Sewing - another set of potholders for Christmas

I made this set of potholders for my daughter to coordinate with this table topper.  I used the same fabric on the back of the potholders and chose the cherry fabric for the middles of the fronts (precuts not the same size).  To find greens to frame them I went digging into the stashes.  So fun as you always discover things you have forgotten about!!!  I have a leftover piece of the fall fabric which I will include.  She has a technique for creating towels for the kitchen which will allow her to make a coordinating set.  Therese

 

Sewing - another set of hourglass potholders

 Another set??  We have a large family!!!  More is better and it leaves lots of choice!!  The triangles for these were precut so I found the brown in my stash - it was a piece that was two pieces with batting in between and then stitched all the way around with two seams.  I unstitched the seams and then proceeded to make the hourglass blocks.  Quick and easy when you have some of the pieces already cut.  I backed one in brown and the other in blue (two triangles sewn together into a square).  I have decided to try to make the loops simply stitched into the corner instead of being under a triangle.  This way the loop is better available for hanging.  I sewed the loop to just the front and batting.  And then the binding process sews it again on both sides so I think it will be secure enough.  It also allows the loop lay flat which I liked about the other process!!  I will get feedback for next time around!!  I love the colour combination - little pussy willows!!!  Therese

Sewing - pennant for hanging with paper clips to accommodate art

I made up this pennant for my youngest grand daughter for Christmas.  She will be receiving OWL magazine (once postal workers are back to work) but I always have a small gift under the tree to open.  I started with triangles (6" wide - 7" tall)  of the pink/green fabric and cut coordinating green ones and made up the pennants.  I cut the green strip and captured the tops of the pennants in the seam.  I hand stitched paper clips (airplanes and hearts) to each side so art work can be displayed on either side of depending on which side she prefers.  She loves to draw - lots of mushrooms lately - and so there is always art to put up.  It was a fun project sewn up from my stash fabric.  Therese

 

Gifts - brownie mix in a jar

I have made up several of these brownie mix in a jar for a few of the guys in our family.  With the directions attached they can make up their own snacks or dessert for a family meal any day of the week!!  It would be nice to have a few of these gifts on hand for any last minute occasion.   I have packaged them in peanut butter jars that I have saved over the year.  Therese

 

Sewing - another set of potholders for Christmas

Here is another set of potholders I made for Christmas!!  The triangles were precuts I acquired along the way and I decided to combine them with two different blue fabrics to make up this unique set of potholders.  I will have a good selection of potholders for my family to choose from when we get together!!  I am really enjoying making them and being creative with the fronts.  Therese

Sewing - a few new ways of storing pins, clips, blades and needles

I have been contemplating how to best store my pins so they can be available and easily accessible when I need them.  I have purchased a new set - the glass headed ones on the left.  The ones on the right I have had a few years and I have had quite a few lose their plastic flower "heads" and I have found no real good way of getting the heads back on once they have fallen off.  They are also susceptible to heat though I have only two who have been deformed because of running them over with the iron.  I am now storing them in little shot glasses.  There is enough weight in the glass that they should stay upright and I like that the heads are all at the top and easily accessible.  Because they are not too full there is room to reach in with a finger and pull out one or a few depending on what I need.  My sister has suggested using silicone wine bottle caps to keep them contained when I am not using them.  I had planned to make them little caps so that should work well.  

My sister gifted me some clips last year for Christmas and they store very nicely in their little bin!!  I have a few more glass headed pins that I have collected along the way in the first blue bottle and little short applique pins in the second blue bottle.  

These two boxes hold my straight pins.  The long ones fit perfectly in this little box in which a little craft punch was purchased.  I created a little pin cushion in the lid which keeps them all arranged when the box is closed and a place to keep them available when I am using them.  The shorter ones fit in a small plastic box so I created a small pin cushion for that box as well to keep them easily available when I am using them.  I have cut a little piece of mat board to keep the pins arranged once I close the lid.  I have used clear cellophane tape to create a hinge on the back side of these boxes which keeps all "the things" together so they can be found and stored away properly.  Below is how they look closed.

I have also used a pill bottle to store a variety of needles so they are close at hand and available when I need them.  

Below, I have sorted my pins on my sewing machine pin cushion as well.  I have a few needles, some long pins and two sewing machine needles which keeps them all handy!!

This pincushion sits on the extra thread pin I have on my sewing machine which is really handy.  It is a wooden spool with a cushioned wrap all the way around.  I had planned to make a more beautiful one if this concept worked well.  So far, I have not made a new one.

