Saturday, December 7, 2019

Holiday Gift Ideas aka A detour around my UFO Program

Thanksgiving was Great!  I hope your's was too!  Definitely a Marathon not a Sprint!  But I'm back in the sewing room and I've taken a detour around my UFO Program for the sake of some quick fun sewing for the Holidays!

My daughter said she wanted some new potholders.  So I dragged her into my sewing room to pick out some fabric.  I say 'dragged'  because my sewing room is always kind of a mess and I think she thought it would be a long drawn out process to find some suitable fabric.  Despite the mess I do know where most things can be found and on the third try I found something she liked!  That was the beginning of my temporary abandonment of my UFOs.

I am the go-to person in my family for potholders.  But I haven't made a bunch of potholders for everybody for some time so Naomi's request got me thinking I might as well makes some for everybody!  And since Naomi chose this cute Retro panel I thought  maybe I could save some time;  put the whole panel on the quilt frame and quilt them all together and voila' 20 potholders in a jiffy!
Here they are all quilted and cut out!
Here's a tip,  I don't remember where I first read this but I've been using old towels to fill my potholders for sometime now.  It makes them very sturdy and more heat resistant than using batting.  And it's a good repurposing of old towels that might otherwise go into the rag bag!
They are so cute!
Of course now I have to bind them all (not my favorite part)  But I don't think anyone will complain if I sew them all on the machine!  Tee hee
Here are the first two bound and ready to go.  It took just under 20 min. per potholder to bind these!   
My good friend Randy (Barrister's Block) and I had a sew day yesterday and these came along with me as part of my holiday gift to her!
Once they are  all bound I'll be able to check a whole bunch of people off my list!
More gifty ideas soon!
Happy Holidays!
cheers, CW

11 comments:

  1. Thanks, Claire. Can't wait to give them a try later today when we bake cookies with the kids!

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  2. That is a cute panel, and such a great idea to make potholders from them.

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  3. What a perfect panel to use for pot holders!!! My husband's grandmother made potholders and she used just fabric and an old towel, no batting. Of course, she didn't quilt them either!! I love the idea of using a layer or two of towels!! I'll have to give that a try!

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    1. I kind of remember my mom having potholders like that, I think the quilting helps make them more sturdy?!

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  4. How many layers of towels do you put in the potholders? Is one layer enough?

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  5. Oh yes, quilt them or at least tack them down around the edges, or else when you wash them you'll end up with a balled up mess. I speak from experience ~
    You can also re-use your old funky potholders and just make new pretty covers for them. Wash them first, of course.

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    1. I had not thought of that last suggestion...but my old potholders are so ratty I don't think a washing would be enough to freshen them up for knew covers! lol

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  6. Oh wow, what a great idea! I love this panel too. I never thought to use an old towel either. I have been giving mine to the local animal shelter but will now save a few for potholders! I'm jealous that you and Randy get to spend quilting time together. Miss you both!

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    1. Hey Wendy! Thanks and back at you! It would be great fun to have some sew days with you and Randy! We should plan a rendezvous one of these years!!! cheers! cw

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