Paper Piecing, and One More Cookie Recipe

Every once in awhile, I get an itch to try something new. I've taught myself to knit, play the cello, and loads of other useless skills. Well, my friend Carrie does a lot of paper piecing. Her Harry Potter patterns caught my eye, so after reading/watching about 10 sets of how-to instructions, I decided to give it a whirl. I decided to go with the "H" first, for Harry, of course. It's no masterpiece, and you can see my mess-ups (quarter inch seam allowance, what?), but I can honestly say it's a pretty good first try, don't you agree? I think I'll have to start from book one and read the whole series again! Hey, Scrappy, how's Beetle the Bard?

Ok, one more recipe. Peppermint Swirls

1 c. butter or margarine, softened

1/3 c. powered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. flour

1/4 tsp. red food color

2 Tblspns. granulated sugar

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer. Divide dough in half. Stir peppermint extract and food color into one half of dough. Divide each color of dough in half.

2. Shape each piece of dough on generously floured surface into rope, 12 inches long. Place 2 ropes, 1 red and 1 white, side by side. Twist ropes. Repeat with remaining 2 ropes.

3. Cut twisted ropes into 1/2 in. pieces; shape each into ball. Place about 1 in. apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten to about 1/4 in. thickness with greased bottom of glass dipped in granulated sugar.

4. Bake 7-9 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool

We're leaving tomorrow to make a trek to N. Carolina to see my parents for Christmas. We're excited and will be stopping at the Great Smokey Mountains on the way. I'll be taking my computer, but posting may be spotty, so I'll be back in full force when I return!