"Fresh Baked"

July means berry pie around here. Not the mouthwatering taste of fresh baked pies even though my husband LOVES cherry pie.  Instead it's the eye catching pie combo of all things fabric fruity. Unfortunately for my family, I'm just not a baker or even much of a cook. I cook because we have to eat. But when it comes to fabric recipes I love to whip up a tasty treat to go with my fruit and veggie dish collection. (You can see my citrus collection here).

Guess you could say I'm a baker with fabric just like I'm a gardener with fabric. I think it's easier and it definitely lasts longer. When July rolls around it's the month of quilted berries. This is as close as it gets to red, white and blue in my house.

A few of the apple collection

The berry collection

I call this quilt "Fresh Baked"  I used lots of apple and berry prints set with some creamy pie crust colored prints to evoke the image of a table full of pies. I think the little red check and a basketweave print for the binding give the feel of a picnic. Now if only it weren't 100 degrees outside and we could actually have a picnic. I also used some buttons in the center of each pie just because I wanted a little hand sewn touch.

Doesn't it make your mouth water?

Fresh Squeezed, a Juicy Quilt

Last month I mentioned my collection of flower dishes. Well . . . I have an even bigger collection of fruit and veggie dishes. It all started innocently enough with 3 fruit plates. Then another and another and another. Once again, they are mostly flea market finds just like the floral dishes. Before I knew it I had amassed quite a collection so when we remodeled our kitchen, one of my objectives was to incorporate some type of display area. Now I have space for all (well most) of my dishes.

The juicy dishes.

At about the same time this obsession started with the dishes along came all the delicious fruit and veggie fabrics. Of course it didn't take long before an equally large stash of fabrics developed. What can I say? They make me happy  : )  and I'm obsessed with more than fabric. As I collected the fabrics, the initial idea was to make one single quilt but somehow I could never imagine the right quilt. Then it hit me . . . make several quilts, each with their own fruity/veggie theme.

Think I have enough citrus fabrics?

I had the best time cooking up these delicious quilts. Fresh Squeezed, Fresh Baked, Fresh Picked, Vine Ripe to name a few. This summer I will rotate them into my kitchen/dining area starting off the summer with Fresh Squeezed.

"Fresh Squeezed" my juicy summer quilt.

See the great display in the background? Love it!

What better what to enjoy a hot summer day than with an ice cold glass of lemonade? So here's to summer and relaxing with a cold drink.

Summer and Submissions

Summer is here and I'm re-adjusting to a full house after our first year of the empty nest. Lots of chaos, piles and moving, but two young adults are mostly settled in for the summer and I'm finally getting back to the studio.

I'm in the midst of a home decor project for my daughter. Black and white fabrics to go with her fabulous black and white striped chair and create a little added flare to her room.

I'm thinking of submitting my idea for this project to a magazine (thus not many pics to share right now) and am wondering if anyone has experience with the submission process? It's a home decor project that is quilted and very modern in design. I've never submitted before so don't know the ins and outs. Do they want things that have never been published before including on a blog? Do you submit to one magazine at a time? How long does it take? etc etc etc. I have looked into online submission info on websites. Seems some sites don't readily share submission info. Perhaps they don't want unsolicited items. Right now I'm considering Stitch magazine. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.