Modern Quilting

Several blogs I like have recently talked about Modern Quilting. I think, at last, I get what they are saying. I've been working on a blue theme quilt for about a year. It has Prairie Points (neat) and blocks, sashing, etc - all pretty traditional. I was really struggling with how to quilt it. I decided to do it by hand and completed a simple cross with beige thread in the small paisley square. Limping along, I decided to in-line (opposite of out-line) the light blue boxes in a light blue thread. I flirted with feather templates for the border, even bought one, but couldn't commit. It just didn't feel right.

Then I saw this post by Jacquie at Tallgrass Prairie Studio (well, I can't find it now). Jacquie tries all kinds of things. I realized that I like reading her blog because she test-drives techniques that I'd be afraid to try. One was using the different stitches that the sewing machine is capable of. Another was a link to this blog Silly BooDilly. The name alone compelled me to look! Her use of different weights of quilting thread was totally fantastic and invited me to read more and more!!!

Modern Quilting: the freedom to use embroidery floss when the quilt says ho-humm to feather templates.

Yield: 83

Did you know that a standard cake mix will make 83 mini cupcakes? They take 14 minutes to bake at high altitude. When I do this again, I will invest in a cupcake pan with 48 instead of 12 places. This time I had 12 and it took a long time to make 83 cupcakes. But, I got to use my new stackable cupcake holder that I got for Christmas and it was full up! We invited some girlfriends over and had a lot of fun frosting and decorating the cupcakes. Red velvet with cream cheese frosting.

Knitting, Car Trip Projects

On long car trips I like to knit. We typically drive a very long day to see my in-laws for our second Christmas, ie New Years. This year, my knitting project was the Rose Hill Hat.

I was so excited to find Malabrigo yarn at my local, favorite yarn shop. I bought the blue/brown colorway, chunky, georgous! I stopped on my way home from work, parked in a semi-legal spot and tried to be quick. Well, chunky was not the right weight. So I went back to get the right, worsted weight. It was a family outing to Fancy Tiger. My girls were so excited about the bright colors and neat textures! I let them pick some yarn for their own hat. They picked a deep, purple and a striking magenta.

The hat knitted up really well. I learned a new stitch, the bobble, and learned how to shape the top of the hat. The instructions on House on Hill Road were excellent, easy to follow. I modified the instruction slightly to make hats for the girls - they are 3.5 years old. I knit their hats on a single long needle (instead of round needles), decreased the number of stitches cast-on, and knit two at once. There is a seam but the look is almost the same as the hat I knit for myself. My niece's birthday is coming up soon. She watched me knit the girls hats and I think she needs one too.