Our family sewing retreat was the first week in September and I was the lucky host this year. This was our 7th year and everyone had an awesome time sewing, visiting, advising, shopping and completing projects. There are 5 of us....4 sisters and our mother and we live in different states...Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma...and rotate homes each year.
We have our retreat banner and everyone contributes to the yearly goodie bags. Cooking responsibilities are rotated daily and we watch quilting tutorials during our lunch time breaks. Each year we learn what works best, making our retreat better every year.
The Tuesday of Retreat is our shop hop day. This year we visited 3 quilt shops and ended our day with an early supper and shopping at The Pioneer Woman's Mercantile Store, restaurant and pastry shop. And no, Ree was not there that day.
Our shopping day purchases definitely helped the economy.
The "Merc" is a fun place to visit and the food is awesome. Go if you can!
The 3 quilt stores offered lots fabric choices and inspiration.
We work on individual projects during the week and they consist of UFOs from previous retreats, home decor and clothing items and new items...that sometimes become UFOs for the next retreat. I'm sure you know the story well!
One of my cats enjoyed helping out too! They rule the house anyway.
We hold demo sessions if anyone is interested in teaching a technique or just wants to pass on quilting or sewing related information.
And yes there was "wine-ing" during retreat... but no whining.
On Friday, the last day, is our Sew to Serve day. My sister, Gina, is coordinator of the Prayer Quilt Ministry at her church and we generally sew quilt tops for her on this day. This year Gina gathered her scraps and cut them into strings and we all sewed string blocks. I believe we sewed enough blocks for her to make 4 quilt tops. Our sewing machines were really humming.
We have awesome fun every year, staying up late, laughing, enjoying each other's company and participating in a craft we all love. Sewing and quilting definitely brings people together.
And...at the end of the week, even the cat was worn out.
Next year we will be in Texas!
Happy Living!
Happy Quilting!
Be Kind and Love All!
Be Kind and Love All!
Today's Recipe - Shoofly Pie (Shoe fly Pie or Shoo Fly Pie)
When we were in Pennsylvania last year for my husband's working stint we ate several of these on cold winter evenings....enjoying it with a cup of coffee or hot cocoa.
To read the interesting history about this pie and the different versions click here
Shoofly Pie
You must use molasses in order for it to be a Shoofly Pie!
When we were in Pennsylvania last year for my husband's working stint we ate several of these on cold winter evenings....enjoying it with a cup of coffee or hot cocoa.
To read the interesting history about this pie and the different versions click here
Shoofly Pie
You must use molasses in order for it to be a Shoofly Pie!
Ingredients:
1 frozen pie crust or make own (see below) 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup boiling water
2/3 cup firmly backed light brown sugar 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp butter 1/2 cup dark (or light) molasses
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground ginger 1 large egg, beaten lightly
1/4 tsp ground cloves
(use light or dark molasses depending on your "boldness" preference)
Pie Directions:
Add pie weights or dried beans to frozen pie crust and bake 15 minutes at degrees stated on packaging. Remove weights and bake until golden brown or use the delicious pie crust recipe below...It's easier than you think!
Filling:
Using a pastry cutter or food processor mix flour, brown sugar, butter, all the spices and salt until crumbly.
Stir together the boiling water and baking soda in a large bowl and let stand for 1 minute. Stir together the molasses, corn syrup, vanilla, and egg in a medium bowl and mix into the water mixture.
Sprinkle half of the crumb flour mixture on bottom of prepared crust. Pour molasses mixture over crumb mixture. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over filling.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until set. Remove from oven to a wire rack, and cool for about 2 hours.
Pie Crust
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
1/4 tsp salt
4 to 5 tbsp ice cold water
Combine flour, butter and salt in a bowl and blend with pastry blender until it resembles crumbs. Sprinkle ice water, 1 tbsp at a time, over flour mixture and stir with a fork until moistened. Shape dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat over to 425 degrees. Lightly flour surface and roll dough into a 13 inch circle. Lay dough into a 9 inch pie plate, fold and crimp edges of dough to fit plate.
Line pastry with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake 5 to 8 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool completely before adding desired filling.
If you make this recipe please comment below on how it turned out and any changes you did.
Have an awesome week.
Life is full of many journeys.
Check out my Journeys:
