Couthouse Steps

I think I am kind of addicted to working on on log cabin, or variants of the log cabin quilt. This is my first go at the Courthouse Steps block and I just absolutely have to say, I like it!

As I was pressing the blocks of this quilt I kept thinking the back side is lovely. There is an extra stripey effect caused by the contrast of the subtle wrong side of the fabrics contrasted with the bright right sides visible in the open pressed seams.



This quilt is based on something I found in a book, Best of the Best Quilts by Leslie Beck, which I checked out from the public library -- but her quilt is in palest pale pastels and has more fabrics and more rounds.

I don't think I realized how bright my quilt was going to be until I began to lay out some of the finished blocks. Not only are the colours bright, which I had noticed, but they appear even brighter enhanced by the diagonal push of the pattern.



Now, I have to think about what to do about the border. I have fabric laying all around the outside of the pieced portion of this quilt top, but nothing is speaking to me. I will definitely need to think about it for a bit.

New Year's Resolutions

Okay, so I am a little late with my resolution, but the idea for my first resolution only just came to me last week.

I am teaching a knitting class this term, and in preparation I went to the public library and checked out a couple of knitting books, one of which was Hip Knit Hats by Cathy Carron. In the process of working on one of the patterns, so that I could help a student, it came to me -- I could and should knit 52 hats this year, basically one a week except that I am starting a bit late so I will really need to get my skates on. I have a simple go to hat pattern, which is infinitely variable, and which knits up quickly and almost always produces a satisfying result, but I think I will use this resolution as an excuse to do a little stretching. I plan to make a bunch of new hats.

This book has several very cute patterns, which I plan to make for kids rather than for adults. I have one hat knit -- except for the pompom and another hat well on the way. I think it is a bit small, so I have a wonderful excuse to make it again, in a slightly larger size. Plus I am not completely satisfied with the cast on and crown, so I may want to make a few more variations.

And since this whole hat project involves what is essentially a weekly task it occurred to me that I should also commit to at least one post a week. I can do this! I will prove it to you.