Lynn Carson Harris

Smitten

Did I tell you I joined the Doll Quilt Swap again? Well, I did. It was so much fun the other times that I had to play again.

I recently purchased the book, 501 Rotary Cut Quilt Blocks by Judy Hopkins. It has cutting directions for SIX sizes of each block. I thought this would make it easy for me to branch out and try some different quilt blocks without doing any math to figure out what size to cut all the different pieces for different size blocks.

I have been flipping through it and finding lots of new designs that I want to try.

The doll quilt seemed like the perfect opportunity to try something from my growing list. I jumped in and started cutting pieces for the light house block. It's a doll quilt so small blocks would make sense, right? I cut for the smallest size - 6.25 finished.

It was easy and fun. One afternoon of sewing and I have ONE block done. One 6.25 inch block.
68 pieces in one 6.25 inch block. What was I thinking?

It is a bit of work but I am pretty much smitten. I love the small scale of the pieces and can hardly wait to get four of these done and have four of those tiny little corner triangles meet each other.

How many of these would I need to make for a queen size quilt?

Thoughtful Sunday

"I think the smell of horses is the most exciting smell in the world."

The Changeling, Zolpha Keatley Snyder, 1970.

Brownie Roll-Out Cookies

P and I make some Brownie Roll-Out Cookies this week.

They are great when they are still warm out of the oven.

They are also excellent for home made ice cream sandwiches.

P has made this recipe for us to try next. She calls them Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

2 sticks butter
3 cups sugar
4 cups cinnamon
5 cups chocolate chips

Quick Knit Boot Socks

Last weekend we went walking in the woods. It was warmish and sunny but there was still a lot of snow on the ground. Miss P kept getting snow down in her boots. She was wearing thin nylon socks that did  not keep her feet warm after they got wet.

I decided that she needed some wool socks that would keep her feet warm even when wet.  She requested socks with cables.

I modified Cable Rib Sock pattern by Erica Alexander found in Favorite Socks 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave. The yarn is a hand painted yarn from Briar Rose Fibers that was left over from a baby dress/jumper that I knit for P before she was born.

Miss P enjoyed standing on the table for the photo shoot.

 

Many Hours Later

After many hours of quilting I finally finished the star section of the Twinkling Stars Quilt. I am thrilled with the result so far.

I have a few other projects that I need to work on so I'll set this aside again. I still have that WIDE nine inch border to quilt. It will need a good bit of quilting in it to equallize the quilting in the middle, otherwise the border will end up wavy. So, now to think about what to do there.

I am open to quilting suggestions for the border. What would YOU do?

Here's another picture  because, well, I think it deserves another picture.

Wordless Wednesday

Playing with Applique

Today I needed a break from quilting on the Twinkling Stars so I started playing with some applique for Tia. She requested applique for her swap blocks this month.

She sent lots of lovely fabrics and I started right in with some freehand cutting and placing. Parts of it I liked right away; others I had to play with a bit. The flower needed a bit more zing and the leaf was just not right.  I improved the flower with a bit of the red but was still not thrilled with the leaf.

I stitched some of the units together as I thought about the plan. The whole design looked washed out and flat with all of the vines in the light color so I added a different green for the main vines. I also finally came up with a leaf that I like.

This is pretty close to the final layout that is now ready for basting! It was a fun creative afternoon.

I am thinkng about putting a bird on my other block for Tia. I'll keep you posted.

Movie Night

Movie night means more than just watching a movie.  To me it means popcorn, knitting AND a movie! 

Some of us here really like our popcorn. I have been loyal to one national brand for a really long time. A few weeks ago, however, I saw some RED popcorn in our store. In addition to being red it was also locally grown so I had to give it a try. Am I glad I did? You bet! It has a much better taste; it actually tastes like CORN!

Yesterday we tried their white popcorn. This popped even better and had a great corny taste.

There's another reason to support local - it might even be better. This is!

Oh, and the knitting.

I finished some socks for B. They are basic men's crew socks made from Mountain Colors Bearfoot yarn.

I also started some fingerless mitts. I love this pattern. It is an easy to memorize rib pattern that I can even manage during an action/suspence film!

The mitts are from the leftover yarn from this hat.

 

Paper Doll Mittens

Last night I finally finished the second of the Paper Doll Mittens. I started the first one on New Years Day and finished it in two days. The second one was a bit more of a chore.

I was ALMOST finished when it was time for P's bedtime story. P suggested that she could read a story to me while I finished knitting the tip of the mitten.  I happily agreed.

It wasn't until she got to the chapter introducing the kitten, Mitten, that I realized how fitting her book choice was.

I love the pattern of these mittens but they are a little large for me. They are the first pair of "Men's Mittens" in the book Selbustrikk. I am a little disappointed that none of the men in my family seem very excited about wearing these. Maybe I shouldn't have named them Paper Doll Mittens...

P wishes they fit her. She loves the little paper dolls.

The mittens are knit with baby ull.

 

Kandinsky Circles

Yesterday in Art Club we made concentric circles based on Wassily Kandinsky's Squares with Concentric Circles. I think they turned out great! A few of the kids finished. I saved them so that we can put all 12 out next to each other for the kids to see. They look super put together for a larger piece of artwork.

Everyone seemed to enjoy making these.

We love all the bright colors.