My Lincoln Schnibble - Log Cabin Christmas

 There aren't any log cabin blocks in this quilt, but I'm calling it Log Cabin Christmas anyway.

I think it works!

It's my Lincoln Schnibble designed by Carrie Nelson.

Since Lincoln lived in a log cabin, I thought the name was appropriate, despite the lack of log cabin blocks.  Sometimes you have to stretch a little. 

I went with Christmas fabrics for this one.

It's a mix of Joy by Kate Spain and the new line Aspen Frost by Basic Grey.  I also added a few scraps from past Christmas projects. 

Originally, I was planning to use different fabrics for each star point, but after making my first star and reading the pattern closer.........which I should have done in the first place........I realized that wasn't going to work.

The base of the points overlap slightly which isn't really conducive to different colored fabrics.  I tried making one star with different points anyway, thinking I could get over it, but it just wasn't going to happen.

So, I did some frogging and some rearranging and started sewing again! 

The stars are floating, which means no pesky points to accidentally chop off!  Yea!

I like how this top turned out!  Really scrappy!

In the next few days you'll be able to see many more Lincoln Schnibble projects in the Parade of Schnibbles.

Visit the blogs of both Sinta and Sherri to see what other versions are out there!

And if I'm not mistaken, I think a brand new Schnibbles pattern will be the project for August!

I'm looking forward to that!

Thanks so much to all of you that responded to my last post concerning Bloglovin'.

Since I didn't use Google Reader in the first place, I didn't pay much attention the whole thing.  I didn't think I had to worry about it.

Until a Bloglovin' friend mentioned she was was having trouble leaving comments on my blog and some others.  I thought maybe I'd better look into it a bit more.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet.  It sounds like I may need to change my settings so the comments aren't in a pop up window to make it a bit easier to comment or maybe join Bloglovin' or Feedly. 

I just wasn't sure if Bloglovin' readers could comment on non Bloglovin' blogs.

 It sounds like they can, it just may take a few more clicks or it's some kind of temporary glitch.

And many bloggers, including myself, are outside enjoying time with family and friends this summer!  Can you believe summer is coming to an end????

Thanks so much for your help and your kind comments!

Would you mind helping me out? I just have one quick question.

I noticed a few weeks ago that the number of comments I've been getting has gone down since the beginning of July.

I'm sure you remember that this is also when Google Reader went away.

Because I mostly use my sidebar to read blogs, I didn't join Bloglovin' or anything like that since I didn't think I needed it.

I had looked at the Bloglovin site and read there that you could add any blog if you decided to use it.  I took this to mean that this was the case even if that blogger wasn't using Bloglovin'.  

I figured I wouldn't join because the way I understood it my blog could be added to anyone's list even if I wasn't using Bloglovin'.

It has been brought to my attention by a blog friend that she wasn't able to comment on my blog now, could this be because I'm not using Bloglovin'?

Is that the catch?

I'm just wondering.

I was just chalking up the small number of comments to everyone being busy doing fun summer things and me taking it easy on projects the last few weeks because I'm doing some fun summer things myself.

Now I'm wondering about it.

If you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you would take a minute and try to leave a comment for me on this post.  Please mention if you are a Bloglovin' user.

If you are unable to leave a comment, please click on my name on my side bar, go to my profile and click on email. Send me a quick note to let me know that you couldn't comment so I can figure this out.

It would sure help me.  I love reading your comments and suggestions, so this has got me wondering.

Thanks so much!

A mix-up

Last week, during one of the many times I was in the checkout aisle of Target, a lady in front of me was buying a box of Key lime cake mix.  

She told me she had been making bars out of these mixes with a recipe she found on Pinterest.   The mixes were on clearance now so she was buying a few more.

Key lime cake mix???  How could I have missed that?? 

 So I went home and promptly googled how to make these bars.  Keep in mind I didn't have the cake mix.

It turned out that most of the bars using Key lime cake mix that I found on Pinterest were the same bars my family loves, but when we make them we use yellow cake mix.

  We always called them Texas Gold Bars.  The recipe was given to me by a friend when we lived in Texas, of course!  

You mix 1 egg, yellow cake mix, and 1-1/4 sticks of melted butter together and spread into a 9x13 inch dish.  In another bowl mix 8 oz softened cream cheese, 2 eggs and 1 lb of powered sugar and pour this mixture on top of the cake mix layer.  Sprinkle 1 cup chopped pecans on top and bake at 325 for 30 to 40 minutes.  Cool and cut into pieces.    

My neighbor knows the same recipe as Chess Squares.

*in the Key lime recipe the pecans are omitted*

 Anyway, enter the Key lime cake mix.

On a return trip to Target.......you see my son is going to college for the first time in a few weeks, so we have lots and lots of stuff to buy.  You know, towels, crates, a laundry basket, all of that and all of the school supplies too.  That explains the many trips to Target this week.  Well, some of them anyway.......  

So, on this particular trip the very next day, I happened to see the cake mix.

I wasn't even looking for it. 

Of course two of the Key lime mixes ended up in my cart and lo and behold they had Orangesicle too, so I had to get two of those.....I'm a big fan of creamsicles so it was a must.

I got home and unloaded the car.  That took awhile. We had two, yes I said two, full carts at Target. 

 Then I made the bars. I was looking forward to trying them.  

I couldn't imagine how these would taste using the Key lime cake mix, rather than our usual yellow.