I store my blades for unstitching in a little plastic tin in which embellishments were sold.  It works really well and they are always safe and handy.  Therese

 

Cardmaking - cards for donation to IWIN

I have committed to making cards for IWIN Initiative - an organization involved in helping victims of human trafficking.  The only requirement for the cards is to have "Thinking of you" and a butterfly on them - otherwise I can be creative!!  My sister, Sylvia, was here this week and she is going to help me meet the number of cards needed on a quarterly basis.  We had a wonderful afternoon of cardmaking using the paper and tools she brought along.  I repurposed a few cards that I found in my stash as well with beautiful pink daisies on them!!!  I need a few more for the new year but we can work on them again after Christmas.  Therese

 

Quilting - small quilt in autumn colours from left over pieces

I found a variety of pieces of coordinating fabrics in my stash that were easily stitched up into some squares with a few additions where needed.  I started with the large square and added the little square and the two rectangles on the sides.  Wanting the squares to be larger I added another set of pieces - one small square and two larger rectangles.  I dug through my stash to find all I needed to finish off 16 squares.  I laid them out and then stitched them together.  I added a light yellow border all the way around to frame it which worked very well.  Not something I have done before!!  

For the back I went looking in my backer stash to see if I could find something big enough.  I found a piece that was perfect in colour but too small in one direction so I added a piece that I had worked on earlier from scraps from the same stash I used for the front.  Beautiful fall coloured fabric!!  This is from a bag of quilter scraps I bought from my sister which she purchased from a quilter who was liquidating scraps from her quilting room.  Win - Win!!  Needing just a bit more width I kept looking through my boxes until I found this red piece that was just the width and length I needed.  I trimmed the yellow piece into three uneven pieces and stitched in the other two pieces to make the backer.  I added a piece of corduroy as a batting.  I laid them in order and stitched all the way around leaving a gap to turn it inside out.  I stitched all the way around to seal the opening and established a stable edge.  Wanting to experiment with more quilting lines I decided to add diagonal lines of stitching starting from one corner to the other adding guidelines where the distance was longer to try to keep my lines as straight as possible.  Not too bad for my first try!!  I can see the advantage of using a technique (pen, marker, chalk, etc) to draw a line where you need it then cover it with stitching.  

It was a fun project and could be used as a playmat, small quilt or even a table topper!!  I will add it to the finished items bucket for now.  

Therese

 

Sewing - potholders with a plummy colour scheme in a chevron design

 For this set I used Christmas fabric scraps that had more of a plum/purple colour scheme and I found enough to make a set of two.  I dug into my stash of purple cottons to find something for the backing.  This was the closest match  - I do not have a large supply of purple fabrics!!!  Again, three layers of flannel for the batting and I bound by wrapping the backing to the front and stitching it down.  A little different but still works for the holidays!!  Therese

Sewing - Christmas potholders made up from fabric strips in a chevron design

 These potholders have been such fun to make.  Playing in the stash of Christmas cottons to find just what I need for the next strip!!  Red and green with a funky backing fabric cut from a printed vest that I acquired along the way and had no idea what I would use it for came in handy for these.  BONUS: there are a set of moose on the back of these pair.  I just added some quilting lines along the chevron pattern to keep all the layers together.  Therese

Sewing - potholders and chocolate make a small Christmas gift

I volunteered to run a little Christmas activity at one of my groups at our December social meeting.  I will be printing a small Christmas crossword puzzle and we will be putting the ladies into groups of two and these little pyramids are the prizes for whoever gets it correct the fastest.  

They are constructed from Christmas potholders and house three little Lindor chocolates!!!  

I simply used a large needle and some cotton cording and made a stitch between two opposite corners and then brought up the other two corners and added another stitch.  I tightened the cording and arranged the corners nicely then tied a bow in the cording.  Two gifts in one and very little packaging!! Therese

 

Sewing - potholders pieced from scraps of Christmas fabric in a chevron design

 Another set of Christmas potholders for our family Christmas get together!!  It has been fun playing with fabric scraps and making up these chevron designs.  Three layers of flannel and then I start with the small triangle on the bottom and add strips to each side until I get to the other side.  I have bound these with the backing and included a flat hanger which makes it easily used as a trivet!!  The back is part of a green Christmas vest pattern that I had no idea how I would use the fabric and it worked perfectly here!!  Therese

Sewing - Christmas potholders using scrappy strips in a chevron pattern

I am working on more potholders!!  This set I will be using to package two little gifts for a social meeting I am going to on Monday.  

