Happy Autumn!

Happy Autumn & Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians. Cozy up in your comfy chair with your favourite quilt, a cup of tea, and a piece of pumpkin pie while raindrops tap on the windows.

I baked pumpkin pies yesterday. Pumpkin is my favourite pie but I rarely get to enjoy them. Guess what I ate for breakfast today?!

These ones are made with almond milk! For the crust, I used 3-2-1 Pie Crust; measuring by cups, omitting the salt & sugar and using Vegan Becel as the fat. You can find the pie filling recipe at the bottom of this post.

I love Autumn! I love the colours and the smell, and the cooler weather. I love the sound of leaves crunching as I walk. I love leaves in general... all year long but mostly in Autumn when the colors burn to a warm flame! I will be making a pattern for this little Autumn Trivet introducing the technique of cut-away appliqué.

This beautiful wool felt bird has been standing guard over my little egg basket of twine for more than 8 years! I cherish my bird & oak leaf, as well as my pear & felted acorns. Check out all of Lisa’s wool creations at Lil Fish Studios!

I am looking forward to using this stash of wool that I have been coveting for years. Perhaps the leaves will inspire me? I updated the look of my SHOP recently. Pop on over to check it out... there is still time to sew some Pumpkin Coasters!

I hope you are all enjoying this time of year as much as I am. Stay warm & cozy, and join me for tea, pie & crafting!

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

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{PUMPKIN PIE}
makes 1 large deep dish pie or 2 regular shallow pies

3 cups pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp mace
3/4 cup almond milk

(This recipe uses more pumpkin & spices, and less sugar than most.)

Whisk together and pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake 425F for 15 min & 350F for 45 min or until filling is firm. Thin pies will be ready sooner. Serve with coconut whipped cream!

I use 3-2-1 pie crust recipe made with Vegan Becel. It’s a soft dough that doesn’t shrink. Add flour to make cut-outs. Bake cut-outs until lightly browned and place on pie once filling has firmed.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas snuck up on me like it does every year. I still managed to make a few quilted things in addition to the usual Christmas baking extravaganza!

I quilted a sweet modern vintage Chevy table runner designed by Cynthia Frenette. It looked super cute hanging from my mantel and is all wrapped up now waiting for its special delivery.

I free-motion quilted a loopy line between wavy double lines. I wanted it to look like cool winter wind. It was a lovely unexpected surprise that it looks like tire tracks in the snow! There are two designs in "Merry and Bright". I choose the table runner. If you would like to make your own, you can find the pattern here.

I've wanted to make a mini muffin tin advent calendar for a few years and finally did it! No more expensive store-bought calendars filled with cheap chocolates for my daughter!

She has really enjoyed it so far and is sad that there are only two days left to open. I had lots of fun scrapbooking the magnetic sheets. I even made a pipe cleaner wreath and a sled out of mini popsicle sticks!

I also made four Log Cabin Kitty potholders. I will share more photos of them in the next post. My Kitty Potholders have received a lot of comments on my facebook page so there will probably be a pattern to come!

A huge thank you to all my fans and followers. Your comments are truly appreciated. They keep me motivated and even give me great new ideas.

It snowed a couple weeks ago and another big dump this week added to it. There was three times as much snow as in the photo! A warm snap and lots of rain in the last two days has melted quite a bit of it but we are expecting more next week. I enjoy snow. It is magical and quiet. That is until it's a slushy muddy slippery mess...

I have been struggling with the squirrels eating all the birds' food. The little rascals chewed through my clothesline to get to the suet cage, and even managed to pry off the binder clips holding it shut before dragging the entire suet away. In honour of these cute rats with fluffy tails I baked gingerbread squirrels so I can bite their heads off!

Wishing you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS & a happy NEW YEAR!

Enjoy your Christmas cookies & quilted crafts :o)

Colours & Spice

The beautiful part of Autumn is almost over. The crisp colourful beauty of the falling leaves replaced by colourless shivers as the world begins its slumber.

There is nothing I love more than the scent of warm cinnamon & nutmeg rising from the oven... except for collecting leaves!

I find leaves inspiring... the colours & markings on each one is unique. They inspire me to sew & to paint. By the time the last leaf falls, every window ledge and table in my home is adorned with nature's treasures.

Which one shall I paint today?

I picked our first persimmon this week. It was crunchy & sweet. Percy has been entertained by chickadees taking baths and squirrel acrobats walking sunflower tight ropes. Our cat's full name is actually Percy Persimmon named after the orange fruit... although in hindsight we should have named him Percy Pumpkin because he weighs twenty pounds!

It's time to bake some more pumpkin pie! Last month's was super delicious. I make it with coconut milk and it's truly luscious. Honestly, I think that pumpkin pie should be enjoyed all year round!

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Foreign Treats

I forgot to blog about two wonderfully exciting things that happened a few months ago. Marianne contacted me in August to ask if I would be interested in being interviewed for her three-page article in the October-November issue of the French magazine Quilt Country.

Of course I said yes! It was fun working with Marianne. She had so many interesting questions that I had never really thought about before! I think the article turned out fabulous. I'm planning on giving a copy to my Mom for Christmas. Thank you Marianne! I don't have any extra copies for sale but you can purchase your own copy.

I have added a copy of Quilt Country to my other foreign magazines that include articles about me. Britain, Russia & France... I find that quite exciting :o)

Another excitement happened in London... Liberty of London at Cafe Liberty to be exact! An online blog friend Kerry of VeryKerryBerry asked if she could use my Quilted Teacup pattern to make a sample to go with a Tea Cozy she had made for Liberty Fabrics. I couldn't decline such a sweet offer. She even printed and sewed one of my labels onto the bottom and included my pattern info. Thanks again Kerry! (following: top photo courtesy of Liberty Cafe, bottom photo courtesy of Kerry)

I will leave you now with this lovely treat... a photo of an orange chiffon cake I made for a friend's birthday... if only you could smell & taste it!

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)