Sweet Home Quilt Co.

I’m one of those “I hate fruitcake” people…there, I said it! Is there a holiday food more ridiculed than the fruitcake? Bad jokes abound about fruitcakes surviving all sorts of catastrophic events intact, or the “gift that keeps on giving” that gets passed around from year to year! And is there a more dreaded Christmas gift? Who in their right mind thinks a gift of fruitcake would be welcomed?

Everyone knows there’s a lot of bad fruitcake out there. Especially those dense, dry loaves speckled with lumps of green, yellow and red that don’t resemble any fruit I’ve ever seen! Even those that are steeped in booze are often inedible, giving off clouds of alcohol fumes strong enough to give you a serious hangover! I remember my mother baking fruitcakes weeks in advance of the holidays, wrapping them in rum-soaked cheesecloth (and periodically dampening the cheesecloth with rum again!) leaving plenty of time to “cure.” Ugh!

Forget everything you know – and perhaps dislike – about traditional holiday fruitcakes. I’m sharing one of my all-time favorite recipes with you, and I promise it is unlike any other fruitcake you’ve ever had. Even better, it’s a breeze to make and a little slice to nibble on is just the right amount to satisfy your sweet tooth!

No Bake Ice Box Fruit Cake

1 box vanilla wafers or graham crackers

1 can Eagle Brand milk

1 box coconut

1 box golden raisins

1 qt. chopped pecans

Crush vanilla wafers or crackers with a rolling pin. Mix all ingredients thoroughly by hand. Roll into about a 2-inch round log (recipe will make several logs), wrap tightly in waxed paper and refrigerate for several hours (best overnight). Slice into about ¼ inch rounds to serve. Will keep several weeks in refrigerator, tightly wrapped in wax paper.

It’s the ONLY fruitcake I’ll eat! I hope you’ll give the recipe a try, and let me know how you like it!

Melisa

One of my favorite things about living in Georgia this time of year is the abundance of fresh pecans. I love cooking with them, and I love eating them raw…fresh-cracked, of course! A favorite childhood memory is us kids spending Saturday afternoons picking up pecans at the neighbor’s pecan orchard and getting paid a nickel a pound for all we picked up! We didn’t have any of those fancy gizmos that you see today for picking up the nuts either…we had to stoop over and pick up every single nut by hand! We didn’t know it was work, though…we were happy to be outside with our friends and earning a little spending money!

At our house, pecan pie is a must for the Thanksgiving (and Christmas!) dinner table. Over the years, I’ve perfected my pecan pie recipe and it is always the first dessert to disappear! I always make extra pies so the kids can each take one home to enjoy later. We like our pecan pie plain…just the ooey-gooey filling and crunchy nuts! But a little whipped cream or vanilla ice cream is good, too, especially if the pie is warm out of the oven!

Here’s my recipe…if you make it, drop me a note and let me know how you like it!

PECAN PIE

7 whole eggs
3 cups pecans (I use whole halves, but you could coarsely chop the nuts, too)
2 cups light Karo syrup
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 stick melted butter (the real stuff, NOT margarine)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract (again, real vanilla extract, not imitation)
3 deep-dish frozen pie crusts (I use the frozen pie crusts because I’m usually making many pies and time is a factor for me; feel free to use your favorite homemade pie crust if you’re so inclined!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients (except pie crusts!) and mix well; divide filling evenly and pour into pie crusts. Bake for 5 minutes at 350 degrees, then lower temperature to 300 degrees and continue baking for one hour or until firm. (Note: I usually add one tablespoon of cornstarch to the mixture before baking for a firmer filling.) Allow pie to cool at least one hour before cutting. This pie freezes well; allow 30 minutes to thaw before serving.

