Just a quick post today...
I love to personalize store bought stuff. I bought these kitchen towels at Target a while ago and I love them, they just felt like they were missing something. So I added a little extra to make them a bit more me. I just did some wonky patchwork, then cut each block to a size that fit each towel, and Voila! done. It takes very little time and now I am a little more happy with my kitchen decor.
I wanted to share a quick tutorial I found(well my mom found and shared). It's for very easy pot holders. I made the same size just to give an idea of the actual finished scale, but I think these would be really cute as chair pads. So here is the video first, then I'll show you some bits from the pot holders I made.Keep in mind I follwed the instructions TO A "T", and it turned out perfect.
So here is a photo of my completed pot holders, they are just hanging from clothes pins in my kitchen on my chalkboard to give a solid background perspective. I wasn't sure I would dig these all that much, but I have to say I want to make dozens and dozens. It is just the easiest technique, REALLY IT IS! I know sometimes I go to sewing or quilting sites and they always say "it's so easy for a beginner to get this done" and I am usually like...um, IN WHAT UNIVERSE IS THIS EASY!?!?!? So trust me when I say these...ARE!
Here are a couple of shots of my process...
I picked my fabrics out from fat quarters so it took me a bit longer, if you go with a precut stack, it will take you half the time, and that's not long. It only took me (including cutting) 1.5 hours, and I took a few breaks.
Here is how chunky the stack is that you are working with, it's a fair bit of chunk, I will admit, but just work slowly and BE PATIENT(that's my biggest downfall with any project). And as much as I HATE PINNING, you have to pin so it doesn't slide around. Something that they don't tell you, and this is important, if you are going to actually use these and not just have they as decorative pieces, you HAVE to use 100% natural batting, like cotton or wool, that way there is nothing in there that can melt when anything hot is put on them. They don't give you a very good visual of where to pin, so this is what I did on all four sides and it worked out great.
Here they are on my kitchen table, a little different with the yellow background.
Here are some shots of the backs too, just as lovely. I always love to see the backs of projects.
That's it! They really were fast, I was pleasantly surprised. Have you got any quick tutorials that you ended up loving? I'm always looking for home decor stuff, it's addictive once you get making!
I was searching for inspiration on line about a week before Thanksgiving and I came across This book. I was IN! I read Whip Up quite often and I was so excited to see there was a "blog tour", I had caught the tail end of it but I could still see all the yummy photos of the inside. When I got to these photos of the books contents I instantly wanted to shout from the rooftops, I WANT TO MAKE IT ALL!! I was particularly struck with this photo of the cloud song quilt, HOLY FREAKIN MOLY that is cute, no!?!? So, I promptly, frantically(cuz I get a little manic when I am geeking out) called my mom and told her that I had found this new book and that we HAD TO(seriously now, this is life or death stuff) get this book so we could both do some of the projects together. We both bought the book and we really wanted to do a quilting project together(from afar, she lives in Colorado and I in SLC). So we decided on the this quilt...
And the kicker is we wanted to finish it before Thanksgiving. Which I, straight out the gate, thought was HILARIOUS because the running joke in our family is that if mom says she is making you something, don't hold your breathe. It will be about three years before you actually get it, so you better make sure its something you will always like(for me this is hard because I am always changing my style, I meant like every week. Another running joke). But my mom assured me that she WOULD PROVE ME WRONG. So I said sure and we went on our merry way. We called back and forth about our color choices and whether or not it should be a Christmas project being so close to the holiday. She decided on Christmas, I did not.
Now I know that I'm not a very proficient at quilting yet, at least I don't have 30 some odd years under my belt, like my mom. So I am a bit nervous about getting mine done, but I know how I am when I set my mind to a project...I DON"T STOP. Not even for food(which, on a side note, if I could figure out how to bottle, DAMN I would be rich). So I get a phone call a couple of days later and my mom tells me she is all done with the piecing and she just needs to quilt it...GREAT, I haven't even picked out my friggin colors. So I'm thinking she is turning this into a race...oh okay, it's on like donkey kong now. And less than a week later we were done.
Me:left Mom:right
I am floored at how different and yet equally cool they both are. we plan on doing this again, we just have to pick the next project out. I am hoping it will be from the same book since there are so many things in there that I want to complete this year.
I have to say this was really fun, nit just because I was doing something with my mom but because, as everyone knows in the craft world, I COMPLETED A PROJECT IN A TIMELY MANNER! That is truly the biggest reward for me. I start so many projects with the intention of getting them done soon, but then life interjects and the spark fizzles and I am on to something else. This is one of my resolutions, to finish what I start. Have you ever done a project like this with a partner? I am definitely doing it again.
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