Potholders and links

My local craft swap was last night.  I made my little scrappy blocks into potholders.  They were all sashed in muslin with muslin on the back as well.  Inside is one layer of cotton batting and one layer of insul-bright.  The fabric for the loops also came out of the scrap bags.  This batch was crosshatch quilted with a zig zag using a walking foot.  I made six other ones last week that I quilted with a straight stitch and concentric squares.  Those turned out great, too.  I wish I could show you a photo - I gave them away to a wonderful group of ladies I met last Friday while stopping over in Minneapolis/St. Paul on my way to a family wedding.  Yes, another wedding.

A couple things I am excited about:

- Betz White's Felt and Stitch online workshop.  I've already signed up.

- Denyse Schmidt is offering a free downloadable tote pattern and a great deal on the patchwork promenade to make them.  Easy and cute holiday gift idea right there.

- STC Craft posted some free downloadable patterns from their books.  All are great for holiday gift giving.  Sorry I didn't post this before the giveaway....I meant to, but time got away from me.  Still, check out the patterns.  There are some good ones there.

Off to do laundry.  Back soon.

Comments

[kirsten]

These are great, Erin! Did you get any good loot from the swap?

[Rita]

Wonderful functional items! The potholders are just so cheerful. Beautifully made, a great swap or gift.

[melissa]

Erin, those are so great. This is the kind of quilting I could see myself doing- in all my spare time.

[Badger]

Oh, what a great idea! They look terrific and everyone needs potholders! I wonder if that would work for salvaging thrifted quilts that are too far gone to repair completely? Hmmm, now you've got me thinking of all the potholder possibilities....

[Tracy]

they are lovely! what a good use for those squares!

[Sarah Jackson]

I love those!! Patchwork potholders are my go to gift these days. Fun, quick, and appreciated. I think yours are fantastic.

Oh, and thanks for posting the tote pattern. I found 2 yards of that cheater fabric at my "by the pound" fabric store for $5 per yard, so I snapped it up. Now I know what I'll be making with it. Yay!

[martha]

maybe I should try out quilting by making a potholder -start small.
although I usually start anything by jumping in way over my head....
I love love love my potholder from you by the way:)

[Amy Hodge]

These are so darling and a great thing to do with all those tiny little scraps. My scrap bin is overflowing lately, so I'm thinking I need to come up with more projects that use only scraps instead of generating scraps!!

[amandajean]

dang it! i didn't know you were going to be up here. i missed out. boo hoo. glad that you had fun though. i LOVE the zig zag on the quilting. so very fun!

[Sarah]

Those are so gorgeous! And thank you for the links - good stuff near Christmas.

[Audrie]

How cute! Much nicer than the usual boring potholders!

[featherbed]

these are so great! It's always nice to make things with the scrap bag!!

[carol]

wow- these are so fun! I would imagine you can get the Insulbrite stuff at Joanne's, right? It looks like my pot holder stash needs some of these! :)

[Jody]

A potholder needs to be cheerful and these are definitely smiling potholders! Great idea!

[Goodmankg]

i'm filing these away for christmas present ideas! i have forgotten how easy and fun potholders are to make, and these are brilliant!

can't wait to see what you got from the swap :)

[cindy]

thank you for all the goodness in this post from top to bottom!

[robyn]

I love how they turned out. And from scraps. Gotta love it.

[Amber]

Love the diamond shape you acheieved through the stitching. Creature texture and visual appeal without taking away from its brightly colored center.

New & Vintage Fabrics? If so, looks great.

Crafting with a purpose. Awesome.

[Amber]

In regards to my last comment --Creature? I meant creating. Sorry about that.

[Wendy]

Those are really cute! Much better than store bought. Your craft group sounds like so much fun.

[mel]

What a perfect idea! My SIL and one of my best friends are each moving into a new home and I've been cooking up ideas for gifts. Ordered my muslin last night to get started on these little beauts!! Thanks!!

[Molly Irwin]

I really love them, Erin! Need to get on some pot holders and oven mitts myself. These are the best.

[Melissa]

These are cute! I need to make some new potholders. Mine look awful! I have so many scraps I think I might make some scrap potholders soon. Thanks for the inspiration.

[Kashoan]

Beautiful pot holders and awesome links! Thanks a bunch :D

[Chara Michele]

These are great! :)

[darlene]

love them! nice to have some pretty practical and useful items.

[meg]

the muslin looks fantastic! it really lets the patchwork shine.

[Meredith]

Oh, please, please have a giveaway on your blog...giving away potholders like these! I absolutely love them.

[Margaret Everton]

Love the backpack. So great for traveling with little ones. Wish we had had it during recent travels:

www.bonbonliving.com

[Sarah]

Love the potholders! How did you finish the edges? Some of them looked seamed but I think I see a bound edge in there, too :)

[Angie]

I just love those!! So pretty!!

[Anna - Three Sneaky Bugs]

You're so sweet! I love my potholder and spoon. My son took the potholder and now has it under a pile of books because he was not at all happy with the slightly curled state of it from being rolled. The funny party is he's not at all a perfectionist like that. I told him it would flatten on it's own but he wasn't convinced.

[Heather]

These are just fantastic.

[Lydia]

Wow, what lovely potholders! They are really modern. You have some really awesome sewing projects too.

[Jennifer]

you make such awesome stuff!

[Joy]

I absolutely LOVE the potholders--such a beautiful and practical gift. Now, to find the Insul-Bright... (no stores near me). And I checked out namemaker--oh, how fun is that???