Feeling Crafty!

Whoa!! Where did last week go? I was certainly not here blogging, that's for sure! I was, however, doing a bit of sewing. And while the sewing studio is not quite ready for it's "grand reveal", I think this week I'll give you a few peeks.


On Friday, Roland and I were invited to another couple's house for dinner, and instead of the usual bottle of wine hostess thank you, I decided to make some potholders. I had seen some on Pinterest that led to a tutorial, but let's face it folks, I've been sewing for such a long time, that I just made it up as I went along. Oh, and I've made potholders before. I even had some of that insul-brite batting that makes them REAL potholders!

Here's the quick and dirty "tutorial" of how I made these:

1. sewed strips of batik quilting cotton together.
2. cut 4 7-1/2" squares
3. made a little "hanger" out of one of the strips by folding it in half, pressing, then folding in the edges to the center, encasing the raw edges, and pressed again. Secured it with a line of stitching. You could use a ribbon, or bias tape.
4. pinned the hanger to the right side of one of the squares. Yep, the red one came out just a little "off"
5. layered batting, square, square (the squares are right sides together), batting. Pinned.
6. sewed around the edges, leaving enough open to turn it.
7. turn it right side out.
8. poke out the corners and press.
9. topstitch around the edges to close the opening.
10. Optional: do some more machine quilting. Maybe a grid, or just some meandering stitching. I did neither.

Our friend (more of an acquaintance to me) was Thrilled! And so impressed. And so appreciative. Sometimes just being able to make something easy reaps huge rewards. I think the whole thing took me about 2 hours.

I'm wrapping up my Sew-Along challenges this week. Tomorrow, I'll be "revealing" my Minoru jacket. And I hope to finish that darn Ruby Slip this afternoon. My serger is finally home!! Stay tuned!