Holiday recipes, you may be asking? Well yes, I’m just finishing up now with family holidays. Growing up in my family, between December 21st and January 20th, three of the four of us had birthdays, plus the special dinners and celebrations of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and our parent’s wedding anniversary—eight occasions that my mom always made special—within one very busy month. My mom seemed to get everything done much more effortlessly than I’ve ever been able to do. I need to pace myself over those few holiday weeks—decorations, celebrations, family recipes—especially spreading out the recipes to best enjoy both making and eating them.
In a couple recent Thursday posts, I’ve talked about Christmas tree ornaments and favorite New Year calendars. Both seemed to hit a seasonal chord for many of you and I thank you for your lovely comments and sharing your own special stories. Here’s one more such post before the holiday season gets fully tucked away until next December—Holiday Baking Recipes—which of course also work perfectly fine for occasions throughout the year.
To start, some favorite family baked goodies are pictured in photo above, clockwise from upper left: Meta’s Surprise Potato Chip Cookies, Maine Blueberry Pound Cake—often an anniversary cake request from my folks, and Oma’s Happy Cookies (the “happy” cookies are legal in all states). My sister Heidi, loves to tell how our mom Meta (pronounced mae-tah), loved to make the potato chip cookies for company and then delightedly made them guess as to what the surprise ingredient was.
Click on all smaller gallery photos to view them larger.
Oma’s (German for grandma) Cheesecake (formerly Mama’s Cheesecake)—is a crustless recipe from my dad’s sister Verlyn—so really, it should have been named Auntie’s Cheescake. Regardless, it was always my request as a birthday cake as I grew up. This year, Tom made it for me to open our holiday season on my December 21st birthday. The secret is to cream the heck out of the batter—like 10 minutes with a standing mixer.
In our kitchen we have the original standing electric mixer and metal bowl that my dad gave to his mom, my grandma, back in the 1950’s. Tom and I still use both for this cheesecake recipe. To be truthful, we only use the mixer in honor of this recipe as it has developed a bit of a loudness that makes us wonder how much longer it will last. But we keep an eye out for any sign of smoke (so far, so good) and will bring it out again for our son Sam’s, birthday in April. Oma’s Cheesecake has been Sam’s birthday cake request for years as well, though in his teen years I’d make him his own cheesecake, for his birthday breakfast.
One of Tom’s special holiday contributions—throughout the year actually—are Peanut Blossoms, below. These treats are not an uncommon recipe nowadays, but when his mom started making them over 50 years ago, they were virtually unknown. As a surprise for Tom during our first holiday together in our first apartment, I got the recipe from his mom and made them for him. The stains from years of use only add to the family history.
Our family probably savors the holiday season a bit longer than most—Christmas decorations go up before my birthday on December 21st, and stay up until after my mom’s birthday on January 20th. This year would have been her 93rd birthday. In her memory I decided to finish our holiday season with Oma’s Happy Cookies. My mom named them “happy cookies” since people always smiled and were happy when they ate them. She had no idea that there was any other definition of a “happy cookie,” and no one ever told her.
Back in May 2016, early in our blog days, Oma’s Happy Cookies was probably one of the first recipes I shared in a post—for one of my Fabric Collage Retreats here in Harpswell, Maine. My parents had moved next door to us by then and my mom would make a big batch of these cookies for each class of students, “to keep them happy.”
The cookies were so popular she’d get asked for the recipe, so she shared it (with permission from author Mary Penner, of “Kitchens of Nature’s Harvest”). My mom seemed to vary the ingredients a little each time as good cooks often do (different flours, nuts, or fruit), but they always made folks happy. This year I made my sister smile with a fresh and fragrant batch of Happy Cookies when we met on our mama’s birthday morning for Kaffee—to reminisce and celebrate the day—and to enjoy the Christmas tree and other holiday decorations one more time, for now.
Glorious Gecko Follow Along for February 2026
Susan Carlson Glorious Gecko Follow Along
February 5, 12, 19, and 26—7:00 p.m. EASTERN TIME
Cost: $95
REGISTER HERE
Typically each evening presentation (7 pm Eastern Time) runs about an hour and half. As with all our Thursday Night sessions, a recording link will be emailed the next evening to all registrants to review or watch later if you cannot join us live.
