Fellow Quilters,

As I write this post, I am sitting on my friend Michelle’s (aka Watergirl) deck looking out at the St. Lawrence River in Prescott, where the boats are motoring by and local fishermen are hoping for a tasty fresh catch for dinner.  Occasionally a laker slowly cruises past.

The days are getting shorter and the evening air is cooler than a month ago – better for sleeping for sure!  The local markets are bursting with fresh produce, tempting us with their bright colors.  Is there anything better than just-picked corn on the cob or a tomato still warm from the sun, thickly sliced and simply garnished with salt and pepper?  Yum!

Next week’s canning project

Last week I purchased a ½-bushel of meaty Roma tomatoes that will soon go into old-fashioned chili sauce (see the recipe below), and I’ve been enjoying them in salads or as bruschetta every night for dinner.  A few weeks ago, I went blueberry-picking with another friend, Judy, at a local farm – so fun and easy since the bushes were the highbush variety.

Blueberry picking last month

As it turns out, the theme for this month’s Quilt Block Mania is Harvest – perfect timing!  I got cooking and came up with a block that works for so many different fabric collections, particularly fruit & veggie prints.

My Well-preserved block

My Well-preserved block looks very much like my pantry, with its assortment of jar sizes and colors (I also have jars of Yellow Pickle, made in July, and apricot jam (my dad’s favorite – so easy to make!).  Download the Well-preserved block pattern here.

I mocked up a 40” x 50” 12-block quilt stocked with a plethora of preserves, from pears (pale yellow) to blueberry jam (purple) to pickles (dark green) to relish (bright green) and more – fun!

You can find the 9 other participating designers’ blocks/patterns at the links below:

Sunflower Quilt Block by Carolina Moore
Farmers Daughter Quilt Block
Cherry Tomatoes by Inquiring Quilter
Harvest Basket
Apple Bough by QuiltFabrication
Perky Pumpkins
Pumpkin Pie by studio B
Well Preserved by Patti’s Patchwork
Autumn Windows
Scrappy Tomato by Katie Mae Quilts

In other news, I have 4 new patterns in the Patti’s Patchwork shop:

I recently had the opportunity to play with the fabulous ombre fabrics in McKenna Ryan’s Best Loved collection by Hoffman Fabrics.  I pop them into 3 of my existing patterns:

PC231H is the classic Good Vibrations using these full-width ombres to create a queen- or king-size stunner.

PC295H Good Vibrations Too typically uses ½-width ombres to make the lap or throw-size of the original pattern, however the delicious Best Loved ombres fit seamlessly into this revamped version.

PC319H Crescendo also looks fabulous with these ombres.

I featured Northcott’s new Shadow & Light horse collection in the new PC349 Cornered pattern that includes 4 sizes from lap to queen.

I’ll be on the road for the next few weeks travelling to 4 guilds:  the Norfolk County Quilt guild on September 8, the London Friendship Quilters Guild on September 10, the Ancaster Quilt Guild on September 16 and the Georgian Bay Quilt Guild on September 23.  In addition, my guild is joining 6 other local guilds in hosting the annual Simcoe County Quilt, Rug & Artisan Fair September 18-20 – I’ll have 2 quilts in the show if I can get them quilted in time (nothing like a deadline to motivate!!!).  If you’re at any of these events, please come by and say hi.

Now back to those unquilted show quilts…

Cheers,

Patti
Chili Sauce
Simmer uncovered for 1 hour:
10 large tomatoes (diced), 3 onions  (finely diced), 1 each red pepper,  green pepper and hot red pepper (all finely diced)
2 tbsp salt, 2 tsp cinnamon & ginger, 1/2 tsp cloves and 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
Add & simmer for 5 additional minutes:
1 cup brown or white sugar
Pour into hot sterilized jars and seal (I fill to 1/8″ from top, making sure that all fruit is covered with liquid)