 I mixed up both of the layers for the bars and I put the pan in the oven.

 Then I looked up and I saw the box of cookie mix I had just used in the recipe.

Wait a minute, cookie mix????

 Oh, no! I was supposed to use cake mix!!! How could this have happened?? These could be a real disaster!  And I was so looking forward to trying them!  Ugh!

Well, I looked at the mixes I bought and somehow I had picked up a box of Key lime cookie mix and a box of Key lime cake mix too!

  I did the same thing with Orangesicle mixes.  One cake and one cookie!  But look at the boxes!  Can you see how that could have happened?  

 Okay, besides the picture of the big cupcake on the front of one box and the big cookie on the front of the other box.

 I was bummed.  

I left them in the oven and moped around a bit, sad because I was looking forward to trying these bars.

 When the time was up, I took them out and tried a bite.

Yes, it was very hot.....

Surprisingly, not bad though.  Not bad at all!!  

When the pan finally cooled I gave pieces to my family.   

The bars with the cookie mix were a hit!

Even better than with the cake mix that the the recipe called for!! 

The bars that I thought were doomed were actually a hit. How funny is that?  

From now on, I'll be making this recipe with cookie mix!  

So, the next day another trip to Target was in order to see if there were any seasonal clearance mixes left. 

 From what I understand this was the first year Pillsbury had these limited addition summer flavors.

  Everyone seems to be into limited additions lately, which makes me want to buy two of everything, but I think that's their plan. 

  I missed out on more Key lime and Orangesicle, but I did manage to find a pink lemonade cookie mix left.  

I'll be trying these soon, since the pan of Key lime bars is almost gone!

 How could I have missed these all summer? 

 I hope they're back next year!

My happy accident changed a family favorite dessert for the better and sometimes the same thing happens in my quilting too.  

What I think might be a disaster because of a cuting error, a "wrong" piece of fabric, or a free-motion fumble, turns out much better than the original would have in the end! 

Just like the bar recipe "mix-up"!

What I was working on

The Friday Night Sew-In was a success for me.

I was able to work on a few different projects and get lots accomplished.

I worked on some binding, which is one of my favorite sewing things to do!  I love putting it on by hand.

Getting the fence rail blocks arranged for my Lincoln Schnibble was a priority.

Here I go with that random thing again!  This time I made myself stop rearranging soon after I got the blocks on the floor.

There are still a few that are bugging me, but I'm trying my best not to rearrange them........

See the two blue and green striped chevron fabrics at he bottom of the picture?  They are the ones.  I think they are too close together.

But it is supposed to be random, right?  So having them that close is okay?

After I drug myself away from not rearranging blocks, I moved on to cutting the fabric for the stars.

It works better for me to cut one section at a time.

Too much cutting starts to bother my back.

I was happy to be able to use this Quarter Cut ruler that I bought awhile back.  I use the half inch size all the time.  It's just so quick and easy!

I'm always amazed at how much time I save by not moving the ruler for every cut and the Quarter Cut ruler was no exception.

As you can see, I used painter's tape to mark the slots where I needed to put my rotary cuter.  It helps out when I'm cutting multiple strips in a row.

I had a nice time getting some things done Friday night.  I hope you have a weekend filled with fun and sewing!  

Christmas in July

It sure doesn't feel like Christmas here, but I'm working on a Christmas quilt anyway.

My Lincoln Schnibble is a work in progress with a few different lines of Christmas fabric involved.

 Later in the week we're going to watch the movie Elf like we do each summer, and make some Christmas cookies too, maybe Potato Chip Cookies.

At Christmas every year my boys ask for Potato Chip Cookies.

 Now that I think about it, making them in July would be appropriate too.  The ingredients are going on my grocery list right now!

Just a fun, silly thing to do when it gets so hot.

This quilt will fit right in!

  

What do you think about a name for this one? 

While I sew, I'm tossing around some ideas.  

Maybe "Christmas at the White House", or the name I like even better "A Log Cabin Christmas".

  Didn't Lincoln live in a log cabin?  Isn't that how the song goes?

And these blocks are similar to log cabin blocks. Hmm..............

Well, the Friday Night Sew-In is sure coming at us fast!

Wendy from Sugar Lane Quilts is assisting Heidi with the sew-in for a few months, so you can find the sign up HERE.

I'm looking forward to an evening of sewing, snacks and probably pizza too!  That will keep my boys busy.

Not the sewing I guess, but the snacks and pizza will certainly help.

It'll be great excuse to take the evening off and work on my Lincoln Schnibble.

I hope you make plans to put some things aside on Friday and get sewing!

The lazy days of summer??

I think I'm finally caught up now with my email and a bit of quilting too.

My apologies for taking so long to reply to comments last month.  With the kids home from school, family in town, and lots of summer activities going on, it's been crazy, but I think I'm back on track!  I'm happy about that!

It's time to stay inside in the cool air conditioning and finish up a few things!

Summer camps have started and the house should be a little calmer now, at least until it's time to send someone off to college........but I'll think about that a little later.......

Right now I'm working on my Wiggle Whimsy quilt.

Terry started this quilt along at the beginning of the year.

I hope to have more pictures and maybe even a finished quilt top soon!

   

July 4th

We're on our way over to the neighbor's for a barbecue and we're bringing these.

I hope you're having a nice afternoon too!