I cut three layers of flannel for batting and then added the little triangle in the middle one one side and added strips using the sew and flip method.  I used strips of Christmas fabrics in red and green.  It was very fun to play with Christmas fabric scraps.  I used a red and green plaid fabric for the backing and added the hanger using the little triangle in the corner to secure them like I have on these ones.  I like that the hanger then lays flat so it is more elegant when  you use it as a trivet.  I added several rows of quilting lines following the chevron pattern using red thread.  They are very festive looking and will make great packaging for the gifts.  

Therese

 

November Card Club - Card #3 - die cut doves, ribbon and layered oval greeting over beautiful backgrounds

 For our last card we made these elegant Peace On Earth cards.  After positioning our elements we adhered our ribbon to decorative backgrounds using double sided tape on the back to hold our ends in place.  We adhered our backgrounds to our cards and added our dove die cut using double sided tape in the solid areas.  Then we layered our greetings - laser printed Peace on Earth punched out with a smaller oval punch and then layered onto a larger scalloped oval punchie.  These were added to our cards using 3D foam tape.   With snow outside, we enjoyed Christmas music and the ambience of the fireplace while we created beautiful cards for our friends and family.  Hope the postal strike is resolved soon so we can send cards to our family and friends who are far away!!!  Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season!!  Therese

November Card Club - Card #2 - large embossed layer with metallic stars

 This was a quick and easy card design which I worked out when I was making card kits for my friend.  It is a quick and easy card that has sparkle.  I had embossed the layers when I creating kits so I only had to make a few more for this class.  I punched little stars from silver and gold metallic paper and we simply glued them in place once we had adhered our backgrounds to our card fronts.  We used the fine tip white glue applicator to put a little dot of glue on the stars in the design and then covered them with the coordinating sized star punchie.  Not complicated but very effective!!!  Therese

November Card Club - Card #1 - Christmas cards featuring watercolour and glitter

 This was our first card for our November cardmaking session!!  With Christmas as our theme it was fun to create a watercolour image decorated with glitter.  We started by drawing an outline - an ornament (circle) or a tree (triangle).  We watercoloured them to coordinate with our backgrounds.  Once dry, we added decorations using white glue in a fine tip applicator sparingly.  We sprinkled them with gold glitter and set them aside to dry.  After adhering our background papers to our card fronts we moved on with our other cards and finished these at the end of our session.  I had prepared the watercolour paper (2.5" x 4") by gold embossing the greeting near the bottom using a guide so they would be even with the edge.  Once the glue and glitter was dry (some were not quite dry because the glue had been applied too generously) we embellished them with paper piercing using a pattern tracing wheel, a star or hanger and then added them to our card fronts using 3D foam tape.  I love how they turned out!!!!  Therese

Slow Stitching - all six of the little campers

Here is the complete set of six little campers that I have been slow stitching to secure the edges of the collage pieces to my backgrounds. They are all really bright and I am looking forward to adding them to some future projects - either bags or a quilt.  

Therese

Sewing - potholders with on point square created using flying geese blocks

Another set of potholders for Christmas!!  These are not technically "Christmas potholders" but the colours certainly would lend themselves to that theme!!  I made this set from 4 large flying geese blocks which I created using one 8 3/4" square of the patterned fabric and four 4 5/8" squares of the red fabric.  I stitched two FG blocks together down the middle twice to create two blocks with on point squares.  The trimmings were just the right size for making the hanging loops.  I used a mostly red fabric for the backs and added little squares cut from those scraps to secure the loops.  Worked out perfectly!!  I used several layers of flannel for the inside and bound them by folding the backing to the the front and stitching all the way around.  I added quilting lines in the triangles in red thread and then a box with diagonals in brown thread in the center on point square.  I see on this front potholder it is hard to see where the seam is on the front - the line closest to where the diagonal lines meet in the center is where the seam goes up and down.  I really like how they turned out.  It would be fun to make a quilt with on point squares created using this technique.    Therese

 

Birthday card featuring washi tape, printed greeting and fun folded ribbon flags

 A birthday card for one of my grandsons!!  I started with a large red card, added layers of washi tape trimmed to the edges except the white one which I added to a piece of white cardstock before adhering it into place.  The foiled gold feathers was not adhesive so I added double sided tape on each end which worked well.  The birthday greeting is laser printed, layered on red with some fun folded ribbon flags on the left hand side which are secured with double sided tape.  I added the greeting with 3D foam tape.  All of my grandson have grown so much this year!!!  Therese

Sewing - a fun bag using a substrate fabric covered with strips in a quilt as go manner

I created a new bag for my donation to Morning Star - an organization that supports women.  They are always looking for bags!!  I started with a rectangle of the inside fabric (16" x 32") of heavier weight cotton and simply stitched strips of coordinating poly fabrics to the surface.  These were scraps that I had set aside to sew together into a long strip when I went to the Quilting Retreat earlier this year.  It was a project that I did not get to but was stilled stored in a ziplock bag in my Project box. 