Do you have a favorite dessert that always makes an appearance on your holiday table? Share the recipe…I’m always looking for new recipes to try!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Melisa

A friend’s birthday is coming up this week and while I knew what I wanted to make for her, I fiddled around and didn’t get started until last weekend. I cut everything out at the shop Saturday a week ago, and as luck would have it I was using the last pattern we had in stock. A customer wanted to buy the pattern and I certainly wasn’t going to say “No!” So I had my project all cut out but no pattern. Luckily, it was one of Terry’s patterns so a quick call last Monday and I had more patterns on the way. Unfortunately, I didn’t get back to my project until Sunday and by then I was under a deadline ‘cause the birthday girl’s party is tonight! I had already made the pattern once, though, so I felt confident I could whip it out in no time flat…yea right! This is the pattern I planned to use:

Pockets to Go, Atkinson Designs

A terrific gift idea and very easy to make! The only problem was that I complicated things by deciding to use some of the new laminate fabric we’d received at the shop the week before from Andover. I wasn’t anticipating any problems because the laminates were so soft and supple, I assumed they would sew just like regular fabric (unlike some of the vinyls and oilcloths we’d had previously which were stiff and hard to maneuver) – I was partially right. I didn’t have a teflon foot for my machine so it was a little tricky sewing with the laminates…the fabric wanted to stick and thus, shift out of place…I did a lot of ripping, which if you think about it, isn’t exactly what you want to be doing with laminates! I was able to get one box done using tissue paper sandwiched with the fabric, but it was harder to see what I was doing and then I had to pick the paper out of the stitches! I finally gave in on Monday and called our local sewing machine dealer, Conyers Sewing Center, to see if they had a teflon foot that would fit my Janome; they did, and I made a special trip into town to get it. Back home and that last box was done in under an hour…I was kicking myself let me tell you! But so happy with how they turned out…what do you think?

The bindings and the inside pockets are coordinating cotton fabrics, and the zippers? No Big Deal! Terry’s instructions for inserting zippers are so foolproof it is actually fun to do them! Did I just say putting in a zipper is fun? Trust me, it is or it can be if you use Terry’s method!

I sure hope they’re a hit with the birthday girl! Gotta run, it’s birthday night with the Batty Babes…nobody does birthdays like the Babes!

Melisa

I think the song is a little different…something about ‘toes in the water…’ but since I don’t do water, the sand is all I’ve got! I’m enjoying my weekend at Panama City Beach, Florida with my cousins. They’ve spent a lot more time on the beach than I have, but given my fair skin I can’t do much sand & surf time even with gobs and gobs of sunscreen! I went down EARLY this morning before it got so hot and walked a little along the beach while they played in the water.  Didn’t take long before I was ready for a cool drink and a COLD shower…can you tell that I’m really not much of a beach girl?

The water and the beaches are clean, just lots of seaweed in the water.

I was amazed at the lack of people enjoying the beach. Granted, it was early morning but it really hasn’t been crowded here at all this weekend. Could be because some school systems have already gone back to school, and I suppose some people might have been concerned about the oil spill…no sign of it here, though!

We’re off to do some shopping and sightseeing this afternoon, then we’ll have a nice dinner out somewhere. I’m looking forward to some fresh seafood! It has been a lot of fun catching up with the girl cousins, and I’m hoping we can make this an annual event…we’re all scattered in different directions so it is hard for us to get together regularly.

Back to reality tomorrow…I’m ready, though. Seems like I’ve been gone for a month!

Melisa

My Mom came for a visit this weekend, and I took Saturday off from the shop (!!) so we could spend some time together. We did a little shopping (everyone should know by now how much I hate to shop!) and I snagged a cute bag for my upcoming trips …

and a new pair of sandals (I know I need a pedicure – it is on this week’s To Do list!)

I just noticed the gray and blue color theme going on here with the new bag and the new shoes! I’ve worn these shoes since I brought them home, and I have to say they may not be the cutest shoes I’ve ever bought, but they are by far the most comfortable! Like walking on marshmallows! I knew I’d be doing lots of walking in Paducah, and my feet give me fits on a good day, so I had to have something comfy. These are Merrells…pricey, but worth it, I think! Too bad they can’t be cute and comfy!

