An easy kitchen gift to make

I've learned how to make a new gift item for family and friends.  The supplies are easy:  

a kitchen towel (can be a special holiday towel, or any kitchen towel that makes you smile), 

a coordinating potholder with a loop to hang it by, 

a large decorative button 

and matching thread.

To make this easy-to-sew kitchen gift:

First, gather the supplies listed above: a dish towel, coordinating potholder, decorative button and matching thread.

    

Hint: Use a potholder with a loop as the loop becomes the buttonhole, but I am getting ahead of myself.  The loop can be placed in the center of one side or located at a corner. 

Then, follow these 5 simple steps:

1)  Using a long gathering stitch on your machine, stitch on along the center of the towel.

2)  Fold pot holder in half (you will be stitching towel to this midline).
 

3)  Gather the towel until its gathered width matches that of the potholder.
 

4)  Stitch towel to potholder by stitching its gathered lines to potholder's marked midline.
 

5)  Add a decorative button of your choice. Tah-dah!  You've finished!

You can use a shank button (pretty options available!) or a button with 2 or 4 holes. 

Pick a button that pleases you.

As you can see, my button basket is overflowing 

with a variety of buttons.

I need to make a few for myself.  

I am thinking of using this fun & fruity theme.

 

What do you think?

Stitching up coasters

This year, I am making many gifts for my family and friends, beginning with these coasters.  While directions for these have appeared elsewhere, this method may be a little different. 

The ingredients are simple:  6 charms squares (all the same size) and one piece of batting (sized 1/2" smaller).  Note: the batting used should be cotton or wool.  Insul-Bright (a heat-sensitive batting made by The Warm Company and is recommended for use in potholders) can be substituted for the square of batting.  Click here for more information on Insul-Bright.

For this coaster I used 6" squares: two of the snowman holiday print, three of the holiday lights print and one of muslin.  I cut one square of thin cotton batting that measures 5 1/2" square.  Note:  the 6" squares can each be different coordinating prints or solids, including the muslin square.  This results with a scrappier looking coaster.

First step is to iron four of the squares in half on the diagonal -- two of one print and two of the other.

The next step is to make a quilt sandwich with the muslin on the bottom (it will disappear into the interior of the coaster when complete).  Center the batting square on the muslin, and the final square on top with its right side facing up.  

Note: if using a print fabric in place of the muslin, layer it face down so that the wrong side will touch the batting.  This square ends up inside the coaster, barely seen.
Second note: the top print of this sandwich will end up being the bottom side of the coaster.

The next step is the mildly intricate one ...

Using the four triangles, place them around the four corners of the quilt-sandwich, alternating fabrics (if making a scrappy variation, arrange the triangles in any order that pleases).  Tuck one skinny corner of each triangle under its neighboring triangle.  While I tucked under all the left corners, it can be either the left or the right corners, as long as the same corner is consistently tucked under the neighboring triangles.

Pin carefully.

Stitch using a 1/4" seam allowance around all four sides.  Be sure to remove the pins rather than to sew over them.  Warning: weird and hazardous things can happen to your machine if you get used to stitching over pins ... such as pins getting mysteriously stuck inside the feed dogs, or worse.  No need to ask me how I know this....

After sewing all four sides, trim the corners to reduce the bulk in the coaster's edges.

Be careful not to snip into your stitching accidentally!

This next step is the magic one -- simply flip the coaster inside out, starting by holding the folded triangular sides.  Use a chopstick to poke the corners out, shaping them as squarely as possible.


I like to add a single top-stitch 1/4" (or so) around the seamed edge (as seen on the left coaster below) for added stability to the coaster - especially if your seam allowances are skimpy or if you clipped the corners a bit too much.

This step is optional as the coaster on the right shows it is a completed coaster at this stage.
Final note:  the batting layer is optional and can be eliminated.  The resulting coaster will be thinner, though.


This is the collection of coasters I have made so far ... I like to gift them in sets of four, but have also given them in pairs or individually.  The individual coasters are great for co-workers to use under their coffee mugs at their desk or work cubicle.

Pre-cut charm packs are great for making these coasters too.  They are smaller in size, but still plenty big enough for a coaster.  This project is a simple one and an excellent stash buster.