  I just sewed strips 16" long and added them to this substrate in a quilt as you sew manner until it was completed covered.  I stitched the two side seams and pressed them open.  I stitched triangles 1.5" deep and 3" wide" on the two bottom corners to create a boxed bottom.  I pressed the triangles up the side and then cut a strip to cover them (17" or so x 2" wide) and pressed both sides in.  I sewed theses strips over the seams and the triangles - one on each side - to nicely finish off the inside.  I cut and sewed two strips together to make handles (24" or so) and then used another piece to finish off the top of my bag.  Lastly, I stitched the two handles to each side of my bag about 5" apart and double stitched them with X to reinforce them.  A totally fun project!!  Therese

 

Sewing - potholders for Christmas featuring the hourglass block and blue fabrics

For this set I used the floral fabric with pansies - Mom's favorite flower  - and some blue fabrics.  I created two blocks, added terry cloth/flannel batting and used the pinstripe fabric for the backs.  Again, I used this new technique for adding the hanger.  You can check out my first set here.  Therese

 

Sewing - potholders for Christmas using scraps in an hour glass block pattern

 For this set of hour glass potholders I used a subdued floral and a coordinating mottled fabric.  I backed them with a coordinating solid, the same terry cloth/flannel batting and added quilting lines in each triangles.  You can check out my first set here.   I don't usually choose such a light colour for the back of my potholders but this matched so well.  Therese

Sewing - potholder for Christmas which feature an hourglass quilt square

 I am trying to learn different quilt square designs and for these ones I found the hourglass pattern.  It is a beginner one that uses two squares laid good side facing and you mark from one corner to the other and then a quarter inch to each side and then stitch down both sides of the center.  You cut from corner to corner - the ones that are not marked which gives you two large triangles.  Now cut each of these in half  - down the center on the marked lines.  This gives you four triangles.  The triangles can then be laid over each other with opposite colours touching and stitched on the long side.  You stitch both sets and then stitch these large triangles back together and you get two hour glass blocks.  You need two squares 1.5" bigger than you want them to be finished.  

Perfect for making a set of potholders!!!  I used a red fabric with widely spaced florals for the back and the same toweling/flannel batting.  Again, the same technique for adding the hanger.  You can check my first set here.  

Sewing - Christmas potholders for Christmas

For this set of potholders I used poinsettia triangles again and added a green strip and hanger and backed this set with green fabric with the same batting as last time.  I added a decorative wavy stitch to the strip and large triangles to each of the sides.  Therese

 

Christmas cards featuring round layered tags, ribbon and decorative paper backgrounds

I made up these cards using the few extra round greetings I had on hand after finishing the kits for my friend.  I added the backgrounds to my coordinating cards and then assembled the tags.  The were manipulated digitally to remove the background and then sized so they could be laser printed and then die cut using my round Nestibilities.  That worked out well and then I layered these onto red scalloped circles which I coordinated to my backgrounds.  I added little coordinating ribbon flags and then mounted them to my cards fronts using 3D foam tape.  It worked out well for me - another four cards for my Christmas cards stash!!  

Therese

 

Christmas cards featuring sanded embossed shimmer cardstock and a layered stamped greeting

These two cards came out of an attempt to make up some card kits for a friend and was another one that did not pan out for her due to the complexity of cutting out the frame.  I started with white card fronts and embossed quarter sheets of shimmer cardstock with a new to me embossing folder that features holly.  I sanded the embossing to reveal the white core.  I embossed two pieces of green scrap cardstock with just the frame and trimmed it close to the embossed edge.  It nests perfectly over the one on the background and that works really well.  Unfortunately,  was not as impressed with the contrast between the papers.  To improve the look I stamped joy and a star on the green frame and then embossed them.  It was better and then I decided to emboss the edge as well.  Just gently ran the gold stamp pad over the raised edge just enough to get the embossing powder to stick.  That worked very well and framed the greeting very nicely.  It still needed something!!!! I decided to watercolour the inside of the frame with blue green watercolour and that helped a lot!!  I am not sure if it is perfect but it is good enough to make these up into cards for this year!!  Will have to maybe worked with different colours  next time!! Therese

 

