National Pie Day

National Pie Day is January 23. Your local bank and government offices won’t be closed, though. This holiday encourages friends, family, and co-workers to share pie. So if you happen to have a quilting guild meeting that day, you know what the refreshments should be.

Pies and quilts are a lot alike, although I'd never recommending eating a quilt or wrapping up in a pie on a chilly night.

Seriously, though, pies and quilts can be both utilitarian and a work of art. I offer the county fair to prove my point.

Many county fairs offer craft judging – quilts included. Judges look for technical detail as well as overall appearance of the quilt.

Quilt judges will examine the length of stitches and the spaces between them. They will scrutinize your entry for loose threads, visible knots, and to determine whether space between your quilting lines remains consistent.

County fairs also often offer pie competitions. Judges scrutinize those entries very similarly to quilts. If the pie’s top is a lattice crust, it will be examined for consistent strip size, width, and placement. Edges will be examined for darker, burned areas. Overall appearance also has a play in pie judging. Unlike quilt competitions, pie judges actually get to taste their entries.

So, aside from eating a pie, how can quilters recognize National Pie Day?

Design a quilt pie. Use a neutral, crust-colored fabric for the back and for sashing and borders on the front. Make your quilt blocks from fruit themed fabrics. It’s like a really big pie that you can enjoy absolutely calorie-free.

Use the same pie themed idea to make kitchen accessories for your kitchen. Round quilted pads make great pot holders or trivets. Embellish with a rick rack border to further resemble a pie crust. Don’t need any for your own kitchen? Make some ahead for gifts or to sell at an upcoming craft bazaar.

Organize a National Pie Day event for an area nursing home. Get together with a few friends ahead of time to make lap quilts to give to the residents. Take some pies (don’t forget to include a sugar-free pie or two for those on a sugar-free diet) and fellowship with the residents while you pass out the lap quilts. Better yet, play a game and use the lap quilts as prizes.

You know how you share your love of quilting with children by including them in your craft work? Do the same with a pie. Bake a pie with your children and talk about the elements of the pie. If you have also spent time quilting with the children, ask them how a pie compares to a quilt. You may be surprised at how many different responses they can give to that question.

Did you get behind on Christmas thank-you notes? Make good now by giving a pie in return. Use your quilting skills to make a quilted pie tote, too. There are a lot of simple, free tutorials available online for these quilted carriers. In addition to a tasty pie, the recipient will have a quilted creation made by you that will last much longer than the pie!

No time to plan something for this National Pie Day? Don’t worry about it. Grab a quilting friend and share a little pie while talking about your current quilt projects.

It’s fun to see just how many ways we can incorporate our quilting hobby into regular, daily events.  While National Pie Day isn’t an everyday event, it is another example of how quilting can relate to or be incorporated with just about anything we do.

© 2011-, Penny Halgren. This article courtesy of http://www.How-To-Quilt.com. You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.