The coasters I made with the 6" fabric squares are great for larger coffee mugs yet they are not quite large enough to be mug rugs.  They can be used in many ways besides as a coaster, too.   My sister-in-law grabbed them to use as little potholders and another friend keeps one in the car to wipe-up windshield condensation.  What other uses can you think of?  

If you have any questions, I am happy to help answer them.

Be sure to share a photo if you make any coasters, too.

I love reading your comments!

Postcards from the East

This lovely quilt, Postcards from the East, began with a block swap with my QGGH Block Builders Bee.  Each block is a lovely Asian print with a black strip pieced into the center.  

Making these blocks is quite simple and basic.  

  1)  Start with a 5" square.

  2)  Slice this square down the middle, resulting with two rectangles 2.5" x 5" each.

  3)  Stitch an insert, a 1" x 5" black solid piece, into the middle split.  Use 1/4" seam allowances. Be cautious of piecing the insert into the former middle of the original block.  Depending on the print, this may not matter -- but on larger prints where the design continues across that black strip, it adds to the block.   

  4)  The resulting block will measure 5" square.   

  5)  Repeat steps 1 - 4 until you've made the number of blocks that you desire.

In this swap, we could make as many as 8 blocks that were identical, made using the same asian print.  After the trade is completed, we each receive a multitude of different blocks in return for the identical ones that were submitted.  Swapping blocks like this make it much easier to create scrappy quilts.  One more tip: I like to keep one of my original blocks before any of our swaps as my own record (to help me remember which blocks that I made). 

This past week-end, Postcards from the East was hand-delivered to Beverly who had been waiting patiently for over a year.  As soon as I gave her this quilt, I realized that I had not taken a nice photo of it for my own records.  At the time we were enjoying a lovely breakfast in a cozy New Orleans restaurant where there was no room to open the quilt to take a photo then, so Beverly promised to share a photo.   She sent this photo within an hour of our good-byes!  Hmmm, might have to start a new quilt for her soon ....

The quilt below was exhibited in the 2015 Joy of Quilts show held by the Quilt Guild of Greater Houston (QGGH).  It is made with some of the very same blocks that I used in my quilt for Beverly. 

"Asian Delight" made by LaNell Neel and the Neartown Bee,
Machine quilting completed by Jane Plisga.

LaNell was gifted with many of the Asian blocks from the Neartown Bee on her birthday, as she loves Asian fabrics.  She then used them to create the borders surrounding the center panel which she had in her collection of fabrics. 

Same blocks, different setting, makes for two lovely quilts.

Floral Lotto blocks

My Block Builders Bee, part of the Quilt Guild of Greater Houston, holds a block-lotto about eight times a year.  This month's block was so cute that I decided to make the maximum (2 blocks equals one chance in the lottery) of 8 blocks giving me 4 chances.  I just knew that I might win!  Here are sixteen lovely blocks that I ended up making....

Yes, I made a duplicate set for myself to keep, in the event that I didn't win the lotto.  I'm so glad that I did because I didn't win - sigh.  But these are four of the ones that I kept.  Aren't they sweet?

Here are the directions to make one block:

First, choose a color for your flower and select 4 scrappy squares (3.5") in that colorway to be the flower petals.  Each block also takes:

      4 (1.5") squares of yellow for flower center, 

      8 (1.5") squares of green for the leaves, 

and a light print for the background which is cut in these numbers and sizes: 

      4 (1.5") squares, 2 strips (1.5" x 6.5") and 2 longer strips (1.5" x 8.5").

Draw a diagonal line on the back of the 16 (1.5") squares, which will be the stitching line.  Sew one yellow square to one corner of each of the four petals, stitching on the drawn diagonal line.  Then sew a green square to each corner next to the yellow corner.  Sew the background square to the last corner (opposite the yellow corner).  This makes a Snowball block of each square peratl for the flower.  Now flip the triangles back to the corners and press.  This is the classic stitch & flip technique.  

The excess fabric can be trimmed away from the corners, leaving 1/4" (.25") for seam allowance.  Press the seams away from the center of each block.

Carefully layout the four snowball petal squares so that the four yellows meet up in the flower's center, the background corners are the four outer corners of the larger pieced block and the greens touch each other making larger triangular leaves.  Stitch these four squares into a four-patch using a 1/4" seam.  To aid in keeping the flower center flat, press these seams on the back so that they spin in the center.

