Making Little Things and Changing My Scrap Quilt

 I made one secret birthday sewing project and I think I will make two more.  They are quick projects that take about 2.5 hours each from first cut of fabric to last stitch so I can get them sewn up in an afternoon or evening.  No pictures until after the birthday girl opens her pressies.

I cleaned my office and organized it a little bit.  I found this piece that I did several years ago.  I took this Laurel Burch picture (I love Laurel Burch's artwork) off the internet and printed it on an 8.5" x 11" piece of fabric that is designed to be fed through the printer.  I put a gold border on it and a backing and sewed beads where all the dots are on the picture.  I framed it in a simple clip frame and put it in the window of my office.  The gold fabric faded so I replaced it with this pretty gray.  I just have to find a frame for it now.  

Dear daughter has requested some fall hanging dishtowels.  I'm making them with this ugly orange turkey dishtowel I bought a couple of years ago and this pretty orange and brown homespun.

I took my scrap quilt apart.  I had originally sewed four patches together, alternating white, beige and print fabrics and I planned to put them together with seams matching, but I'm not doing a real good job keeping my seams even so I'm going to offset the seams on each row of four patches.  To do this I had to take the six rows I had already sewn apart and re-sew them.  I got that done last night.  Now I can move on to make more rows.

Here are some current pictures of my cats.  They turned 15 in May and I think they still look like kittens.

This is Merlin, the older brother.  He is a great boy cat.  So loving.  He keeps me and his sister in line.  He is the security office and the nosiest animal I ever saw.

This is Taffy Morgana, his sister.  She was born last in the litter of three.  She is a sweet little snuggle bug (took her five years to figure out that the lap is the place to be).  Loves to sit on my lap whenever and even sleeps in the bed with me.

Twinkle Twinkle Scrappy Stars by Lori Holt

      I found this tutorial by Lori Holt for scrappy stars and I fell in love.  I made a star with her tutorial today and I'm planning to start cutting some stash fabrics for this quilt top.  I usually don't work on more than one quilt at a time but since my current quilt project is just putting scrappy 2.5" squares together which is extremely easy, it won't be hard to fit in a few scrappy stars in between rows of the squares.   These stars are really easy and fun to make and I think they are incredibly cute.

    These two scrappy quilt top projects will help me whittle down my scraps and stash.

Working On A Scrappy Quilt

I found a bag of 2.5" squares I cut last year in the colors of green, blue, gray, and yellow that I cut from fabric that I found in my stash.  I also cut some white and beige neutrals to alternate the colors with.   I made my first stand mixer cover with these fabrics last year and I enjoyed the soft colors together.  

I'm sewing these pieces together and I should have more than enough for 68" square quilt.  It's a nice easy sewing project.  Here's a sample of the first two rows put together.

Garden Apron - Repurposing Old Blue Jeans

About a month ago my dear daughter asked me for some advice on making a garden apron from some old jeans she had cut up.  She wanted to gift the apron and she had cut the piece with the back pockets for the apron.  I told her I would use quilting cotton to make a lining with a pocket on the inside, bind the two pieces together and make a nice long tie threaded through the belt loops and securely fastened.

We made her garden apron using the piece of the pants she had cut and raiding my quilting cotton stash.  It turned out really cute and when I left her house that day I knew I wanted to make one for me. 

I had to go to Goodwill and buy a pair of jeans for this project.  I bought a big pair of men's jeans because I wanted my apron to be a nice size.  The jeans I found had some lovely embroidered omega symbols on the pockets and I couldn't resist the colors.  The back pockets originally had buttons or rivets but they had been ripped out, so instead of replacing the buttons, I layered two buttons on the flap and glued them on so it looks like the pockets button but the pockets will be easy to get in and out of.  I lined it with some fabric I had leftover, added a colorful pocket and made my binding and tie from fabric my daughter bought me to replace the fabric she used on her garden apron.

Here is my garden apron all done.  It took me about 3 and a half hours to make.  The jeans cost me $7.00.  This was a fun project and I love the result.

I'm making a purse from the legs of the jeans.  I have it cut out and all I have to do is sew it up.  I'll show that next time.  

Still haven't done much in the way of quilting my hexie quilt.  I'll probably start working on that over the holiday weekend.

Row 6 is done! Quick review of small tool.

I finished row 6 on my quilt top.  I have one more row to go.  Then I will applique this top to a grey border fabric.  I bought the border fabric almost 2 years ago so it's been very patiently waiting to be used.  Here is a picture of the 6 rows.  I'll be using the grey fabric for the backing fabric as well.

My quick review is of the cute flower threaders I bought last year.  I have been using the same threader for the last two rows of the quilt and it has held up very well.  The wire is sturdy but its not too big to fit in a small needle eye.  I bought the threaders from Amazon.  The link is here:   Flower threaders for sewing needles

Lots More Navy Blue Gingham Items For The Kitchen

My large 40 ounce white teapot needed a tea cozy.  I put a ruffle on this one.  I keep this teapot in the pantry but now it's ready to use with a nice roomy cozy.

