Pots and Pins

Quilt Group Friday...Happy Halloween!

 

You're in for a treat!  I have a lot of Halloween quilt eye-candy for you - so sit back, make yourself comfortable and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our group reassures each other every month, when we point out our little quilting mistakes, that there are NO Quilting Police...turns out we were wrong!  Stephanie IS one of the Quilt Police!  She is the cutest - she shows up to our Halloween meeting every year in costume, and she is the ONLY one who does!  This year, as a member of the Quilt Police, she came prepared to write out tickets and had her magnifying glass and ruler in hand!  Officer Stephanie also informed us, "The more IN you are the more OUT you'll be!"  Good to know!  We all got a kick out of the first quilt that was shown...Kareena made the quilt the Policewoman is standing in front of...something to do with Dr. Who...she made it for her niece/nephew...it was the perfect backdrop for our cop!  For you Dr. Who fans, the quilt it from a kit and Kareena said the kit tells you how to order the wording online.

 

 

Kareena is very clever!  Look at these cute towels, she machine-appliqued crows, for her grandsons!  Wish I'd thought of it!  Very simple and fun, I'm sure they will love them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barbara showed us her latest Fall quilts, one in the works, two finished.  The one below is a favorite of mine!

Barbara is such a precise and beautiful piecer, you can see her beautiful work in the details on this quilt - it's a beaut!

 

Shelly's leaf quilt is pinned and ready for quilting.  I didn't see if she was hand or machine quilting it...either way it will be wonderful!  I don't have a leaf quilt and every year I say I'm going to make one...maybe next year will be MY year!

 

 

There was no way to do justice to this tumbling block quilt by Shelly...first of all, it's huge so I couldn't really capture the size of it with my camera and second...it's HAND-PIECED!!!  Crazy is as Crazy does!  A giant hand-pieced quilt with "Y" seams...wow!  This quilt stands the test of time, it's truly beautiful and Shelly says she is going to hand-quilt it, too!

Jenny has returned!!!  Some of you will remember that Jen and her family left Washington state over a year ago with their three kids, two dogs and a travel trailer!  They drove from Alaska to Florida to Maine and all points in between - what an adventure!  And if you didn't follow along, you can read all about it by clicking here:  The Great Family Adventure.  Anyway, Jenny and her husband survived and I suspect her kids thrived, how could they not?!?  So now they are back home and Jenny came with a giant bag of goodies to show!  This blue quilt was made by Jenny for her friend who is undergoing cancer treatments.  I showed this to you in the summer but it's worth seeing again. 

This quilt, like Shelly's hand-pieced quilt, is a masterpiece!  Jenny English-paper-pieced the blocks by hand and did the embroidery - this is a State Flower block quilt and she finished it on her travels around the country.  It's really stunning in person!  Like I said, Jenny brought in all kinds of things to show us from her trip - unfortunately I didn't take pictures of any of it!  She had embroidered dish towels from Kentucky, buttons, beads and ribbon from Alaska, beads from Native American Indians in Arizona, Trinkets from Missouri Star Quilts in Missouri, Cyanotype blocks that she and her kids made in every state and samples of Ice Dying...very cool!  Hopefully she will teach US how to do it soon!

 

 

 Terry brought in her Halloween quilts - she loves Halloween every bit as much as me and it's so fun to see her quilts again!  Our group does love circle quilts!  I used to have a Halloween circle quilt but I gave it away and the person who has it posts pics every Halloween of her girls wrapped up in it so that makes me happy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of Terry's yummy quilts... it's as cozy and soft as it looks because it's made with all flannels.  We all loved the little Halloween guy on the back!

Diane has a lot of Halloween quilts, too!  I love this little circle quilt, the fabric is SOOOO fun!  Diane's husband is a rocket scientist, he really is!  So she had to make this mad scientist quilt for him!

 

This little cowboy quilt of Diane's is her latest for her newest grandbaby, who I think lives in Texas, so it's perfect!

 

J

Just take a minute or two and study this quilt of Diane's...it's really wonderful!  (I have no idea why that J is hanging out up there!) Diane bought a panel of fabric, then fussy cut the cute creatures - a lot of work but the results are so great!

Marsha brought in this "pow-wow" quilt that she is working on...I love the soft colors! 

 

 

Officer Stephanie showed us her Halloween house quilt - it's an oldie but goodie, as is her Halloween circle quilt

We our quilt group was first started, about 20 years ago, Nancy was a member.  Nancy is an amazing quilter and her niche is the Bargello quilt.  Nancy came to our meeting last week (and it was so great to see her!) and brought in one of her latest Bargello quilts - it's a beauty!\

 

 

 

Helen was reminded of her Thomas Quilt, pictured above, when her friend Sujata Shaw came to visit.  Sujata is an incredible quilts and teacher, if you're not familiar with her work, check out her website, The Root Connection.  This quilt is the result of one of the classes Helen took from Sujata many years ago.