Last of all, add the 6.5" strips to top and bottom sides, then add the 8.5" to the left and right sides.  Press the seams toward the border strips.  Trim the final block to 8.5" (if needed).

Here's a photo before the lottery happened.  They look so precious!  I will be making more of these sweet flowers ... possibly multiples of more, as I love this simple block.

By the way, I'm already pulling fabrics for next month's block lotto -- selecting fabrics to use in a Christmas and black&white tree block (even though I celebrate Chanukah).

Flood Texas with Love

The week-end of Memorial Day 2015 brought massive quantities of water flooding through several Texas towns.  The photos on the news that week-end and the days following were amazingly awful to look at and the news of the amount of loss, both the loss of life and the loss of property was heart-wrenching.

When I saw this logo posted on InstaGram by "supersara20", Sara,  I immediately wanted to join in and help with this great drive. 

credit to Brenna (IG - beknitpicky) for this great logo!

Quoting Sara  from her blog Southern Transplant:
The state of Texas is many things to many people.  To millions it is home.  Texas has recently dealt with severe weather including flooding and tornados in many areas, the worst of which was in Hays County and the city of Houston.  I am a resident of Hays County, I have had to deal with flooded roads, rain, high winds and losing a few shingles on my house.  I am one of the lucky ones.  Many others have had to deal with flooding of their homes and the loss of loved ones.  To date there have been 28 deaths associated with the flooding and several of these people are still missing.  There have been hundreds of houses flooded and many completely washed away.  As the flood waters recede people are returning home, to find mud, mold, venomous snakes, fire ants and rodents in their homes making the clean up that much more difficult.

The idea is for the community of quilters to Flood Texas with Love (and with Quilts).

Sara obtained permission from Cheryl Arkison, who has graciously given permission for us use her Just One Slab block from her book Sunday Morning Quilts which is a fabulous book (I own a digital copy).  

 The directions for the color-slab blocks can be found on pages 48-49.  

Cheryl gives directions on her blog, Dining Room Empire.  Click here for the specific post or keep on reading as the following is quoted directly from her post:

If you don't have the book (Sunday Morning Quilts), let me summarize how to make a slab:
Take two pieces of fabric and sew them together. Do that a few more times. Then start sewing more pieces to those first pairs. Sew groups together. Add additional pieces of fabric as necessary to get up to your finished size. Start with small bits or big ones, it doesn't matter. Raid your scrap bins and go with what you've got.

Sara adds to make each block using one color per "slab".  Any color.  Each block should measure 15.5" square.  The hope and plan is to make quilts 60" x 75" in size, in a rainbow of colors.   Sara is collecting blocks through the month of June, then the piecing, quilting and binding will be completed in July.  

So far I have made four slabs....

 an orange one came first...

 then a green one ...

 then not one, but two blue ones!

I discovered that piecing two slabs at a time is very time efficient.  I love this creative way of using up the fabric scraps that I can never toss into the trash.  This is a fun block to piece, perhaps because there are no specific rules. The directions are to improvise as you go, ending up with a block that measures 15.5" square.  I believe improv piecing is quite freeing! 


Thank you to Sara and to Cheryl for this wonderful project.  I have so many friends who lost so much in the flooding, specifically here in Houston, but also all across our mighty state.  The time to heal is now and sadly it is moving forward ever so slowly.  I know it is still hard for many.  I hope that these quilts, when presented to their new owners, will provide them with much love and with new-found strength.

Here is Cheryl's update on the Canadian floods from 2013, with photos of the quilts made then.  Click here.  She also acknowledges the drive we are currently holding in Texas to help flood fellow Texans with love and quilts.  How awesome is that!  Besides piecing slab blocks, I am also helping to quilt and bind the finished quilts too.  An amazing project that I am very proud to be a part of.... truly.


If you would like to join us, it is not too late.  Make a slab or two -- in your favorite color or in whatever color is most predominant in your scrap bins.  If you can't make a block(s) you can donate through Paypal to sara_stetson@yahoo.com in any amount.  All money will be used for quilt materials (batting/backings/thread/binding), shipping and long arm services. Any excess money collected will be donated to the Red Cross of Central Texas.  (Sara is happy to provide documentation if requested to show the donations are used correctly!)