Christmas cards featuring embossed greetings embellished with snowflakes

 I was making up Christmas cards kits for a friend of mine and came up with this design!!  It ended up being too fiddly for making up for her but I did put together the two extras I had made up with the Christmas Greeting embossing folders I have in my collection.  I embossed red shimmer cardstock which has a white core.  I did not like the crackled look that comes with that process so I decided to simply watercolour the front with red which coloured the white cardstock that was showing through and that was much better.  I added little snowflakes to my embossed layers.  For the one on the left I added fiber snowflakes to the embossed ones in the design which I attached with tiny black brads.  I tried white ones and it was not as punchy as I wanted them and the black ones work much better.  For the one on the right I added little flower punchies that fall out when I punch one of my MS border punches. I save the little flowers and have used them quite a few times on my cards to represent small snowflakes.  So I used three of them here on this card to cover little embossed snowflakes.  It still needed a bit of something so I added a green satin ribbon with a short length tied to it to simulate a bow.  Worked really well!!  So two more cards to add to my Christmas card stash which has been very neglected this year!!  Therese

Sewing - potholders with Christmas fabric for Christmas

My Mom used to be the one who made potholders for everyone for Christmas.  Now that she has passed I have taken over!!  She was more organized that I am so she made them over the course of the year between her other sewing projects.  I am a bit behind so I made several sets over the weekend.  I used poinsettia fabric triangles for these ones.  I added a strip of coordinating green fabric in between to make them the 7.5" inches I needed.  I found this fun red polka dot fabric in my "red" fabric stash to make the back.  The batting is terry cloth from towels and flannel from used receiving blankets cut to size.  I made my hangers different than the last time.  It is a technique I found on line at Apple Green Cottage.  You can check it out here. I like that they hanger does not stick out and so you can use it more like a trivet if you want.  I only requires an extra triangle of fabric (2" square cut in two) for each one and gives a very neat finish.  I probably will use this for my future potholders.  A few more to go!!

 

Christmas Card Kits - card #3 - colour printed tagswith eyelets and fiber over decorative paper

For my third card, I again colour printed some tags in the traditional tag shape.  I now realize that these last two kits are the same when it comes to putting them together even if they look quite different.  I added a piece of decorative paper to the card.  The tags were cut apart after printing and then I added a pewter eyelet and some coordinating fiber through it.  The tags are all different so I coordinated the decorative paper and the cardstock to the images.  

All the card kits have quarter sheet laser printed inserts with appropriate greetings.  

It is blessings all around with these cards -  I am blessed with making the kits, she is blessed putting them together and her friends and family are blessed with her wonderful creations.  So glad I could make kits that allow her to still enjoy making cards!!  Therese
 

Christmas card kits - card #2 - decorative paper, ribbon and a round layered tag

This set of cards has a decorative background with enough contrast from the cardstock that she should be able to position it as she wishes it to be.  I found the round tags on line and colour printed them.  I had to modify them a bit to suit my purpose - I removed the background digitally and sized them so I could cut them with my Nestibilities.  I have acquired a magnetic platform with my second Big Shot which makes cutting with slim dies really fast.  I position the die onto the image and then add a large sticky note to secure the die to the cardstock.  Once laid on the magnetic platform they stayed lined up and cut perfectly every time!!!  I layered these onto round scalloped circles cut from red scraps of cardstock.  I added the folded ribbon with double sided tape and then added two pieces of 3D foam tape on the back.  Again, the release paper is blue so it shows up very well against the red cardstock.  There were several designs in this set of tags and I also used several different background paper to provide some variety.  Therese
 

Christmas card kits for a friend - card #1 - embossed layers, ribbon and an embossed greeting

A good friend who is a long time cardmaker asked for some Christmas card kits again this year.  After her stroke she has limited vision but continues to do as much as she can!!  I have made the kits so they will be easy for her to put together.  For this one I started with an ivory card which I folded so it would be ready to go.  I embossed the green shimmer cardstock with a floral embossing folder and added a line of double sided tape on the top and the bottom so she could locate the ribbon anywhere along the card front and the remaining tape would be helpful in securing the layer to the card along with some glue for the middle.  I created the poinsettia using my Nestibilities.  I used only the two smallest ones, embossed them and then added a gold sequin and brad to secure all the layers together.  I added 3D foam tape to the back which has blue release paper which will make it easier for her to see.  The gold embossed Merry Christmas greeting also has a strip of double sided tape on the back which will hold it in place.  

I am so glad to be able to make kits for her allowing her to still enjoy making cards for her friends and family!!  She is such a gracious person and counts everything to the good!!   Therese
 

Slow Stitching - three more campers

 I have managed to slow stitch a few more little campers.  I am simply adding perpendicular stitches to the edges of these pieces that have been fused onto the white squares.  You can check out the first one I did here.  It will be fun to find a way of making a quilt top out of these!!  

I am linking up to Kathy's Quilts and her Slow Sunday Stitching.  I encourage you to go and check out the link party!  You will find all sorts of inspiration for your next project!!

Therese