Each week via Zoom, I’ll be giving a live demo with Q&A as I gradually take you from beginning to end of a Glorious Gecko collage. You are invited to “follow along” if you wish, or you may simply want to watch as my piece progresses. I start off with a slide show to get you caught up on the progress I’ve made the previous week, I then work live as I progress to the next step, talking through my thought process and creative decisions while demonstrating the technique.
As a registrant you will receive a code for a free gecko pattern from my online shop to follow along as you play with your own fabric stash—but you are welcome of course to use your own gecko design, or just “go with the flow” of your fabric. In between the Thursday sessions, you can apply the steps covered to your own gecko collage.
Click here for more about all my 2026 teaching offerings
2026 Live Online Classes
I’m excited to announce my 2026 Live Online Class Schedule. Looking for a quilt retreat-style experience while staying at home without the issues of travel? By working together, Tom and I have been making the 5-Day Live Online Fabric Collage classroom experience easy and productive since 2021.
5-Day Live Online Classes via Zoom
March 2-6, 2026
REGISTER HERE
July 13-17, 2026
REGISTER HERE
8 students limit
Price: $1195
Through our online classes each student receives: Pre-Class Coaching, Daily Class Videos, One-on-One Feedback throughout the week, a Fabric Pack for Fabric Collage, Pre-Class Meet and Greet, Mid-Week After Class Social Hour and Show and Share, Daily Walkthrough of Student Progress
Membership in the Fabric Collage Master Class is a prerequisite if not already owned ($169, after a $30 student discount).
2026 In-Person Classes
Susan Carlson Fabric Images in Santa Fe, New Mexico
March 23, 2026 – March 27, 2026
Santa Fe, New Mexico
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Susan Carlson Fabric Collage Immersion: A 10 Day Workshop at Woodland Ridge Retreat
April 21, 2026 – May 2, 2026
Menomonie, WI
FOR MORE INFORMATION — Two spaces recently opened!
Susan Carlson Fabric Collage in Bar Harbor, Maine 2026
September 14, 2026 – September 18, 2026
Bar Harbor, Maine
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Serendipitous Fabric Collage: Fantastical Fish of Tuscany—Pesci Fantastici di Toscana
October 19-24, 2026
Città della Pieve, Italy
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Susan Carlson Ongoing Open Studio Hours
Weekly Fabric Collage Coaching
Tuesdays, January & February 2026
1/2 hour time slots, $65 each
One afternoon a week, I’ll be available to help, encourage, and coach anyone who needs it—between the hours of 1pm-4pm Eastern Time (for instance, this would be 10am-1pm Pacific Time).
Coaching could be to continue working on an in-progress collage, or to begin a new project—whatever is desired.
Sign-up can be for one day or multiple days—every week, every two weeks, once a month or once only. These sessions will be recorded and emailed to you, just as coaching sessions are, so they can be referred to as needed.
Please note that times are listed in Eastern Time!
(Simply click on a slot and type in your name, Tom will bill you before your session)
Please contact Tom ([email protected]) so he can contact you with more instructions.
January & February 2026 Dates
January 6
January 13
January 20
January 27
February 5
February 12
February 19
February 26
If you are interested in this sort of coaching but Tuesday is not a day that would work for you, just drop us an email and we can figure something out—this is a new and flexible idea that is open for adjustments.
From an Open Studio Hours participant who also recently took a class with me:
I can’t recommend enough this new format. I’ve met with Susan three times since our class (once a week) and each session has been inspiring, motivating, and very helpful in terms of defining my path forward (and also creating some accountability relative to that path…). Before each session, I think about what areas I would like to focus on and send off a photo with my questions. In this way, I get from Susan exactly the support I need, plus a video recording to remember it. Meanwhile, preparing for my session helps me make my project a priority so I see ongoing progress, which is gratifying.
