Mr. Missoni

Dear Mr. Missoni - we love your quilt!
Missoni for Target - what did you get?

Basking in Success

So yesterday was the Grand Opening of the East Goshen Farmers' Market - a producers only farmers' market that I organized for my community - check out our blog for all of the details of opening day. Suffice it to say - much planning, targeted marketing and a whole lot of hard work from my committee members resulted in complete success.

Today, honestly I've been basking in our success - it really feels good to have pulled this off - without team work it would have never gotten off the ground. We're such a creative group that despite our success yesterday, today the emails have been faced paced with new ideas to add to the market.

Tonight - a little time to relax. For dinner we had a fantastic tart made by my new market friend, Gil - all locally sourced ingredients including the butter, cream , lard, and flour. It was filled with earthy mushrooms and a tangy chevre. Check out his blog! Don't you love his label! I've been following Gil's blog for over a year and never put 2 and 2 together when we invited him to the market.

Right now my husband and I are sitting on the patio - what an incredible night - just finished a cup of espresso prepared with Joe's Honduras Dark coffee from the market. Every good cup of espresso needs a sweet - Gil's caneles were perfect - heavenly little caramelized morsels with a custard-y interior - their addicting.

To keep the bugs at bay we decided to infuse ourselves with a touch of Grappa - all too often known as nectar of barbed wire - however this small batch grappa from Cedar Creek Distillery out of Portland, OR is smooth as silk! The perfect summer night! Thanks Gil and Joe!

Feeling Peachy

I've been so busy and it's all good!!! Tomorrow is the grand opening of the East Goshen Farmers' Market in East Goshen Township Park, every Thursday, 3 - 7 PM. Please check out our blog - we have an amazing list of vendors that are simply going to knock your socks off.

Take a look at these stunning peaches from Frecon Farms - just picked and ready for market tomorrow.
This market has been a labor of love and I simply could have never done it without my committee members - Donna, Kathy and Vicki - in 7 weeks we have pulled together the most amazing market.

Quilting friends - you're all invited - please attend the East Goshen Farmers' Market. Once this endeavor settles down it's back to the sewing room - promise!!!

Back in the Sewing Room

I have been completely absorbed the past few weeks in my community's soon to be launched farmers' market - East Goshen's Farmers' Market! It is a lot of work - just like starting a small business. Well today I decided to collide my two worlds - sewing and the farmers' market - what do you think of my aprons? I didn't actually make the aprons, just embroidered them.

We are having a big launch of the market next week at a township event and I thought my team and I should look the part - this should get their attention!

Hmmmmm - this shot reminds me of something in the news these days - - - did I really go there???

Bachelorette Party

'nuf said!

Hot Weather Recipes to the Rescue

I promise to return to sewing next week - this week is just too busy to think of starting (or finishing) a project. I did however find time to purchase some fabric on etsy.com yesterday - - -


My, oh, my - - - toile - who - - - me??? Certainly not my standard fabric selection - - - and they are definitely not destined for a standard "Lisa" sewing project - - - nothing quilty!

The East Coast is centered under Mother Nature's blow torch again this week - - - aggggrrrhhh!!! Not to worry --- I've got 2 recipes to help you beat the heat - yummy, light, easy, healthy, low in calories - - - feel good food, despite the heat!!!

Cold Chicken and Rice Salad from this month's Cooking Light - followed the recipe exactly plus added an apple for some crunch and sweetness! So delicious!!!

And, Cuban Papaya Salad from the current issue of Clean Eating --- as a dietitian I simply I love the premise of this magazine - responsible, honest eating and cooking. This recipe was to be served warm but I opted to make it a cold salad - i did not saute the spinach and beans - just chilled everything after sauteing and then tossed it all together - so nourishing! Sorry - the recipe isn't on-line yet - - - you're gonna have to buy the current issue - - - don't fret - there's plenty of great recipes in this issue to try!!!

Meg Cox Visit

Meg Cox, author of The Quilter's Catalog, was speaker at my guild today - - - what a motivating speaker! In addition to her professional achievements in the world of journalism, Meg is also the current president for the Alliance for American Quilts - an organization that I learned a lot about today. Meg is one busy and passionate woman!
A few interesting tidbits that ended up on my notepad:
1. The red and white quilt show that was on display in NYC for a little over a week - the one I missed - it's going on tour - we're going to get another chance to see it - hopefully it will be hung in the same setting. As soon as I get the info I promise to share it!
2. Quilters SOS - Save Our Stories - is nearing the launch of their upcoming challenge - a 16 inch square quilt challenge - if I'm not mistaken, and I could be, they are to be in the shape of a house - details pending - get on the mailing list!
3. August 5th and 6th of 2011 the Alliance for American Quilts will be hosting a fund raiser at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, followed by a cocktail reception at City Quilter - that might just work with my schedule.
4. The demand for quilt patterns is declining while the sales of accessory type items is increasing - interesting!
5. The Folk Art Museum in NYC is closing - this is not news to me - just terribly sad. I find it fitting that the quilt exhibit, now in it's second installation, will be the last show in the current location. The Lincoln Center branch of the Folk Art Museum will remain open.
6. Ami Simms is one of the funniest speaker - well, with that info I came home an blasted off an e-mail to Ami to see if I could book her for the guild - working on the date now!