Mom and I also did a little antique hunting (no luck…) and I had to stop for pictures of this beautiful little country church

So serene and beautiful, it was almost breathtaking!

A couple of the Grandies came over Sunday afternoon and we grilled hotdogs for lunch. I had bought water pistols for their Goodie Box, and they had a blast “hunting” each other down – they were both soaked to the skin!

At one point, Hayden was hiding in the woods behind a tree and I said “I think I see someone in the woods.” He stepped out from behind the tree, looked behind him and then said “It’s me, Grammy, can’t you tell?” Cracked me up…

Mom left for home about lunch time today, and I was sad to see her go. I sure wish she lived closer! It was a great weekend, very relaxing and just what I needed!

Hope you had a terrific weekend, too!

Melisa

Just had to share this funny moment:  I’ve been a little under the weather today, tired, headache-y (it is allergy season, you know!) so I didn’t cook a big Easter meal like I normally would have. We decided earlier today just to have Dirty Rice for dinner, which is quick to fix and yummy, too. Mike always cooks the sausage so after he had that done, I threw the rest of the ingredients into the casserole dish and popped it into the oven. I set the timer for a half hour and mentioned taking the foil off for the last few minutes so the top could brown. Mike headed for the den to watch the news, and I went to my sewing room (just off the den) and logged onto the computer. After a bit I hear Mike say “What does it mean when the timer goes off?” HUH???

Melisa

Sorry, guys, nothing interesting happening here at the moment. Got a lot on my mind and can’t sleep, but I have nothing to share other than these photos of the amazing display of Yoshino cherry trees in our little town. Enjoy…

(Click on the photos to enlarge)

Back soon,

Melisa

At one point late Christmas Day the thought crossed my mind that I would get up early and go shopping today to see what sort of post-Christmas bargains I could find. At 6AM this morning I realized the folly of this idea, and pulled the covers back over my head!

So what did I do today? The bad news is that I’ve snacked my way through the kitchen several times! I love having the leftovers from Christmas, but nothing I ate seemed to satisfy me today! I can also say that I am now intimately familiar with the offerings of the Hallmark Channel, while reacquainting myself with a couple of long forgotten knitting projects. I actually managed to finish off two things – a funky little cupcake and a felted tote bag.

This little knitted confection was fun to make, but knitting the “icing” with that funky yarn truly tested my patience! Love how it turned out, though. This will be a gift for a friend’s birthday. The pattern can be found in the book Oneskein: 30 Quick Projects to Knit and Crochet by Leigh Radford.

This is my felted knit tote bag, and I love, love, love how it turned out! It is very large (it was twice this big before I felted it!) and will hold lots of stuff. I need to fashion some sort of closure for it – right now I’ve just used a shawl pin. I’ll probably just use a really heavy duty snap on the inside and add a large button on the outside to cover it. I don’t know why I didn’t think about it before I finished off the tote – I hate having my bags gap open! This tote will make a great overnight bag or carry-on for the plane.

In between eating and knitting and watching movies, I managed to do a couple of loads of laundry and did a little reading, too. A very relaxed and laid back day – exactly what I needed! Tomorrow it’s back to my “To Do” list!

Melisa

I’m hoping this post comes through ok. I’m trying out Windows Live Writer and still don’t quite have the hang of posting with it. Fingers crossed …

We get many Christmas cards each year from family, friends and business associates. I used to keep all of the cards, but it just gets to be too much after a while; so now I cut off the front pictures and donate them to a charitable organization that recycles the pictures into new cards. But every once in a while, we get a card that is a treasure unto itself and those I hold onto, to be enjoyed season after season.

This handmade gem is one that I will treasure for years to come. My friend Louise brought this to me at the shop several days ago. She made the card using cheater fabric that she ‘pieced’ together to make the top and borders of the tiny little quilt; the fabric is glued to the card stock and laminated.  The photo makes it look very large, but the card is only about 4″ x 6″! A sweet gift and wonderful reminder of our special friendship that developed through our love of quilting.