Please email Sara at sara_stetson@yahoo.com or send her a private message on Instagram @supersara20 when you have blocks that are ready to send to Sara in Austin, or contact me in Houston.


Thank you all in advance!


#floodtexaswithlove

Plastic bags storage idea

I love trying to neaten my messy, unorganized life and was tickled to learn a simple and easy way to downsize the amount of space that grocery plastic bags can take.  Thank you to my friend Katie of www.charliemarlmalade.com fame for sharing this idea with me at our recent Houston Modern Quilt Guild Retreat.  It's a simple idea that I wonder why I never thought of it before.

You can take this big goofy mess and ....

end up with this small pile of neat triangles.

Basically you flatten the plastic bags and fold them up into triangular shapes, much like the proper folding of the flag of the USA or like young boys fold paper-tabletop footballs.
Here are directions in a few simple steps.

First, take a plastic bag and flatten it neatly.

Fold it in half lengthwise, then into thirds lengthwise again to get a long folded rectangle.

Starting at the bottom edge of the plastic bag, fold one corner down, making a triangle shape.

Now carefully fold the triangle over on itself, neatening and straightening with each fold.

Keep folding the triangle over onto itself, slowly moving upwards toward the handle ends.

Be sure to straighten the triangle with each folded step.

When you get to the end, it may be a bit puzzling....

But you simply take those leftover handle edges and tuck them into the opening made by the folded edges of the triangle

Voila, one tightly tucked and folded triangular football shape -- which is easy to tuck into purse pockets, in the glove box of your car, or most any where.

This is amazingly rather fun and has the happy result of a neater, smaller space holding your extra plastic grocery bags.  I think it is my crazy new addiction which I am sharing with you.  Now you too can easily tote a plastic bag or three or seven with you wherever your travels and wanderings may take you.

Once a pair of shorts ....

 The original pair of denim shorts once worn by my teenage son is destined to be re-purposed into something new and different.

 

I began by removing the metal zipper -- isn't un-stitching a joy?  

At least when it is not undoing something I have just stitched together!

 

Andy says "can I be in the picture too?"

(Why did I think I could take photos with the jeans on the floor with Andy in the house?)

Besides taking out the metal zipper, I also took apart the inner side seams.

Now to figure out how to do the next step.... or maybe I should start of deciding what part of the shorts will be the front and sides .....

Oh, did I mention, I'm planning to make a new totebag?

I had intended to finish it to swap in the September Totebag Swap that was held with the Houston Modern Quilt Guild (HMQG).  This is the funky kitty fabric that I plan to use as the tote's lining (do you think Andy will mind?).

This is one of my "starts" for September, one of my NewFOs. 

I do confess that I love the challenge of starting something new each month?

Stay tuned as I aim to finish my jeans-kitty totebag in October as part of my "A Lovely Year of Finishes" Challenge!  I hereby declare that this is my goal for the month of October.
Click here to see the others (I'm #25).

This is a fun challenge aimed at finishing projects and achieving goals.  It is helping me to select and then focus on one project each month (once I've selected one to finish!).  Please join in if you'd like to.  It is very easy.  Here's how:  decide your goal for the month and declare it publicly, with a link on the Lovely Year of Finishes Goal Setting Linky Party (open the first seven days of the month).  Then work like crazy to achieve your goal and post your successes to the Finishes Linky Party (during the last seven days of the month).

To make it even more fun, a few lucky finishers win prizes! I know, because I won a prize in August from Thimblepies Quilty Supplies!  My prize was four 1-yard cuts of lovey fabrics (they remind me of 30s Reproductions) and two packages of rickrack.  Thank you Jane Holbrook!

I also started (and finished) this sweet dove block for a friend's approaching wedding.  Click here to see my dove before I autographed it.

Does it count as a NewFO if I finished it?  (answer: Yes, it does!)

Click here to see the other NewFOs started in September, 2014 (I am #20).

Quilt Binding Express

I'm having fun trying out my newest quilty gadget - a Quilt Binding Express tool by June Tailor.

