Gifts #7 of 10 - potholders

These things are addictive! I have to stop at two and work on gifts for the rest, but I saved a pie pattern in case I have time to do it later. I thought it would be nice to hang them up in the kitchen for the photo shoot. I see I need to clean the kitchen cabinets. These are high up cabinets above the stove that I don't use (or apparently look at) very often.



To see other Sew and Tell participants, click on the link to go to Amy Lou Who's blog.

Gift #7 of 10 in progress

It's so nice to be able to see so much progress. I'm on #7. Although, it does make me worry about getting the rest of the projects done on time - considering that I still have to think of most of the ideas.

I talked to the nephew about his parents, and he said that his father liked the color blue, and liked to bake. I was thinking potholders for him, so that worked out perfectly. But no, my teeny tiny four inch potholders are not good enough. They use potholders everyday, to bring the food to the coffee table or wherever they are eating, and the same potholder gets used as a placemat under the food. Their potholders are eight inches square. No problem, I have some blue and white kits left over from the BOM I bought a couple of years back, and they are 12 inches. A couple of nice Ohio Star or similar HST blocks would be nice and quick.

No, the nephew insisted that a geometric pattern would not do. His father likes to bake, and bakery items have to go on the potholder. I searched around for some clip art, and found a few. I was thinking of more than one potholder, but goodness, one of these is like making a whole quilt! I got a couple of pancake clip art, and put them together. He really liked the red topping instead of the butter and syrup. Then I wasn't sure it really looks like pancakes, so it sat for the day. But today, I came downstairs without my glasses on, and it does kinda look like pancakes. So today, I guess I will stitch it down. Maybe I'll write "Pancakes" with a Sharpie, to give people a clue about what it is. I'll also make a cupcake one, but I think I'll stop at two potholders.

I had to reverse the light and dark beige colors, because I didn't have very much of the light, so these look like whole wheat pancakes. See, I'm promoting a healthy lifestyle. Fruit and wheat.

Gift #6 of 10

My sister went to work yesterday, and our mother had a dentist's appointment, so I was in charge of homeschooling my nephew. I wasn't given any instructions on how to do this, probably because he is pretty independent, and he was finishing up a chapter. He has a tendency to do the math in his head and not show his work, and when he figures it out on paper, he erases his work. I explained to him that not showing your work will make you lose points, but it didn't take.

While he was here, I decided to use his brain, and save some wear and tear on mine. I asked him about gift ideas for his parents. "Would your mother like a Christmas ornament?" "How about a vase?" "Is this the shade of blue your Dad likes?" "Does this purple go with this purple?" I think I did a pretty good job of teaching him how to multi-task.

I don't know why he didn't get all his homework done. Maybe because the day went really fast.

Gift #6 is the blanket I bought on Black Friday. My original plan was to do something, maybe applique a name, or add a pocket to make a quillow, (a quilt that turns into a pillow) or would that be a blallow since it isn't a quilt? Anyway, I don't really have the right shade(s) of purple I need to do this. After some deliberation, I have decided that I am going to give this to her, as is. It seems stupid to spend precious time and money simply to give the blanket a dorky handmade look. It's warm and soft, and what she asked for. She will be happy to get it. It's the other gift recipients I am worried about - whether they will wish I had taken that store bought route with them as well.



In my last post, I talked about hiring out my nephew for tasks. I bought this alphabet stamp kit when I returned the Cricut. It was only $2.50, mainly because the labor wasn't done. There weren't directions in the box either, but maybe they figured that if I thought hard enough, I would be able to figure it out. The stamp holders needed the stamps stuck to the bottom, and a sticker at the top to show what stamp it is. If you notice, the stickers and the stamps aren't on the same location on the circles. And with the fancy font, and being reversed and all, it wasn't as easy to match them up as you would expect. I had them about halfway done, and when the nephew saw what I had done, he finished the job without my asking him to do it. Free labor!

Gift 5 of 10 - Apron

I finished the apron I showed in my last post. I am really happy that I found the directions for the reversible apron, because I think that helped a lot. I am really tickled that it looks like an apron. I am using a panel, so of course it should look right, but the size seemed short, which it isn't. The panel seems to have forgotten about seam allowances, since you are supposed to cut on the line, then some of the design gets hidden. And if you try to leave a seam allowance outside the line, there isn't enough space near the armhole. But it worked out all right in the end. The hardest part was cutting two shapes that were the same. Too bad the Cricut can't cut that big! The back is cotton fabric that is printed to look like burlap. I put a pocket on each side.



Of course, while I was making it, I thought of a couple of other gifts to make for this gift recipient. She really likes books, and this book wreath, or a pillow or box that looks like a book would have been great choices. I would have much preferred ideas for the remaining gift recipients.

