Scrabblicious

Any Scrabble fans out there? I'm definitely not one (hello long and boring), but my sister-in-law Kelly is. She must have an especially active language center in her brain, because she thinks a lot about names, puns, word games and puzzles. She is the undefeated Scrabble champ in the family. So when Kelly saw a friend wearing a necklace made from reclaimed Scrabble pieces, she thought she'd died and gone to craft heaven. We tried our hand at making a few, and I think they came out quite cute. Check out more in the shop.

And thank you Bethany for giving me a little blog award (my first!). I'm inspired to keep my blog going by kind readers like her, and because of all the inspiration I receive from others out there in blogland. Merci!

Blueberry Bliss

Here's the pie I entered into the pie baking contest at our party on the 4th. I made it at 7:00 that morning in between setting up the volleyball net and hanging buntings. It was such an easy recipe, that that was actually possible.

It has an oaty crispy type crust on the top and bottom. So if you like fruit crisps, it's like the crisp part completely surrounds the blueberry filling. And patting in a crust is just so much less pressure than fluting a traditional one.

I read a book once called Humble Pie: Musings on what Lies Beneath the Crust, by Anne Dimock. She believes that pie makers are "called" to a particular kind of pie (by the time they are 35). I consider myself a pie maker, and I've reached 35, and I do believe my calling is blueberry. For some reason, this kind of pie is always my best. When those round little berries are cooked, their juicy goodness, contained only by a thin purple skin, bursts and ooze when barely touched with a fork...hmmmm. Dimock wouldn't really consider this pie a "true pie" since it doesn't have a regular double crust. But it was good anyway. (A lot better than the store bought crust, pudding from a pack, lemon pie that won first place. Whatever, I'm not bitter ;)

Blueberry Pie
1 cup butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups quick oats
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 pints fresh blueberries
1 T. flour
1-2 T. sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Stir in flour, salt and oats. Mix until well combined.
Pat 2/3 of the mixture into an ungreased 9 inch pie pan to form the bottom crust. Mix blueberries with flour and sugar and spread blueberries evenly into crust. Pat the remaining oat mixture onto top of blueberries.
Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes.

Well, we survived our big 4th of July bash, which I think turned out pretty nice. The fire department sent 3 vehicles to lead our little parade, and that was a big hit with the kiddies. We had all kinds of games, a catered lunch, an awesome blue grass quartet, and the grand opening of our new community swimming pool. The rain held off until we were finished with everything! Lots of people came, not so many helped, so it was a 7:00am - 5:00pm day of non-stop 'doing.' I'm exhausted. I have nothing more ambitious to do today than go sit by the pool. I love summer.

Dresden Plates on the Dock

I've mentioned before that my mom makes quilts for all her grandchildren (16 and counting). This is the latest. It is a Dresden Plate pattern in oranges, blues and greens.

We were at the lake last weekend and there she was in her bathing suit and sunglasses, stretched out on her lounge chair on the dock...appliqueing all the centers on her blocks. A perfect way to relax lakeside, right? She cracks me up.

I love this sweet yellow fabric with the blues and greens on either side.

Open Studio

There was recently an open tour of various artists' studios in the more rural area of our county. We spent a lovely afternoon visiting the studios of a ceramic artist, painters, weavers, tile makers, and photographers. In order to get my husband excited about this little excursion, I also made sure we stopped by the manly metal shop of sculptor John Raymond. It was so cool, Dan is now stalking Craig's List for welding tools. I don't know if I should be psyched or very, very scared.

Polka Dots and Ric Rack

I've recently discovered Grosgrain where Kathleen shares the lovely children's clothes she creates. She's giving away this darling Strawberry Quart Caplet, so hurry over to check it out.

This little swingy, flowery top, made from an old curtain, was one of my recent favorites.

And look, she's also giving away this handmade rooster dress.

Kokeshi

Check out Red Yarn's cute little kokeshi show. I made this one real quickly, but since she is only 2 inches tall, and I couldn't seem to find any decent paint brushes, she's pretty basic. Truly amazing examples, by professional artist, can be found here.