Pot holders.  I made these to be a wall decoration in the kitchen.  I'm putting them up with velco command strips.

Apron/dress for my dish detergent bottle.  This was easy and fun to make.  I actually ended up using glue to secure the bias binding on the back because the binding strip was too narrow to sew on the back.

Stand mixer cover.

And I still have about two and a half yards of the blue gingham.   I haven't made the toaster cover or a cookbook cover.  Two things that may happen in the future.

Blue Gingham Hanging Dishtowels

   I made some hanging dishtowels with some of the blue gingham that I used to make the kitchen curtains.  I love these.

    I have plenty of the blue gingham fabric to make a cover for my stand mixer.  I'm going to make that as soon as I get the coordinating white solid and navy solid fabric I ordered a couple of weeks ago.  I want to make the cover in the patchwork style like the one I made a couple of months ago  using 2.5" squares.  I will probably make some potholders as well.  Then I have to think of something else to make with all the leftover gingham.

   I've also been knitting some dishcloths.  I'm making a kitchen set for a niece who got married last fall.  I know it's late but I just decided the other day that I wanted to do this.  I will knit her a set of dishcloths, sew up  a couple of potholders and make a couple of hanging dish towels for her.  I wanted to show you the pot I use as a yarn bowl.  My daughter bought this strawberry pot for me about 12 years ago from someone who throws pots in Indiana while she was on vacation.  I have never used this for any plants.  I have been using it as a decoration and as a yarn bowl for years.  It's kind of fragile and I wanted to keep it nice.

Making Kitchen Curtains Makes Me Happy

I have to admit that I have had a hard time adjusting the last 4 weeks since my work world changed with half of the staff in the office were sent home to work remotely.  Since then I have been sent home to work remotely on the order of the Governor.

It was time to do something that would make me happy and that I have been dreaming of since December.  I have been wanting to buy a bolt of navy blue gingham to make kitchen curtains and a back door curtain.  I was waiting until I had enough money to buy the bolt, and that happened at the end of last month.

I bought my fabric from Fabric.com and I got the navy gingham that is a 60" wide cotton/poly blend.  I think I paid about $4.50 a yard for it. The more yardage you buy on Fabric.com the cheaper the price.

I'm hoping the cotton/poly blend with keep the curtains from fading too bad in the hot sun.

I make my kitchen curtains double sided with the right side of the fabric on the inside and outside.  I sew two pieces together leaving an opening at the top on each side for the casing and an opening at the top for turning the curtain right side out.  I turn the curtain right side out, sew up the opening that I used for turning, then I sew two seams across the top to create the casing.  So simple.  I also make a tie for each curtain and position it about half way down in the center.  I made six panels for my wide kitchen window.

I also made a curtain for my back door using the same method so I can have the right side of the fabric on both sides of the curtain.

I didn't use the entire bold for the curtains.   The rest of the fabric will keep me busy while I make some items to decorate in my kitchen.  Some hanging dishtowels, a new stand mixer cover, some decoupage projects, and a plastic bag holder. 

Flower Doily

Using the video tutorial here, I crocheted this cute doily in about 40 minutes.  It was fun and I love how simple it is.  I used cotton yarn in a navy blue color with a size H or 5.0 mm hook.

Quilting and Sewing Weekend

  I finished making my Christmas table runner.  It does not match the one I made for my daughter last month but it contains the same fabrics.  I put red frames on the solid fabric blocks and a red backing and binding on it.  Hers was backed and bound in the dark green fabric. 

   Now I can move on to other Christmas projects.

Happy New Year! Welcome 2020!

 It's January 1st, the start of a new year.  I have lots of projects on my list to do but I can now cross one of them off.  Last night I finished crocheting all the stars for my garland, I measured the window and put it up.  I crocheted 12 white cotton stars and 12 twine stars.  I'm really happy with this.

     The stars are decorating the living room window that have new drapes made from drop cloths (no sew).  I put these up last weekend.  Of course, I found the idea of drop cloth curtains on Youtube and fell in love.  I like the idea of the large pieces of material without sewing and the cost can't be beat.  Several people take the step of bleaching the drop cloths (make sure the cloths are 100% cotton to do this) but I like the linen look to them and left them the original color. 

     I used two 6' x 9' cloths to cover this window.  The materials cost $31.80.  I bought two drop cloths at $9.97 each at Walmart (there was no listing on the package as to what the material was, so I was careful when I washed and ironed but they washed and ironed like cotton) and two packs of rings with clips with seven clips in each package at $5.93 each. 

    They did shrink a bit in the preparation, so I had to measure them because there will be extra materials at the top that you fold it over so it looks like a decorative element.  You want that section to be even.  Most everyone has their overhang showing in the room but since I wanted to add my star garland, I placed my overhang on the window side of the drapes so you don't see it unless the sun is shining in. 