Gift #5 of 10 in Process

It feels so good to be typing Gift #5 of 10, because it makes me feel like I am at the halfway point, but it is really cheating, because Gift #3 isn't finished. I was wondering if Gift #3 needs to be renamed, but that's too much thought and effort, and I've got ten gifts to make!

I have been wavering about the Cricut that I bought on Black Friday. The daughter thought I should return it. I kept thinking that it would be really good to cut lots of leaves for applique. But I was thinking that it would take at least eight hours of cutting leaves to make that thing worthwhile, assuming $10 an hour. That's a lot of leaves! Plus, I have a nephew who would probably do it, especially at that price. Besides, I'm too cheap to pay anyone to cut up leaves for me anyway! Since I was pretty certain yesterday, I went off to Joann and returned it.

I thought I would look around for ideas - yes always a dangerous thing - but I really need the right fabric for the rest of the gifts. One of my ideas was to make an apron with some old fashioned looking fabric I got from a yard sale for the thrift store gal. I don't have a pattern, so I thought a simple waist apron would be fine, with my newly learned skill of french folding. I prefer an apron that covers the shirt as well, but compromises need to be made. But I couldn't find the fabric I was thinking of, and every time I looked, I kept encountering more projects that I want to be working on for me.



Joann had apron kits for $10 each - sorry couldn't find an internet photo, and I thought that would be good for one of the gifts - an apron, not the kit. I found a Debbie Mum panel that was much cheaper, $1.50 a panel, and I liked the design better, so I bought the panel. I bought the kit anyway, because I liked the hanger. The kit involves more sewing, with ruffles, etc., so I'm going to stick with the simple panel. Then today I stumbled upon this Michael Miller pattern for an reversible apron, so now I am thinking I should find a fabric for the back. It would be much easier than trying to hem neatly since I don't have a rolled hem foot. I'll have to make the other one for me. I need one for when I am eating.

The people at the store were very friendly - the customers as well as the employees. So it was a pleasant trip.

Gift #4 of 10

Gift #3 is pending, waiting until I borrow a staple gun from my sister. Here I present to you Gift #4. It is a wall hanging for someone who already has and appreciates the two other warm wall hangings I made for him. He showed a fondness for batiks, so this one is the first one that is completely batiks. The strips were already cut, because it is a Bali Pop, so it was quick and easy to grab the warm colors from the kit, and sew them together. It came together easily. I was not able to free motion quilt, so I squiggled some lines using the walking foot. Quick and Easy. He had asked for patchwork and applique, but I think I'm going to call it done now. I've got other things to make. The backing fabric is brushed cotton. So soft and comfy. The fish batik is a gift from a fellow quilter, and I thought it would be a good addition to put a little surprise on the back. I added a couple of darker Bali Pop strips for the binding. I put the hanging corners on all four corners, so he could decide which way was up. I'm still trying to think of ideas for the other gift recipients. I know there are lots of things I can make, decorations, bags, etc., but trying to pull from that list something they might want is hard. Even though it isn't Friday, I am posting this for Amy Lou's Sew and Tell Friday. You can click on the link to see what other bloggers are Sewing and Telling.

Gift #3 and #4 in Progress

Oh goodness, it is already Wednesday and I still just have an in progress post. I was busily working on Gift #4, and avoiding the pressing of Gift #3. I thought that if I tried to press the applique and it didn't stick, then I would need another crying day, and I have too many gifts to make to take another crying day. Turns out that procrastination days take as much time as crying days, and I have now run out of crying days. I guess I should have read the rule book before I started.

So here I am, still working on Gifts #3 and #4 and have no crying days left over for the rest of the gifts. I also have run out of ideas for what to make the other gift recipients. The first four ideas came easily, but the others are harder. There is one more gift idea in my head, but I don't think I have the proper fabric colors available in my stash. I'll have to think harder on that one.

The good news is that Gift #3 is progressing quite nicely. I pressed the applique, and it did stick very well. I mounted it on the frame, and everything looks good. I got stuck when my staple gun didn't work. I think some old staples have rusted inside it, and all the shaking and shooting and banging isn't restoring it back to it's glory. My sister has one that I can borrow, so that gift is almost done. It does look like is missing something. I would appreciate it if you would please let me know what it's missing. I don't like the bird's eye, but I figure I can get my Sharpies out to fix that.

Gift #4 is progressing very nicely without any setbacks. Well, I still wasn't able to free motion quilt it, but the end result looks good. It is pieced and quilted. Just have to bind it, and I'll show you the grand finish.