   Fabric Frolic

My Favorite Things...105...Mary Engelbreit's Magazine

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

My Favorite Things...57...Miss Bunny!

Day 10 of 13 A Dazzling Dozen Delicious Desserts

The excitement is palpable here at the studio...we're busy like Santa's elves on December 23rd, trying to figure out what fabrics go to whom, and get the boxes out asap.

I'm starting to have a few "moments" about how the booth is all going to come together...But that is just part of the design process...so stay tuned!

Here's one of my first little studies for a quilt that uses some of the La Belle Rose fabrics intermixed with some of the new Cherry Baby line that we will show at FQM at the end of October.  This mix of "old & new" is done completely on purpose...I love mix and match, and I love that one collection "self seeds" right into another...(and selfishly, I'd like our fabrics to make a big presence for you in your local quilt store!)

Also, as I have probably mentioned before, I am trying to make a conscious effort to do simpler quilts...This is no small task for me, as I my tendency is to overwork and over-think almost every thing I do...Something about this quilt gives me a nostalgic feeling, don't-cha think?

We all have memories of childhood that are indelibly etched...sensory things, like colors, tastes, smells and places. I have some especially fond memories of Christmas time at Marshall Field's department store in downtown Chicago.  Velveteen dresses, patent leather shoes, white tights, brunch under a ginormous decorated evergreen tree in a dining room that seemed to me to be a hundred feet tall.  My mom and dad "were in" for the food, (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree) because Field's had an unparalleled gourmet dept for it's time...things like Frango Mints and Cheddar Cheese Soup.  My favorite place back then was the children's toy & book department. I can still remember odd little details, like the paper curling ribbon that they tied the packages with and the children's gift wrap paper (colorful animals and toys on a celery green background). 

I am not exactly sure when I became aware of Anne Sutton & Bunny Hill.  But I can tell you that Anne's work is very evocative and like Christmas memories, it too awakens the child in me...Judging from the popularity of her blog and her quilts, I'm guessing that I am not alone.

It's some sort of a weird full circle thing then, that when I first started putting things together for the latest collection, I kept thinking of Anne.  So I'm particularly proud to have her share with all of us what she's been making and baking these last few weeks.  So here's Anne to tell you all about it!

Back in two shakes...H2

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My Favorite Things...25

I had been telling my old California friend Michelle how the Hickory Pit in Strawberry (ironic...right?) near my old house in Marin had closed and how disappointed I was about it...and how I loved the goopy Strawberry pie there...and that it was just like the kind we used to get at the Bob's Big Boy back in Mount Prospect. She said, that's so funny, there is still a Hickory Pit near my mom's house in Alamo.  That's where we got this pie. Don't ask me what possessed me to take this picture...sure wasn't the "food styling"...the first slice is always a challenge to get out!

Yesterday Paton saunters into my office and asked if I wanted to go for a swim...it had been a really hot day, and we both had cabin fever.  We go upstairs to change into our suits and while I am trying to pull my suit on, I murmur..."it's time for strawberry pie"...he replies, "you really are all about the food, aren't you?"...I'm thinking how nice the lake is going to feel in a couple of minutes and you're thinking about strawberry pie?

Paton's Mom's Strawberry Pie

Easy and yummy!

When quarts of strawberries are two for the price of one, it's time to make this pie!

Baked pastry shell (9")
1 and 1/3 c flour
1 stick butter
1/2 tsp salt
3-5 T ice water

Bake at about 400 degrees for 12 minutes with pie weights
Remove pie weights, turn pie shell (to avoid burning edges)
Do another 2-4 minutes watching so as not to burn edging.

1/2 c sifted confectioners sugar
Sprinkle on top of 2 q washed, hulled strawberries in glass baking dish
(use partial or extra dark & ripe berries for boiling mixture)

Boil 1 c water and 1/2 c crushed strawberries from above

Strain liquid, throw cooked strawberries away...

Cool liquid for 5-10 minutes & return to the pot

2T cornstarch in 3-4 T water...Mix with wire whisk
(so that when you incorporate liquid, it doesn't clump)

Whisk in cornstarch mixture into berry water mixture

Bring to a boil whisking until clear and thickened
(color is a bit odd--best described as "mauve"...add red food coloring if you like)
Add 1/2 c sugar to this and keep whisking until smooth and incorporated

Arrange as many berries as possible in the cooled pie shell
Large in middle, smaller to outside, 1/2 berries at edge

Pour warm (not hot) berry water mixture on top of berries using a rubber
scraper to assist

Cool

Whip 8oz heavy cream to use as dollop, or top as per the pie shown above

Keeps over night in fridge --- serve when cool or
cold (couple hours in fridge)

Pie has as shelf life of about 24 hours, after that, it's edible but just not as good.

Something tells me you won't have any trouble finding help finishing this pie...so that is probably a "moot point"!

back in two shakes...H2