Easy Pot Holders

Do you follow Jodi at Pleasant Home blog?  She is an amazing quilter and spends many hours blogging and finding inspirational quilt photos online to share.  There is no way I could ever become the prolific quilter that she is!  Recently she shared a great tutorial for a mug rug.  You can find it HERE  

This method has got to be the easiest way to quilt EVER!  I cut all my blocks to 2" square.  I used 5 across and 5 down.  You will need lightweight fusible interfacing cut into a 10" square.  Iron the 2" squares to the interfacing following the manufacturer's directions.  Only now do you need to go to the sewing machine.  I'll let you check out Jodi's tutorial to figure this out. 

This next photo is one pot holder ready to be sewn and the one on the right is completed/quilted/backed.

You can see how much it "shrinks" after sewing.  I used fusible batting inside.

I've got 2 sick kids home today, 1 with strep throat and the other one is throwing up - yeah!  Unfortunately I can't get any weaving done since I'm being called upon every 5 minutes, but I was able to make 6 potholders.

These 2 "kids" seem to like it when someone is home with them....

Both of them are hanging out with us in the living room. 

~Ann

Charm Pack Win

My winning streak has continued!  I recently won the Charm Pack giveaway from Jacque at The Doodles of My Mind blog found HERE. The charm pack is a mixture of muted oranges, yellows, aquas, browns and blacks.  There are dogs and cats as well as paw prints and dog bones.  

 I added 6 fat quarters from the quilt shop and a black paw print fabric that I already had in my stash. 

The Stacked coin quilt is my plan.  I cut all the blocks in half last night, which results in rectangles that are 2 1/2" x 5 ".  I'm going to use 35 in each column and I will use 5 total columns. After cutting last night, I was planning the layout and had WAY too much help from Shadow.  He rearranged the strips many times.  What would I ever do without his help?

Example of the stacked coin - compliments of Nina at September Pixie.

I hope to sew the strips together this weekend. I'll keep you all updated.   Thank you Jacque.

~Ann

A day of finishes

Here it is the second day of school after Christmas break and my youngest is home sick.  In between "Mom, can you get me a Sprite,crackers, the TV remote, etc....I sat at my sewing machine and finished up some cross stitch pieces that need my attention.

Merry New Year is a pattern by The Stitcherhood and can be found HERE

I gathered unfinished items and I must say I'm just a little embarrassed by the number of projects I've left undone. They still are not all done, but the pile is reduced by 75%!  These next finishes are all for next Christmas, I'm ahead for this coming year (as opposed to being behind for this past year  and that's the story I'm sticking to!)   

       This first project is from a free pattern by Marly at Samplers and Santas blog found HERE.  Please note the green pillow cover in the background.  I bought this several years ago for the pillow form inside.  I'm still not sure as to why I saved the cover, but I now am very glad I did as it made the perfect backing for the pear.

 And, I still haven't finished it!  Needs a stem, a leaf and a coffee stain.

The Merry Primitive Christmas is also a free chart, this one from The Primitive Hare blog found HERE.  I changed the date to 1803, my favorite historical year!

Can I switch subjects for just a minute?  2 posts ago I shared that I won some faux fruit from Marly of Samplers and Santas - I was wrong - it's real dried whole fruit.  My day started out with the great idea of drying my own grapefruit and oranges today.  

I bought this food dehydrator a year ago at an auction, it was never used and still hasn't been.  I thought I could just place the fruit inside - WRONG - there are trays stacked up, it's not open inside.  So much for drying my own whole fruit that way.  I've put some in the basement refrigerator and I'm hoping that eventually they look like the 3 in the above photo.  

Back to cross stitch.... 

 The Christmas tuck and mini santa are patterns by Country Rustic Primitives found HERE

The Prairie School Santa  was a free chart from way back when there was a cross stitch store in our town.  It's been sitting in my to do pile for years.  I really didn't like it.  That is until I saw how nice Marly's look on her blog.  Mixed in with other Christmas pieces it will be a good addition.  

I used the envelope method of putting the backing on the 2 santa pieces in the above photo.  I do like how it makes the piece look

The next 2 are pillows from Pineberry Lane that you can find on patternmart

                          

 A pillow I made from a Create & Decorate pattern years ago 

 again, the envelope back..

 My last finish of the day... I stitched these peacocks awhile back, with no thought of any project - just because.  For me that's a bad idea!  They sat in my basket for over a year.   I ripped a piece of homespun, hemmed the edges and used a running stitch to hold the stitchery to the towel.

 Found the perfect spot on my Folk Art corner cupboard.  I see no one dusted last week while Mom was gone!  

I hope I've provided you with correct links that all work.  If something doesn't work, leave me a comment and I'll get back with you.  

Thank you Marly for all your cross stitch work that inspired me to finish up some projects.

~Ann

Belated New Year's wishes

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas and a Happy start to 2012.  

I've been just a little busy - the day after Christmas, my sister, my mom, my daughter and I drove to my Mom's house in Upstate NY to pack up her house and put it up for sale.  We had a couple of deadlines that loomed over our heads.  On Thursday of last week, we needed to be ready for the auctioneer and on Friday the movers were scheduled for 9:30am.  That gave us 3 days to sort/pack/throw over 50 years of my parent's household.  Not only did we have my mom's collections, my grandmother's collections were intact too!  My mom is moving into an assisted living facility in Wisconsin near my sister.  Her new apartment has 3 rooms - bedroom, living/kitchen and bathroom.  Needless to say, Mom had to part with several pieces of furniture.  We joked she is going to have to have antiques in the bathroom! 

My sister and I are dividing up the family antiques that will not fit into my Mom's new apartment. I wanted this antique blanket chest that now sits in my living room.  It's a great old piece with square nails and is made from wide single boards. Just like I like things - old and primitive. 

Above the blanket chest, an antique oil painting now graces our living room.  This painting is of my great - great uncle who died when he was 11 in 1858.  No one else likes this picture of Great Uncle Willy - creepy eyes that follow you!  My sister and I used to scare ourselves silly stealing glances at him when we were growing up.  He was never hung in a main room in our house, I don't know why, guess my Mom didn't like the picture either. I just LOVE this painting now and my sister couldn't get it into my van fast enough!

We contracted with ABF freight to drive the remaining parts of my Mom's household to Wisconsin.  They are arriving sometime this week, so we'll be driving to Wisconsin this weekend to set up my Mom's apartment.  I have some other treasures on the truck that I will show you as soon as I bring them home with me! Now, I'm off to catch up with all of you - I've missed my blogging friends the past week and a half.  

~Ann