I love strawberries! As kids, my mom would take us with her to a local farm and we would pick (and eat) strawberries for hours. The farmer would joke that he should weigh us before and after, then charge the difference for the strawberries! Of course, we were so skinny and hyper, he might have lost money on that deal.
Mom would make strawberry shortcake, strawberry rhubarb pie, and freezer jam all weekend. I must admit, I am not a fan of rhubarb. As I matured, I learned there were even more uses for strawberries than the ones mom used. Strawberries are great additions to a salad of field greens and grilled chicken. They are a welcome addition to any dessert and pair well with chocolate, vanilla or lemon. Are you hungry yet? I am certainly getting here.
I have noticed that people gravitate to the big, juicy, red strawberries, when they can pick their own. I find that those are not a sweet as the smaller ones. So I am glad when they pass those by.
Being a strawberry lover and a geek, I would like to share some fun facts about strawberries. The first is that they are not actually a fruit because the seeds are on the outside! They are actually related to roses, who knew. Strawberries contain more vitamin C than oranges. If you would like to know more geeky facts about strawberries, go to factslegend.org or countryliving.com.
As soon as I saw Timeless Treasure’s “Strawberry Fields” collection, I was inspired to design this fun quilt – Strawberry Fields Forever. The quilt finishes at 63-inches square. The strawberry is foundation pieced and the strawberry smoothie block is traditionally pieced. I did find that the strawberry smoothie block comes together nicely with Creative Grid’s Cat’s Cradle tool. Sashing is fussy cut from the striped border print.
If you are interested in Strawberry Fields Forever, see our shop for a pattern or a local quilt shop for the kit.
Happy Quilting!
Laureen