This new gadget aids in ironing the binding strips in half, lengthwise.  There are three different width slots (2", 2 1/4" and 2 1/2").  Fold the strip in half, feed it through it's matching slot (I'm using the 2 1/2" one) and press the fold with a hot iron.  Continue feeding the fabric through, pressing as you go, until the entire length has been ironed flat.  What I like best about this gizmo-gadget is that I do not have scorched fingers!

Note: another cool thing is the printed design along each slot helps you to line up the fabric and keep it folded in half.

Last tip:  I purchased mine at my local JoAnn Fabric and Craft store -- with a coupon!  Check your local quilt shop too, since it is one handy quilt-y gadget.

cards

I've thought of making my own cards to share with family and friends for years ... and this year, with the season here (early for me - Chanukah merged with Thanksgiving - a true rarity!), and being without a great family photo to share across the world .... I pulled out some old fabrics and had fun playing ...

This fabric was one I had in my stash, leftovers from a round robin I participated in years ago.  One of the quilts in our circle had a Christmas theme.  I used Wonder Under (or was it Misty Fuse?) to adhere the fabric Santas to the card fronts.  Then I smeared some Elmer's glitter glue to seal the edges down.  Inside: "Ho, Ho, Hoping you're having a wonderful holiday" or another similar Ho-Ho-Ho sentiment, along with a personal note and update of annual newsy-ness.

My mitten cards were simpler and used leftover strips of batting and backing fabric from an earlier quilt.  I cut mitten shapes first, then stitched them directly onto the card fronts.  I added an extra layer or two of the batting on the cuff, as needed.  Sentiment:  "Warm Wishes for a Wonderful New Year"

Now to ponder whether to come up with a new card design, or try to upscale these a bit - perhaps adding something from Stampin' Up.  I must check in with my cousin, Kimberly Myers, one of the Stampin' Up demonstrators.  Click here for her story.

Aloha!

The International Quilt Festival comes to Houston every year with exhibits of gorgeous quilts, vendors offering lots to buy, and classes covering a variety of quilting topics.  The first class that I took this year was "Meet Me In Hawaii" with Kathy Kansier.  

It was a fabulous class with the one big snafu being that the published supply list for the class did not include paper scissors, fine-tip embroidery scissors, or pins.  Fortunately Kathy had some scissors for sale and many were happy to take turns with theirs (if they had them).  We were in a classroom supplied with sewing machines, so we need not lug a machine (whew!).

Hawaiian Applique

This Kathy's class quilt which she shared, suggesting that we lay it down in the hallway to get photos of the full quilt.  The one drawback was that more than one person walking by did not notice there was a quilt on the floor.  We were standing around its edges taking photos, yet they cut between us and stepped onto the quilt!  Yikes!!

In our three-hour class, everyone drew and cut their own original pattern to use for their Hawaiian applique block.  Once the design was cut from freezer paper, it was traced and cut from fabric provided in the class kit.  Then it was fused to the background (white or black) and machine applique'd before class ended.  An impressive amount of learning, cutting and stitching was completed together that night.

This is my block, my original design.  I was perhaps the only one to not finish my applique in the class....  It was my second block that I cut out, as my first design was even more detailed and intricate.  Actually the true reason might be that I did not have the proper supplies.  Fortunately I was seated next to a generous soul who happily shared her newly purchased scissors. Thank you Lish!!!

Kathy kept telling us that designing these blocks is addictive and I believe she is right!  Since finishing my first block at home, I pulled out some freezer paper one evening and cut the three designs below.  They will be stitched down soon, once I purchase yardage of solid Kona cotton white fabric and Wonder Under (for fusing). 

These images are the reverse of my intended design.  You see the paper patterns laid on top of different batik fabrics.  Each block will be a batik in the center of the block, the design, that is stitched onto a background of white.  If I can cut the batik fabric carefully, I might be able to fuse these designs as they appear here -- where the batik is stitched down on the edges, leaving the white design in the center. This will give me the positive and the negative of each design.  Hmmm, I will have to try hard to do this.

Can you see the pineapple in the design below?  It is meant to be a pineapple, not a pomegranate.

Below are the remnants from each design above.  Can you match each triangle to their coordinating blocks above?

Answer key:  The one on the far left is the pattern on orange/red above; the middle triangle is the pineapple block and the far right matches to the top pattern on blue above.


Just seeing them here is making me itchy to get sewing again!