November « 2010 « Cathy Heck Studio Scrapbook

Recently, I was asked to speak about the career of graphic design and illustration. While looking for some early work to show my path, I came across one of the first illustrations created when I became a free-lance illustrator in New York. This fine fat turkey came with a coupon so that cooks across America could make many-a gelatin mold to woo the Thanksgiving guests. As I examined this friendly fellow, I began to remember a favorite Jell-O recipe that a family friend used to make for holiday dinners. It was lovingly known as “Green Stuff.” But alas, over the years, as our gelatin recipes began to be replaced with more natural farm-to-table offerings, I realized that my own children had missed out on the joy of plopping a big pile of pastel lime-green goodness on their holiday plates.

So, in an attempt to make sure my girls enter the world with a proper exposure to some historical Jell-O recipes, I am planning on whipping up some Green Stuff this Thanksgiving to accompany our all-natural, never-been-frozen, grain-fed, calmed-with-Mozart-tapes, massaged-daily-by-local-farmers turkey. Here’s the recipe just in case you want your children to see the world through Jell-O-colored glasses this year. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

P.S. Here are some photos I found on the Internet, my favorite from an article named, “what not to serve for Thanksgiving.”

Photos above top clockwise: Hawaiian Jellied Salad by Bear Head Soup, Lime Jello Salad – Aka ‘the Green Stuff’ from Food.com, What Not To Serve This Thanksgiving by Holidash, Green Salad from Chubby Hubby, Furr’s Light Green Jell-O Salad from Copykat Recipes.

Here is the recipe that I think might be the closest to the Green Stuff of my youth:

Furr’s Light Green Jell-O Salad:

2 boxes lime gelatin 3 oz (Jell-O)

1 can crushed pineapple 20 oz (drained)

16-oz carton small-curd cottage cheese

1/4 cup pecans (very finely crushed)

1 carton whipped topping 8 oz (Cool Whip)

2 cups boiling water

1 c cold water

In large mixing bowl, empty gleatin. Add the two cups of boiling water and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Pour 1 cup cold water into mixture and blend. To mixture, add drained crushed pineapple, cottage cheese, and whipped topping. Stir mixture until whipped topping is smooth and blended, there should be no large lumps of topping. Pour into a 13” x 13” pan and sprinkle nuts on top, chill until set. Mm-m, it’s Jell-O-ishous!

…to craft some fresh quilts.

Yes! We are back from Quilt Market, where we were able to meet with our new friends at Blue Hill fabrics. They will be producing two new collections by Cathy Heck Studio scheduled to ship to specialty quilt shops in late Spring.

For girls of all ages, the retro-mod Bouquet Garden features bold and funky flowers, garlands, and bouquets with colorways in light pinks, chocolaty browns, and avocado greens. This collection will be printed on Blue Hill’s amazingly soft, high-quality cotton and will be perfect for lively quilts, and garments with attitude.

And below, you’ll find some sneak peaks of our second collection for boys called, Bot Buddies, based on the Baby Bots collection that is coming out on melamine, memory books, and photo albums with C.R. Gibson in January. There will be a complete suite of snuggly flannels that scream PJ pants and super-soft quilts for the little man in your family. Some of our favorite patterns are “Turtle Bots in Orbit” and “Little Robot’s Busy Day.” There will also be a coordinating home-dec cotton line perfect for outfitting the nursery or bedroom, a quilt panel, and a border pattern with stripes of wind-up fishies and baby bot turtles.

Here’s a photo of us with Dan Weidmuller from Blue Hill, right before they won 2nd place for best booth. Congratulations, Dan!

As far as trade shows go, Quilt Market was laid-back, full of eye-candy, busy and bustling and and everyone there was just downright nice. Mom and I enjoyed just strolling the aisles and being inspired to make new things. Here are some cozy little acorns and baby blossoms by HandBEHG Felts, and a rustic rainbow wall by Mary Flanagan Woolens.

We were also pleased to meet a few of our favorite designers who we have been following for a few years now. Tula Pink had a gorgeous alphabet quilt in her booth, and Anna Maria Horner was as warm and friendly in person as she is on her amazing blog. (Of course, we were so star-struck, that we didn’t think to take out the camera!)

We love working with Blue Hill and can’t wait until we can give you some sneak peaks of these super fun patterns on the actual cotton!

November 24, 2010

DIY Recipe: A Wiggly Wobbly Thanksgiving Memory

November 8, 2010

To Market, To Market…