Summer has turned to fall overnight, but I'm not quite ready for the change of seasons. There are too many quintessential summertime pleasures I missed out on. What’s summer after all, if you haven’t felt the sun on your face, quenched a thirst with ice-cold lemonade, or eaten your fill of watermelon, sweet corn, or home-grown tomatoes?
Like John Tobias' poem about watermelon pickles, or Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine, I wanted to capture the essence of summer, except in little quilt form. Here's my recipe:
Summertime Preserves
- Cut ripe berry reds and tart lemon yellows into bitesize squares.
- Add fresh sprigs of calico and crisp gingham check.
- Sweeten with a pinch of polka dots.
- Embroider to taste.
- Toss and sew.
- Quilt with sparkly rays of sun.
- Serve on a cloth of picnic plaid, spread out in a field full of daisies.
- Enjoy!
My friend Ruth finished the quilt with tiny stitches in yellow Perle cotton. I love the way they catch the light!
She crosshatched through the 2" squares...
and quilted cables in the daisy print border.
Look, there's more strawberry goodness on the back!
I'm so pleased with the way this turned out. It should satisfy my summer cravings, no matter what time of year!
Strawberry Preserves
15"x 17"
*Read the original post here.