This is another oldie but goodie - Helen's Halloween quilt.  As we looked at the blocks some of us thought we recognized one of two as ones we did...but that might just have been wishful thinking! 

Terry just finished her Christmas block quilt - it's perfect and fun and has the cutest Grinch fabric on the back!  I love the "setting posts" she put in between the blocks - they were all fussy cut with picture of The Grinch.

I had to take a picture of Barbara's coffee table - it has a glass top with a drawer underneath that Barbara fills with different things depending on the season.  For our meeting she had MY little quilt book in her table...made me happy to see it...maybe I should write another one...naw, who's got time for that!?! 

We had a great show and tell and Barbara served us a wonderful lunch...it's always so fun and inspiring to be in a room full of talented quilters! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN AND HAPPY QUILTING!

 

Harvest Brittle...

I am a creature of habit...every season I make the same foods, put out the same decorations, do the same activities...it's Fall by Numbers around here, let me give you an example:

1.  Halloween black and orange regurgitated all over the house and yard, I'm can feel my neighbors rolling their eyes...oy vey...

2.  Head to the pumpkin patch to buy cornstalks, gourds and pumpkins - where I can be sure to pay top dollar for the experience of walking in dirt

3.  Make Chili, Chowder, Licorice Caramels, and Pies...you'll have to scroll down and click on the PIE link - I probably make a pie a week this time of year, because it would just be rude not to, and because who doesn't like pie?!? 

4.  Dress up like a witch and make fool of myself.  Some things are just mandatory, apologies go out November 1st.

5.  Make Harvest Brittle.  This is the newest addition to my Fall by Numbers list...and all I can say is, why didn't I make this sooner?!? 

 

 

 

 

 

You've all had peanut brittle, right?  This is pretty much like that, only better because it has more than just peanuts and the brittle part is flavored with brown sugar, honey, a bit of butter and vanilla.  It will give you plenty of crunch, along with the cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds, dried apricots and Craisins and sure, go ahead and toss in some peanuts just for the heckova it!

You can use regular white granulated sugar for a lighter colored brittle, which makes the orange apricot pieces and the green pumpkin seeds stand out a bit more, but I love that little hint of molasses the brown sugar gives...your choice, it's great either way.

We are celebrating today, not just Harvest Brittle and all of it's deliciouness, but it's BAD PICTURE day at Pots and Pins!  Again!  One would think that after TEN YEARS of blogging, yep, TEN, that one would know how to correctly load pictures...but one would be wrong!  October 2007 was my first post - for those of you who have read every post for the last ten years...I'd like to say Thanks Mom!  Mom was and continues to be my inspiration for everything I do and I started this blog as a way of showing her what I'm up to...she continues to be my biggest fan so Happy Blogaversary to us Mom!

iPhone photos...maybe that's why they're crooked?!?  I have no idea, nor do I care, because really, any way I post it you can see this is something you need to make, right?  There is a lot of goodness in every bite so you really don't have to feel guilty for eating it...and it's not too sticky-chewy so you won't have to worry about dental work falling out...but don't blame me if it does!

Harvest Brittle - Pots and Pins

1 cup almonds

1 cup cashews

1/2 cup peanuts

3/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/3 cup dried apricots

1/3 cup dried cranberries

2 1/2 cups brown sugar (light or dark, or you can use white granulated sugar - your choice)

1/2 cup honey

1 cup water

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a large pot (this mixture boils up and increases in size so use a pot larger than you think you would need) combine the sugar, honey, water and salt and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.  Insert a candy thermometer and continue to cook and stir, occasionally, until the mixture reaches 310 degrees, which will take about 15 to 20 minutes. 

While the mixture is cooking, prepare the pan.  Place a sheet of parchment paper in a 9 x 13-inch pan and butter the parchment, sides and bottom.  Set aside.

After the sugar mixture reaches 310 degrees,  turn off the heat and allow to cool to 302 degrees, then immediately stir in the butter, vanilla, the nuts and the dried fruit and mix until everything is thoroughly coated. 

Immediately pour the mixture onto the parchment paper in the pan and using the back of a spatula, spread it out and smooth the top.  Allow the brittle to cool completely before cutting or breaking into pieces.  (You can put in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling.)  Store brittle in an air-tight container for up to one month...but it won't last that long!

 

 

Harvest Brittle makes an excellent thank you gift, too, like say you had knee surgery and your friends showered you with flowers, dinners and chocolate and you needed a yummy way to let them know how much you love and appreciated all they did...this is what you give them !!