HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I am so excited that people asked me for this recipe at the guild Christmas party - I have never been asked for a recipe for something I've baked - Baking is just not my forte - Now ask me to make a quilt or a really kickin' Margarita and you will have better luck.
This was very easy ( I actually tried out a few other preview recipes & they were terrible - George was forced to eat them - he's happy as long as he doesn't have to cook )
I did not line the pan with foil or grease the pan - just pressed the crumb stuff into a glass baking dish 9x13 & it came out fine -no sticking. I omitted the nuts & I used the Neufchatel -less calories - you know how health conscious I am - HA !!!!

PUMPKIN PIE BARS from http://www.kraftfood.com/
Prep Time:
15 min
Total Time:
55 min
Makes:
Makes 24 servings.

What You Need!

1-1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup  granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup  (1-1/2 sticks) cold butter or margarine
1 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats, uncooked
1/2 cup  chopped PLANTERS Pecans
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3   eggs
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
1 Tbsp.  pumpkin pie spice

Make It!

HEAT oven to 350°F. Line 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides; grease foil. Mix flour, 1/4 Cup granulated sugar and 1/2 Cup brown sugar in medium bowl; cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in oats and nuts.
RESERVE 1 cup oat mixture; press remaining onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 min. Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar, eggs, pumpkin and spice with mixer until well blended. Pour over crust; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
BAKE 25 min.; cool 10 min. Use foil to transfer dessert from pan to wire rack; cool completely.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Size-Wise
Sweets can add enjoyment to a balanced diet, but remember to keep tabs on portions.
Substitute
Prepare using PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese.
Substitute
Can't find pumpkin pie spice? Simply mix 1 tsp. each ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and allspice, then use as directed.

Soo Nipi Quilt Show

If you missed the Soo Nipi Quilt Guild show at the Newport Library Arts Center here is a slideshow:

(Click on image for larger view)

The show was featured in a recent article at http://www.sunapeenews.com/

Good news for the gnus (see last post) -they raised $71K from the auction. The Arts are alive & thriving in NH.

The Gnus of New London,NH

Yesterday I took photos of these very cool gnus that have been designed by area artists. After gracing the streets & businesses of New London for several months they will be auctioned off on Sat., Oct 11th. For more info go to  www.gnusofgnulondon.org  The proceeds will benefit the New London Area Center For The Arts. Come on people SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ARTISTS. Art feeds the heart, the mind & the soul. ART = LIFE

World Quilt Show NH

Okay I’m still dinkin’ around with my digital camera – learning how to take better pics - getting things in my picture files – loading stuff on CD’s – slideshows – and now I’d like to get this as a slideshow onto my blog – Yeah –yeah- yeah –You think this is easy?????  Here goes …

View Full Album

Not exactly what I wanted will try again tomorrow – I need to go quilt!!!

League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair

This is the quilt that I collaborated on with my friend Linda Dunning. It looks so good in this dining room setting, surrounded by beautifully hand crafted furniture & accessories

OCEAN

30”x90” Hand dyed cottons-hand painted silks –fused,machine pieced,machine quilted

If anyone is in New Hampshire this weekend you really should go to the Fair - Aug 1-9- This is one of the oldest crafts fairs in the country ( 76 years!!!). -350+ juried craftspeople –really extraordinary exhibits.

It’s located at Mt Sunapee in Newbury, NH. Music,workshops,demos,food,scenic chairlift rides & of course you can see our quilt in all it’s glory in the Living With Crafts exhibit in the Lodge. www.nhcrafts.org

Stamping, etc.

This is what I’ve been doing lately-

I’ve been dyeing, stamping, printing, monoprinting, and painting fabrics for a series of art quilts. As you can see, I like lizards – I have no idea why- I just like the way they look. Through the years I’ve made quite a few lizard quilts. I make my own stamps – lizards - I batik, yup, lizards –fusible appliqué, you guessed it – lizards. I’ve never owned a lizard –or ever even met one up close & personal (unless,of course, you consider a few guys I’ve met in bars –I used to be a bartender) Well I do make some things other than lizards.

  

   

I just put this design wall up in my dining room ( I use that term loosely –there is never any dining in the dining room – the table is always piled high with projects –I know you can relate to that!)  It’s just some of that pink foam insulation stuff from Home Depot that I covered with some batting. I love it – now I want one in every room. There’s just something about being able to see everything from a few feet away- very clarifying. Now I need one to use for a backdrop for taking photographs of my work for the blog. And I need another one for laying out & previewing the quilt as I assemble it.
Well, if I’m going to get any work done today I’d better get going – I am still muddling through this blogging process – downloading the pics, formatting,figuring out all this stuff as I go along –& I don’t know how to type – yikes ( I know Mom, I should have listened to you in high school). But learning every day – I love to learn new things.

I’m Back

 After finally getting my blog going I got so busy with other stuff that I sorta dropped the ball – I just got back from a family picnic in CT- with all my sisters, cousins, my aunt and their families – I have the best family on the planet- I am so so lucky!!
 I have been working on a collaborative fiber art piece, with my friend Linda, for the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair. http://www.nhcrafts.org/craftsmens_fair/fair_home.html   We decided to do it last November and submitted our proposal in February. We first did a smaller prototype for our submission application & since then we have been dyeing cottons, painting silks … and just last week we finished assembling the top. Now it’s back with me for machine quilting. The pressure is on! We only get together a few times a month so it’s been slow going –but we have a well organized work plan & homework assignments so we are right on schedule.

 Sorry no pics til our unveiling at the Fair in August. –    So here’s a pic for you of an older work that I did for a challenge for a small fiber art group I belonged to –

It doesn’t seem very clear –but hopefully I will improve my computer & blogging skills more and more as I go on.