Christmas Has Come And Gone But I'm Not Done Making Decorations

I can't believe how many cute ideas I found to distract me this year.  I'm still working on several projects that are Christmas related.  I'm afraid that I will be Christmas crafting into the New Year.

I did manage to finish dear daughter's table runner, some small  tree ornaments, and her star garland, but I'm still working on the decoupaged cookie plates, my table runner, some fabric covered Christmas tree forms,  and a star garland for me.  My star garland may go up after I finish it and stay up all year.   Here is a picture of dear daughter's garland on her China cabinet.  She added fairy lights and it looks pretty.  I love the way this turned out and the stars are so easy to make. 

Other things I want to make are felt tree ornaments.   I found this picture on the internet and thought these felt ornaments were adorable.

I saw this picture a bunch of times for different ads.  The day I took this picture they were advertising Hobby Lobby craft store.  I have not been able to find this picture on Pinterest with a link to instructions or patterns, so dear daughter I made our own ornaments with green felt in the shape of a Christmas tree and we beaded them for her co-workers.

I also want to make some string art.  I found a string art star with instructions here.

As usual, I spent too much time watching YouTube videos showing items made from thrift store finds and I saw some interesting wood burning ornaments being made by using 4" wood rounds that you can get at Amazon.

One person was walking through a Antique store or 2nd hand shop and I also saw something I have to make.  It's a paper garland made from hymnal pages.  It's super simple, fan folding the pages and gluing a bunch together to make a long piece that you wind around a piece of twine.  I don't have a good picture of it but I took this screen shot from the video where I saw it.

I have looked on Pinterest and all over the Internet for a better picture or even instructions but could not find anything similar.  I fell in love with this garland, so much so that I bought a Baptist hymnal on Christmas day for this project.  I have the glue and twine.

I don't know when I'll finish Christmas decorations, I just hope I finish before next Christmas.

Breaking Out My Crochet Hook

Saw a crocheted star that I had to have.  Used my size H hook and some Peaches and Cream white cotton yarn.  Used the tutorial here.  Each star took about 15 to 18 minutes.  This was a fun easy project.  I'm going to make more.  Of course these will go to dear daughter for her Christmas tree.

Washcloth Project

    I knit more dishcloths, but I'm going to use them as wash cloths in the bathroom.  I made a set of 8 washcloths but I have more yarn so I going to make as many as I can with the yarn I have.  I bought four skeins of I Love This Cotton yarn from Hobby Lobby.  I like to use that brand of cotton yarn because it's a little softer than the Lily Sugar 'n Cream or Peaches & Creme cotton yarn. 

Homemade Kitchen Gifts

   I finished making the potholders, hanging dishtowels, and knitted dishcloths for my niece who is getting married in June.  I sent a picture to her parents last night to let them know what is going on and to verify an address to mail and her Mom said she will love the colors.

   I made one change to the potholders binding.  I cut the binding 2.75" wide and it fit a lot better since it was binding two layers of fabric, two layers of batting, and one layer of Insul-Brite.

    This is eight knitted dishcloths, 4 quilted potholders, and 4 hanging dishtowels.  It turned out to be a nice set.

Halloween Cat Potholders

    I was going through my stash of fabric and I decided to make some Halloween potholders for me, daughter and a friend so I could get rid of some of this pretty fabric.  I put solid black on the back and bound them with black and cream homespun fabric.  These potholders have two layers of cotton batting with a piece of Insul-Brite in the middle. 

Gift Set

    I made a gift set for a friend this week.  I knitted her three dishcloths and made her two quilted potholders for her kitchen.  She loves handmade items and will enjoy having these in her kitchen.

    I had everything I needed for the potholders in my stash of fabric, Insul-brite and cotton batting.  I put a layer of Insul-brite in between two layers of cotton batting in the sandwich of my potholders.  It wasn't too thick to sew using my Accu-feed foot on my Janome machine.  The yellow cotton yarn was a new purchase bought specifically to make sunny dishcloths for my friends and family.

Halloween Table Runners

Yes, Halloween was yesterday.  I now have two Halloween table runners.  The pumpkin table runner has been done for weeks but I forgot to put a picture here.  I finished the black cat table runner tonight and it will be ready to use next year.

Halloween Black Cats

    So I made myself cut the sashing for my table runner and I actually put it together today.  I started early this morning before I had to leave for work and got the rows put together.  Then tonight I sewed all the rows together with sashing.  What a quick make.  I love all the different poses of the black cat.  He/she is wonderful.  I just have to sandwich it, quilt it, and bind it.

Dishcloth Update

So here is an update on my dishcloth project.  I didn't commit to making one dishcloth a week, but I have been knitting dishcloths pretty regularly.  I have 11 dishcloths made, although the ends need to be woven in, I'm considering them finished and I have two more on the needles.  I will have plenty of dishcloths to share with DD at the holidays.