Lynn Carson Harris

The Holiday Ten

You may be familiar with "The Freshman 10." You know, the ten pounds you gain at the dining hall freshman year of college.
Well, we here at The Little Red Hen have discovered "The Holiday Ten." That is the ten pounds gained from the time school is out for winter break until the new year. This is a list of what we have baked and consumed here since winter break started.

peach blueberry pie
strawberry rhubarb pie
shortbread cookies
carrot cake
chocolate pound cake
truffle mice
banana bread (twice)
cranberry bread
raisin/currant filled cookies
double chocolate muffins

Add to that the bag of hershey's truffle kisses purchased for making chocolate kiss cookies but eaten before the cookies were made... and a couple of bags of holiday m and m's for the Santa candy bowl - well it can't just sit there EMPTY can it?

Today, I have made a batch of chocolate chip pumpkin muffins.  B is making apricot filled cookies. 

M has requested brownies.

And B told me that I need to make ginger bread cookies with P.

I think it's time to go for our afternoon stroll.

Unexpected Journey

Before Christmas I was looking through my old Threads magazines for something and saw this September 1995 issue with the bias scarf.  When the magazine first came out I made a bunch of these scarves from polar fleece.  Seeing the cover again, I thought they needed to be made from felted wool.

I immediately stopped my search through the old magazines and pulled out the washed wool bin.  Happily, I found fabrics that suited each member of the family.  I even had pink wool! How did that get in there?  B's is made from an old tartan kilt I had in college and the others are made from thrifted yardage.  In a short time I had four scarves made, wrapped, and under the tree.
The scarves can be worn down around the neck or on really cold windy days can be pulled up around the face.  P hopes that hers will keep flying snow out of her face when she sleds.  We are supposed to get more snow tonight so we may be able to see if it works to her satisfaction tomorrow.

B and the boys took advantage of the snow free ground and finished cutting up the fallen apple tree.  It will make good firewood next year.

P thinks the chainsaw is very loud.
I never did find the article I was looking for in the Threads magazines. However, I think I am happier now than I would have been if I had found it.

It is good to recognize when this happens.  Perhaps it will make life's unexpected journeys easier to enjoy.  When we are not on the path we think we want to be on, we can still be happy with where we are going.

Heart Warming

I am a sucker for compliments on my work.  That is how M got this quilt a few years ago. While I was making the scrapbuster quilt top, P mentioned several times how much she liked it especially the PINK strips in the middle of each block. I decided at the time that this quilt would be a gift for her. I didn't let her see that I was working on it again.  I worked while she napped and after she went to bed.  The two days before Christmas she spent a lot of time in the basement helping dad.  I got much done then.

It took me a long time to decide about the quilting. I ended up doing some liberated lines that follow the shape of the scraps. Once the decision was made I jumped to work.

Things were looking good. It was Christmas Eve and I had the binding halfway sewn on - then, I realized that the edge of the quilt did not lie flat.  Because the edge of the quilt is all bias it had gotten stretched. I took the binding off, steamed the quilt edge flat, and started again with the binding. I washed the finished quilt for that soft crumply old quilt look and feel.

She was very excited when she opened the quilt on Christmas and even asked to be sewn into it for her nap!
That is what I call a successful gift.
It warms my heart to give a lovingly made gift and see the recipient be so genuinely happy with it.

Thoughtful Sunday 19

"Little Rabbit, being with you is the best gift of all."

Shall I Knit You a Hat? a Christmas Yarn, Kate Klise, 2004.

The Little Red Hen

It is funny how collections just sort of happen. In the last year, since I started this blog, I have collected a few versions of the story The Little Red Hen. I didn't really plan to; they just jump up at me out of garage sale boxes and bins.
For my birthday this year my sister sent me a collection of cards that she had made from an old red hen book. I just love them. She insists that the book was in very bad condition.  I don't think I'll use these cards.

I especially like the hen in her apron with her scissors showing in the pocket.

My Christmas stocking had a copy of the same book in it!! Lucky me!

AND
Look what my sister made for me for Christmas!!!!

She used this image from the book for her redwork design.

 

I like that this red hen is planting corn, Indian corn, which was also included in the quilt. 

I am also reminded that it is time to start thinking about what we will be planting in our garden this spring.

Merry Christmas

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

Family Fun

Earlier in the week we had very cold temperatures.  There was a lot of snow from three storms but it was not wet enough to play in.  The wind whipped it up into drifts and covered our walk and drive after they had been cleared.  At times, the temperatures were below zero without the wind chills.
We have been collecting eggs several times a day so that they don't freeze and crack their shells.  The chickens don't want to go out when there is snow.  They just put a toe out and that is enough for them.

Today it has warmed up a good bit and is actually raining. But, finally the snow is wet enough to stick together. 



We have our wet winter wear drying by the wood stove in the basement.

I hope you, too, are having a day of family fun.

Holiday Greetings

One of the things I look forward to each year is a handmade holiday card from my sister.  This came yesterday. I love the rick rack pine cone. She even put "snow" on the branch.  She says she was inspired by this photo.  You can see more of her cards from previous years here.

Thoughtful Sunday 18

"Then Ma told them something else about Santa Claus. He was everywhere, and besides that, he was all the time.
Whenever anyone was unselfish, that was Santa Claus.
Christmas Eve was the the time when everybody was unselfish.  On that one night, Santa Claus was everywhere, because everybody, all together, stopped being selfish and wanted other people to be happy.  And in the morning you saw what that had been done."

On the Banks of Plum Creek, Laura Ingalls WIlder, 1937

Helmet Hats

It all started with an old Workbasket magazine and a pattern for an infant's helmet hat.  I adjusted the pattern to be worked in the round and made this hat and scarf out of some super soft alpaca yarn when she was a baby.

I liked it so much I knit her a larger one with mittens and a scarf to match.

I like that it comes down and covers the ears. It has a strap that buttons under the chin and really keeps the hat on while playing outside. I had to have my own version.  I started it for LAST winter but only finished knitting it Thanksgiving week THIS year. I put the button on today, after I found the hat in my knit bag while I was looking for something else. So it goes.

P chose the button for mine. It is pink with a rhinestone in the center.  As she was helping choose the button she pondered why her hat has a white (vintage off white)  button.... when she likes pink.... shouldn't her hat have a pink button....

B thinks mine looks too much like a helmet. I like it because my ears stay warm.  We had some nose rubbing fun during our photo shoot.  P is silly.  Much silliness.

I hope you are keeping warm this weekend.