You are currently browsing the monthly archive for April, 2009.
So many exciting things happening at Avlyn! I’m so happy to be part of this growing company!
Project Linus is pleased to announce their partnership with Avlyn, designer and manufacturer of fine quality fabrics for the craft and quilt industry. With this partnership Avlyn donates 8% of the sales of Avlyn’s exclusive Project Linus fabric collections back to Project Linus.
Avlyn’s Project Linus fabric collections can be purchased from your local independent fabric shop. If your local quilt shop has not yet ordered the Project Linus fabric collection, please encourage them to do so.
The first fabric collection, titled Komfort Kids, is simply delightful! Patrick Lose, well-known fabric designer, designed this collection exclusively for Project Linus. He is well known for his trademarked marbleized solids that are an industry trendsetter.
The featured design is titled “Sweet Dreams.” Four other designs–“Sweethearts,” “Heart Toss,” “Twinkle Stars,” and “Bubbles”–all complement “Sweet Dreams.”
Sweet Dreams
Fabric design © 2009 Patrick Lose
Sweethearts
Fabric design © 2009 Patrick Lose
Heart Toss
Fabric designs © 2009 Patrick Lose
Twinkle Stars
Fabric designs © 2009 Patrick Lose
Bubbles
Fabric designs © 2009 Patrick Lose
To see more about Project Linus, visit their website at http://www.projectlinus.org/fabrics.html
To learn more about Komfort Kid and Avlyn’s fine fabrics, visit their website at http://www.avlyn.com/ .
I had a wonderful time with our friends on our ride through the Smokies. Now, I headed to Chicago to the Troy Corporation for their
This is an Open House for Quilt Shops and Fabric Stores. I’ll be presenting my new batik lines for Avlyn.
From Troy’s newsletter!
Karen Combs – Avlyn
One of Avlyn’s newest stars, Karen Combs, will be here to let you in on the secrets of “Creating Beautiful Batiks.” Karen will give a multi-media presentation to explain how Indonesian Batiks come to be. You will also be the first to see her exquisite new batik line from Avlyn. It is a not to be missed opportunity for all shop owners!
Here is a peak at my new batik collection, JAVA GEMS
If you are a shop owner and are coming to Troy’s Open House, please stop by the Avlyn booth and say hello!
Congratulations to Mariya Waters on her BEST OF SHOW for her quilt RENAISSANCE REVIVAL at the 2009 AQS show in Paducah!
Imagine my delight when I learned that Mariya used my Shade Cascade, Latte in her quilt.
To read more about her amazing quilt, vist her website at http://www.mariyawaters.com/MakingRR4.htm
While in Charleston, I enjoyed dinner at the Hominy Grill.
I had read about Hominy Grill in Southern Living magazine and could not wait to have dinner there. I was not disappointed, my dinner was wonderful. Everything is prepared fresh, with locally grown ingredients.
The cuisine in Charleston is referred to as “low country” – local fresh flavors with a mixture of African, European, Caribbean and Native American influences. Hominy Grill is a perfect example of this. They are known for great classic southern food, simply prepared and beautifully presented.
For dinner, I ordered Shrimp and Grits. Now for a true grit lover, only long-cooking stone-ground grits are worth eating. This is exactly what I found at Hominy Grill.
Some Grits history:
Grits (or hominy) were one of the first truly American foods, as the Native Americans ate a mush made of softened corn or maize. In 1584, during their reconnaissance party of what is now Roanoke, North Carolina, Sir Walter Raleigh and his men met and dined with the local Indians. Having no language in common, the two groups quickly resorted to food and drink. One of Raleigh’s men, Arthur Barlowe, recorded notes on the foods of the Indians. He mad a special not of corn, which he found “very white, faire, and well tasted.” He also wrote about being served a boiled corn or hominy.
In the Low Country of South Carolina and particularly Charleston, shrimp and grits has been considered a basic breakfast for coastal fishermen and families for decades during the shrimp season (May through December). Simply called ‘breakfast shrimp,” the dish consisted of a pot of grits with shrimp cooked in a little bacon grease or butter. During the past decade, this dish has been dressed up and taken out on the town to the fanciest restaurants. Not just for breakfast anymore, it is also served for brunch, lunch, and dinner.
I enjoyed the dish so much that I wanted to create it at home. To my delight, Hominy Grill’s recipe for Shrimp and Grits is on their webpage. I’m sharing the recipe here.
Enjoy!
Shrimp & Grits
- 3 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp peanut oil
- 1 c. sliced mushrooms
- 1 lge clove garlic
- Tabasco
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- thinly sliced green onions
Fry bacon until crisp, remove from pan & reserve; pour off all but 1 tbsp of fat. Gently toss shrimp w/ flour until lightly coated; remove excess flour.
Add peanut oil to pan w/ bacon fat & heat over medium high heat. Add shrimp & sauté until half-cooked. Add mushrooms & toss. When they begin to cook, stir in reserved bacon, add garlic with a press but do not let brown.
Then very quickly stir in tabasco and lemon. Cook until shrimp are pink on both sides and mushrooms are golden brown. Season w/ salt, add green onions and then remove from heat. Spoon shrimp mixture over grits. Serve immediately.