Honestly, this was the format I was hoping for. I told Susan I wanted to write a testimonial about it because I was so happy she was offering it. So, if you’re like me and a periodic check-in keeps you learning, growing, and doing your best work, sign up for coaching. Maybe I’ll see you there (you get to listen in on other sessions during the open studio you attend). —LeahGrace Kayler
Fabric Collage Online Master Class—Updated
The Susan Carlson Fabric Collage Online Master Class Manual is a multi-media resource guide to the process of fabric collage. Using video, photos, text, and links to my blog posts for further relevant reading and information, I take you from beginning to end in creating your own fabric collage masterpiece, following my guidelines in a step-by-step format. Lifetime Access. Suitable for all levels, including beginners.
Read all about the process of creating the Master Class—explanation of its genesis—the whys and hows Tom and I made some of the decisions we did in this post: Online Master Class Now Available: Some Reflections.
Click here for more information about the Fabric Collage Master Class.
Price: $199
Lifetime Access
Suitable for all levels, including beginners
Further Susan Carlson Learning Resources include: Facial Features eWorkshop, website, Serendipity Quilts, patterns, blog (in general), YouTube videos, Sea Turtle eWorkshop, Fabric Collage Online Master Class, Patreon. , and our February Fantastical Fish and Summertime’s Fascinating Bugs and Butterfly Work-Alongs
Susan Carlson Fabric Collage: Fantastical Fish eWorkshop I
INCLUDES:
• All four recordings from the four-week class.
• Extended 10-minute edition of piecing time lapse (see below).
• Over six hours of video instruction.
• Annotated videos with “jump points” to help find the information you need.
• Materials list
• Links to helpful blog posts.
• Free fish pattern of your choice.
Susan Carlson Fabric Collage: Sea Turtle eWorkshop
Learn fabric collage through a start-to-finish project—from pattern and fabric selection through quilting and binding. Each step is clearly written, illustrated with photos, and further demonstrated with videos. Learn the technique with a Sea Turtle then launch into any fabric collage project you wish. Lifetime access and suitable for all levels, including beginners. Sea Turtle Pattern included
Read all about the Sea Turtle eWorkshop in this blog post: Fabric Collage Sea Turtle eWorkshop Launch.
Facial Features eWorkshop
Designed as a supplement to the Fabric Collage Online Master Class, or for those who have a good understanding of the basics of Fabric Collage. Lifetime Access. Intermediate or advanced levels suggested.
The Facial Features eWorkshop contains 8 videos and over 8 hours of in-depth instruction for creating each feature of a portrait in fabric. The videos are annotated with “Jump Points” allowing you to scan forward and backward to the information you need. Facial features PDF templates are included as reference and basic designs to work along with. Like the Fabric Collage Online Master Class, membership in this eWorkshop is for life.
Book: Serendipity Quilts—Cutting Loose Fabric Collage
Full color throughout. Five projects of increasing complexity, four patterns to enlarge are included.
These books will be signed by Susan and can be inscribed to a particular person.
Thank you for sharing your lovely family recipes and the stories behind them. I’ve missed doing any collage for a while, but your posts are motivating!
You’re welcome, Erin! Maybe you need some good old fashioned cookies to snack on while you look though some fabric? I find just shuffling through a pile, or bag, or container of fabrics quite inspiring and I usually come away with an idea or two. Hope you soon get a chance to get back to collage!
Your mom’s cheesecake recipe is the first I’ve seen that is similar to my mom’s equally “famous” recipe. I just looked it up and her “Hollywood Two Tone Cheesecake” recipe dates to 1945. I tweaked it just a bit by adding a bit of lemon juice and lemon zest to the cream cheese base. So glad you’ve also had this as a family tradition.
Hi Jacque! Nice to have our mom’s cheesecakes in common! I looked up the two-tone cheesecake recipe and the ingredients are the same (or at least very close) except for the crust. Do you make yours with the crust? We never have, but as it bakes, the edges puff up and then the middle drops when it comes out of the oven, making a plateau of sorts to spread the sour cream on, creating a browned crust-less edge all around. Makes it all the more simple to bake! I wish I could find a photo….