Lynn Carson Harris

Every Last Piece - feature quilt - Troubles with Scraps

The design for Troubles with Scraps came from playing with the parts for the traditional Kansas Troubles block. 

The basic pieced unit for Kansas Troubles reads as a half square triangle. I tried many different settings and layouts for the hst unit and finally settled on this bullseye look.

This was one of the first quilts I quilted on my longarm and I really had fun with the feathers and bubbles. 

Finished size: 42'' by 55''

The pattern and directions for Troubles with Scraps can be found in chapter two of my book.

You can purchase an autographed copy of the Every Last Piece from me here.

I can't compete with Amazon's low prices,  but if you want to save a little and purchase from Amazon, please click here. This is an affiliate link and clicking through to purchase will allow me to earn a few extra pennies.

You can also ask your local quilt shop or book store to get the book for you.

Wordless Wednesday

Clearly Perfect Angles - for perfectly pieced half square triangles

As I mentioned before, I'm participating in The Splendid Sampler quilt along this year. With 80 designers contributing blocks to the quilt there will be a lot of different methods shared in making the the blocks and their components. I am taking this opportunity to try some different or new to me construction methods. 

When making half square triangle units, I usually cut the triangles and then sew them together with their paired triangle. When making very small hst units I start with a square and eyeball my way across from point to point.

While at the BERNINA ambassador reunion last year, Kari Carr gave me one of her Clearly Perfect Angles tools to try. It's a vinyl cling that sticks to the bed of your sewing machine. Here's how it looks when I sew one inch squares together on the diagonal. As long as you keep the point of the fabric lined up on that center line, you will stitch exactly across the diagonal of the square. The result is a perfectly pieced hst. 

Sometimes quilting directions have you draw a line on the diagonal of a square and then stitch a quarter inch seam on either side of the line. Cutting on the line between the stitching creates two hst blocks. With the Clearly Perfect Angles tool you can easily do this without marking the center line.
When stitching the first line, use the marking that is 1/4 inch to the left as your sewing guide as shown below.

Then, turn the square around and stitch the other side as shown. Cut between the stitching line to get your two half square triangle units.

Here I am using the guide tool while making Lots of Love, the third block in The Splendid Sampler. 

Here's the finished Lots of Love block designed by Melissa Corry. As you can see, I got a lot of practice with the Clearly Perfect Angles on this block.

Check out the videos Kari has to better explain how to use the tool.

I know I'll be using this tool a lot in the future. Thanks, Kari!

The Splendid Sampler - Wings

Have you started the Splendid Sampler sew along, a year long sew along organized by Pat Sloane and Jane Davidson yet?

I have finished the second block, Wings, designed by Jane Davidson.

I had a hard time deciding if I wanted to add the embroidery detail. Here is is with the first block before I added the antennae.

I have enjoyed scrolling through the #TheSplendidSampler hashtag on Instagram to see all of the different versions of the blocks. Come join the fun and add your photos. 

Wordless Wednesday

Sleeping Bear Dunes - a winter visit

We took a quick overnight trip up to Sleeping Bear Dunes this weekend. It was quite chilly and we had the dune trail to ourselves Monday morning.

We also walked on the beach. P REALLY wanted to find a Petosky stone but was not successful in that venture. We did see lots of ice. 

Every Last Piece - feature quilt - Square Dance

The design for Square Dance came about while playing around with the four patch and nine patch parts for Square Root. 

I saw that I could piece the design I wanted for this quilt more easily by piecing ninepatch and ninepatch variation blocks.

I carefully chose a selection of pale or light fabrics that contrasted with the dark cerise I wanted for the background. I love the little surprised found in some of these fabrics, like this little goldfish.

When you save all your scraps it is easier to have enough variety to make a quilt like this.

The design for this quilt is fairly simple but it is still one of my favorites.

Sometimes an unexpected fabric choice for a background or "neutral" is all it takes to make a simple design sing.

Finished size: 44'' by 55''

The pattern and directions for Square Dance can be found in chapter two of my book.

You can purchase an autographed copy of the Every Last Piece from me here.

I can't compete with Amazon's low prices,  but if you want to save a little and purchase from Amazon, please click here. This is an affiliate link and clicking through to purchase will allow me to earn a few extra pennies.

You can also ask your local quilt shop or book store to get the book for you.

 

Splendid Sampler - Hearts Aflutter

Are you participating in the Splendid Sampler sew along, a year long sew along organized by Pat Sloane and Jane Davidson? Today they posted the directions for the first block.

Here's my version of Pat's Hears Aflutter block.

I'll be using scraps to make my blocks but I have chosen two solid fabrics, Kona Oasis, and Kona Wasabi, to help give the quilt a more cohesive look.

Each week two new block designs will be posted at the Splendid Sampler website. Hop over and read more about it. 

 

There are 80 designers who have contributed blocks, so, at some point in the year, one of my block designs will pop up! I hope you can join us. It's going to be a fun year!

Tiny Piecing

I do love playing with tiny pieces of fabric.  These little four patches are trimmed to one inch square.

You can see a few of them sprinkled in these little blocks.

I'm not sure where this is headed yet but I'm having fun making them. 

Keeping Busy

I'm keeping busy with little bits of sewing and knitting.. 

I love cleaning up the slow way by making things out of scraps, leftovers, and single balls of yarn. I'm hoping to see some visible progress on the sewing room soon. It should be getting tidier, right?