Last Thursday I heard an interview on Morning Edition with the author of the new Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, Deb Perelman. She writes a blog by the same name. How have I not heard of her before! She has millions of blog readers and I am now one of them. (FYI – I've added a link to her blog in the list of my favorite blogs.)

The interview was so good that I visited her blog right away and found the best candy recipe ever. I made it up yesterday and the results were perfect. This is not a hard recipe to make. I ordered the cookbook and am really looking forward to more great recipes.

TIP: I got cocky and turned my back on the apple cider near the end of its boiling time. I turned back to it just as it was boiling over. I hadn't realized that when most of the water had boiled off it might do that. I took this as a sign that I had cooked enough of the liquid off. Here's what my caramel looked like in the pan, cooling.

I chilled it in the fridge for an hour or so, turned it out onto a cutting board and, as per Deb's clear instructions, I oiled my knife and cut the candy into 64, 1" squares.

The only thing I would do differently is cut the waxed paper 4" x 5". TIP: use your rotary cutter for this. 

This is my new favorite sweet treat. It may be that the only way to improve would be to dip half of each one in dark chocolate and I think I'll do that for Christmas.

Everyone who has tried these – adults and kids alike – love them. As my friend Laurie said, it's like the essence of apple pie, with caramel. I wish I could give one to each of you. But only one :-).

The Modern Quilt Guild sponsored an exhibit that I really enjoyed. Please do click here to see their post about the exhibit. Their photos are not as close-up as these I want to highlight.

Convergence by Latifah Saafir is the quilt that I remember most from the show. I wish I was the one who made this. It is striking from far away and up close. I dearly love the way your eye is drawn to those two aqua strips. All I can think of is onions and I like onions a lot!

I don't know why, but I woke up this morning thinking about the construction of the next quilt, Opposing Triangles. This quilt was made by Katie Pedersen and quilted by Krista Withers.

The quilting is very nice indeed! The patterns vary, but work together so well.

These are quilters who are not afraid of open, negative space. These quilts breathe… they make me happy.

And then there was this quilt hanging in the group category in the show. It won a first place ribbon in its category and it's another one I wish I had made. Ms. MacDonald Had a Farm was made by Lynn Czaban and  members of the Hanging By A Thread group of Vancouver, Washington. It was hanging in a place that was hard to photograph. You can (and should) click here to see better pictures of all the winners.

This is a very talented group! Look at some of these blocks closer:

I could almost love farm animals up close and personal :-). In fabric.

More later…

Quilt Market is sort of like Festival – but not. You see all sorts of wonderful things but can buy very little. Unless you are a shop owner buying lots and lots. I am a small potatoes buyer. I concentrated on notions but I did enjoy looking at the splashy fabric booths. Moda had the best booth… 

I applaud whoever thought this up. I want a mobile made from paint sticks!

And I’d like to have those chair covers too.

So many booths had great displays. Well, I take it back. Some booths had great displays. I really liked this and I think it was in Anna Maria Horner’s booth. The chalkboard behind the mannequin is such a good idea. This reminded me that I still haven’t painted a chalkboard wall in my house. Are you like me in that you need a solid month of no commitments to catch up?

Amy Butler’s booth was lovely, as always. But I have to admit that I paid way more attention to those portraits than I did to the fabric.

I don’t know who painted them, maybe Amy did. I want those paintings in the worst way…

This woman looks a little cranky, but I like her anyway…

I’ve got more pictures to share tomorrow.

For those of you who know that Jeff, my son, lives in NYC, I should tell you that he is fine. He lives on the upper west side in Manhattan and they never lost power. Their building swayed some. I am very thankful that he is safe and sound. He has many friends who are not nearly so lucky. 

I know we all are sending prayers and good thoughts to those who are living through this nightmare. It feels wrong somehow that today was an amazingly beautiful day in north Texas. That said, I think it makes sense to be aware of the fact that life goes on. That bad things happen. And to be thankful when they don’t happen to you. Because eventually, something bad will happen to each of us – and life will go on.

Choose your favorite(s) and place your bids! Click here to bid.

So far, we have had one trick or treater – our grandson. We used to have lots of kids, but the demographics of our neighborhood (and that of our town) have changed. But we were very happy to see Jack and Lorna!

My mom wore the hat that you see on Lorna to her Silver Sneakers class this morning. My mom is a party animal!

Hope your Halloween is fun, not scary!

Sentinels at Sunset II: Someone To Watch Over Me by Ricky Tims…

And May the Lord Bless You… by me!

Any of these 12 quilts could be yours. This is a great opportunity to donate to a very worthy cause AND receive an amazing quilt in return. All you have to do is bid! Ami says I can post the link to the bidding page after Noveber 1.