If foundation piecing were all there was to quilting--I'd rather drive a truck, to borrow a phrase from Ricky Nelson. To be a good foundation piecer, one must be able to think backwards. I cannot think backwards. Heck, I have enough trouble thinking frontwards.
The Christmas Block Drawing for our guild meeting yesterday was this foundation pieced Christmas tree. Looks simple enough, doesn't it?
But why is that big old gaudy butterfly appliqued over it? Well, that's because I can't think backwards. After pulling out almost every seam at least once and resewing them, when the block was finished I found I had left a gap where the fabric strip didn't quite make it to the edge of the pattern. By then, I was thoroughly disgusted with the whole thing. I was NOT going to take that block apart and start over. So I found that butterfly and stuck it over the boo-boo.
Below is a photo of some more of the blocks. I didn't win any of them, and I don't care. I don't think I ever want to see that block again--or anything else foundation pieced.
One of our bees conducted a tesselation challenge this year. (Tesselated blocks overlap; i.e., part of Block 1 becomes part of Block 2, etc.) Some of the tesselators brought their finished quilts for show-and-tell yesterday. They were all pretty awesome.
How about this awesome Tesselated Kitties quilt of Ruth Ann's?
And Peggy's pretty Tesselated Fishes.
More tesselations.
No tesselations here, but Art's tree skirts are beautiful, don't you think. Art is Ruth Ann's husband, and one of our very talented male quilters.
I love this Divide and Conquer quilt, but for the life of me, I can't remember whose it is.
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On The Food Channel the other day, I saw Bobbie Flay making Whoopie Pies. It looked like such fun that I decided I'm going to make some for Christmas gift giving. I even bought a sheet for baking snow-flaked shaped cookies/cakes that I plan to use to make my whoopie cakes.
Have you ever made Whoopie Pies? Do you have a favorite recipe for them? I printed a couple of recipes off the internet, but I'd really like to hear from a veteran Whoopie Pie baker if there's one our there.
I gather this is a Yankee treat, and not one that my southern sisters would be familiar with. But some of you northern ladies must know what I'm talking about.
ADDED from WIKIPEDIA: WHOOPIE PIE: While considered a New England phenomenon and a Pennsylvania Amish tradition, they are increasingly sold throughout the United States. According to food historians, Amish women would bake these (known as hucklebucks at the time) and put them in farmers' lunchboxes. When farmers would find the treats in their lunch, they would shout "Whoopie!".
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I've got lots of projects and tasks to finish up in the next ten days, so I better get to getting. Have a great day, everyone, and stay warm.
This post was migrated from the old blog. To see the comments on the original post, CLICK HERE. To add a new comment, click "Post a Comment", below.
On 12/14/2010, Helen in Switzerland said ...
Oh my...what in the world is a Whoopie Pie? They sure as heck haven't made it to Europe!!!
On 12/14/2010, Sandy said ...
I have made whoopie pies and I love them. I saw them on a TV show one time and it showed Amish women making them. Loving everything to do with the Amish, I had to try them. They are very easy to make and the cookies are delicious even without the filling. When I don't make them with the filling, I sprinkle the cookies with regular sugar right out of the oven while they're still warm. The filling just pushes them over the edge, in my opinion. DELISH!! (Tip: use Hershey's dark cocoa instead of regular cocoa and you've got a chewy, deep, dark chocolate mouthful of deliciousness!!!)
On 12/14/2010, Susan Ramey Cleveland said ...
Thanks for the tips, Sandy.
On 12/14/2010, Linda said ...
Your butterfly is the best!! Love it! I would've tried the same thing. Very resourceful! Whoopie pies are so good! Everyone will love them.
On 12/14/2010, Courtney Short-Prudhomme said ...
oooooh i LOVE whoopie pies!! Had my first one at a starbucks.. I will take some if you are offering them out ;-D
On 12/14/2010, Debbie said ...
Yummm...they sell Amish baked Whoopie pies at a local store in Eva...the red velvet are to die for! So are the carrot cake and chocolate ones! I bought a pan to make muffin tops and I'm using that for the Whoopie pies.
On 12/14/2010, Kai said ...
A VERY easy cookie to make - chocolate with vanilla filling, pumpkin with cream cheese filling, etc! And guess what? You can bake and FREEZE the cookies ahead of time, then thaw & fill them when you're ready for them! (Well, unless you have NO freezer space which I don't!)
On 12/14/2010, Susan Ramey Cleveland said ...
:-)
On 12/14/2010, Susan Ramey Cleveland said ...
See added note at bottom of post, Helen.
On 12/14/2010, Susan Ramey Cleveland said ...
That might be worth a drive to Eva to taste a real Amish Whoopie Pie. Thanks, Debbie.
On 12/14/2010, Susan Ramey Cleveland said ...
Thanks for the freezing tip, Kai.
On 12/14/2010, Barbara Anne said ...
These sound and look utterly delicious! I hope there is a recipe forthcoming.
I love the foundation pieced evergreen trees and have made some myself. I enjoy a bit of foundation piecing from time to time but do have to think hard as I do it. Sorry you ran into trouble.
Love the quilt pictures! All are food for the imagination!!
Hugs!
On 12/14/2010, Marydon said ...
Yes, the AMish sell them every where in PA, but not my fav. The quilts are gorgeous ...
Christmas hugs & wishes ~
TTFN ~ Marydon
On 12/14/2010, Jen said ...
I've only seen whoopie pies in gas stations, but never tasted one! Paper piecing is tricky, but your tree turned out great! The butterfly gives it charm! Thanks for sharing the tesselations!
On 12/14/2010, Jan said ...
I've made both of these Martha Stewart Whoopie Pie recipes. They're not hard to do and everyone thought they were something new and fun to eat! Let us know how your's turn out!
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/whoopie-pie
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/pumpkin-whoopie-pies
On 12/14/2010, Brenda Kula said ...
I never cared for the foundation piecing. I much prefer other types of quilting. I never could follow a pattern for much of anything. Or directions somewhere. So I always made up my own. I'm afraid that would probably be a nightmare with foundation piecing!
Brenda
On 12/15/2010, Beverly said ...
None of it looks easy to me, Susan. And, I think the butterfly is a perfectly lovely solution.
Yum! I saw that show, too. Love whoopie pies!
On 12/15/2010, Beth C. said ...
Hello Susan - I was one of the winners of the paper pieced trees and your butterfly tree was included! I thought to myself, how creative of this person. Now I know the whole story and will smile everytime I see it. Will have to try some of these recipes mentioned. Merry Christmas! Beth
On 12/15/2010, Susan Ramey Cleveland said ...
That's funny, Beth. I told on myself, didn't I? Congrats on your win. Can't wait to see what you make from your blocks. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you and your family. --Susan
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