Sunday, June 25, 2017

Sugar Shack

So excited to have this beautiful book to share with you and thrilled to have my project "Sugar Shack" included in such a fun group of designs. If you love house blocks as much as I do, I'll think you'll love Blockbuster Quilts: I Love House Blocks now available from Martingale/That Patchwork Place and on the shelf at your favorite local quilt shop.

What is a sugar shack you may be wondering?

A sugar shack is also known as sap house, sugar house, or sugar shanty and is primarily found in Eastern Canada and the Northeast in the US. Like the name suggests, sugar shacks are small cabins where sap collected from sugar maple trees is boiled into maple syrup. 
common sugar shack - image courtesy of Wikipedia
My mom has fond memories of her uncle's sugar shack in western Pennsylvania growing up and making maple syrup "candy" or taffy by pouring hot syrup on snowballs. Yum! So the cabins and colors of my house blocks are a nod to those memories.
"Sugar Shack" by Tonya Alexander
The fabrics are a selection of Moda Grunge mixed with a variety of white/gray prints. Over sized 16" x 20" blocks with a simple graphic house design give this project a modern edge. Piecing is a breeze by featuring half square triangles for all of the roof lines.

 Along with "Sugar Shack", you'll find 13 other fun and colorful designs from some of my fellow Martingale designers. It's hard to pick a favorite but here's just a sneak peek at a few that I love....all images courtesy of Martingale/That Patchwork Place.
"Log Cabin Houses" by Natalie Barnes

"My Hometown" by Christa Watson

"Suburbia" by Dana Bolyard
So how about a giveaway to celebrate this fun new release?! Leave a comment - do you have sugar shack memories of your own? Have you made a house block quilt before or is there one in your future? Be sure to include your contact email if you are a no-reply blogger! I'll draw a winner for a free eBook version of I Love House Blocks on Friday, June 30th!

 Happy Stash Quilting,

 Tonya 
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6 comments:

  1. MarianneJune 26, 2017 at 2:56 AM

    There's a sugar shack (Bragg Farm, East Montpelier, VT) a few miles from us, and we take all out of town guests there to look at the equipment and eat a maple creemee (Vermont-speak for a soft ice cream). Great on a hot day! It's amazing how many out of towners think the sap runs year-round.

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  2. babiesdocJune 26, 2017 at 7:52 AM

    I live in western pa but, have never seen a sugar shack
    I once made a schoolhouse block quilt top -- I like these modern houses much better
    sharongalli(at)gmail(dot)com

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    Replies
    1. UnknownJuly 1, 2017 at 1:17 PM

      Congrats Sharon! You're the giveaway winner!

      Delete
  3. UnknownJune 26, 2017 at 11:05 AM

    My son collected maple syrup from a hill side in Pittsburgh. No sugar shack, just boiled on stove & grill.

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  4. SharonJune 26, 2017 at 1:26 PM

    When I was little and we lived in Eastern Canada, we used to get a maple syrup "disc" that was in a shallow muffin paper. It was almost like compacted brown sugar, sweet but such a treat. Even today, there is nothing better than real maple syrup on buttered pancakes. I love the reverse on your blocks, very cute.

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  5. UnknownJune 28, 2017 at 9:47 PM

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