Mini 9 Patch Pin cushions

 

On Tuesday Amanda Jean over at http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2013/06/mini-9-patch-pin-cushion-tutorial.html posted  a tutorial for these adorable little pin cushions.

 

 

She did note that they were addicting.

 

And she was correct.  The finished pin cushion is 3 1/2 inches square.  The 9 patch is 1 1/2 inch square.  Sew easy, sew quick.

 

Here they are from the back.  They are totally from the scrap bin.  The largest piece of fabric is the bottom which starts at 4 1/2 inches.  Of course you could piece that too.

 

I ran out of time before going out to dinner to finish that last one sitting to the side.  Had to take the pictures before dinner because I had to take the cushions with me for show and tell.  Left with 5 came home with 4.

I'll be back on Monday for the Stamp on it Blog Hop.  Please come back if you get a chance.

More Bowl Buddies - Hello Kitty

This is a picture heavy posting.  After making the Bowl Buddy and Trivet set I posted about in my last post

I had a special request by my sister to make a set in Hello Kitty fabric for a friend of hers who is having a house warming next week.

These are the bowls. Cute fabric.  The bowls have no in or out and can be flipped accordingly.

I made 2 Trivets, different sizes based solely on the blocks in the fabric design. 

The Trivets are reversible.

One is about 9 inches square and the other is about 9 x 11

They are very perky.

I took them to work to show my crafty friends and immediately had someone request I make her a set, same fabric, for a friend moving into her first apartment.  

I guess I know what I'm doing this weekend. Well actually it's what I'll be doing one evening this weekend.  I put this group together in under 3 hours.  They took a little longer than the original set because I needed to fussy cut a a little and I made the second trivet.

Bowl Buddy

Last week I was visiting Linda at   http://flourishingpalms.blogspot.com/2013/06/stitchin-and-dishin.html  where I saw her posting about Bowl Buddies.  She found a tutorial for making them here  http://www.seamshappy.com/2012/08/13/microwave-bowl-pot-holder/ .

This is my go at a Bowl Buddy.  The idea is that you put a bowl into this quilted fabric bowl and do your micro wave thing.  Once your whatever is heated you can just remove it from the micro wave without benefit of a potholder because that’s pretty much what the bowl buddy’s job is.  Not to mention that it looks great micro wave to table.

So as we all know I don’t do one of anything. I kinda thought that 2 would make a better gift.  I also thought that if I were making them as  gifts they should come with  a bowl already inside.  Friday on my way home from work, I found myself at the Crate and Barrel outlet.  

I went in with Buddy in hand and found what I think is the perfect bowl at a great price.  4 bowls for $9.95 .  Well the more I looked at the 2 bowls in their Buddy’s I thought they would look great on the table if they were joined by a Trivet.  Yes there is only 1 Trivet  but if I were making this as a real gift I would make 2.  Truth be told I ran out of time.  Only got the idea for the trivet at about 9:30 Friday night. I was meeting an old friend for breakfast on Saturday morning and I wanted to give her the set and get her feedback on receiving  them as a gift.  She is one of those blatantly honest people.  She loved them and had no problem taking them home with her.  She does want the missing Trivet.

I attached tags to the pieces because the Trivet is lined with Insul Bright which can’t be micro waved. and  Buddy who can be micro waved. 

                                               

The batting Linda and I used in the buddy is called Wrap N Zap by Pellon.  It is designed for micro wavablity.   I read somewhere along the line that it is best not to use regular cotton batting for micro wave projects because it sometimes contains impurities that can burn in a micro wave.  I don’t know if that is true or not but I decided not to risk a fire or melt down. 

 The Zap and Wrap wasn’t expensive and I got it at JoAnns with either a discount or a coupon because heaven forbid we pay full price for anything we can get at Joanns.  I know I am among the fortunate, I currently pass Joanns coming home from work and have lunch in the same shopping center at least once a week.

Anyway, I am see several of these sets in my future.  I already have a request to make a set for my sister to give as a house warming present.  Can’t wait to see how that one turns out as I’m making it using HELLO KITTY fabric.  And I will be making a more traditional set for friends of mine for their new home.

Be productive. me

Tammy Bag Blog Hop

The time has come for the big reveal, our wonderful Tammy bags and their contents.  The great pattern by Mdm Samm was a joy to follow. Lots and lots of photos for us visual types made the process mistake proof.

My biggest problem is that we were asked to take pictures of the contents of our bags to show how we intend to use them.  The first bag that I made (of course I made more than 1) is so darn cute that I really don't intend on using it. I just want to place it on a shelf and admire it.

That was the response I got from everyone I showed it to.  My sister has a shelf  full of the bags I have made for her over the years that she admires on a regular basis and she assures me that there would be a space for this one if it needs a home.  Of course I don't know what the 7 Hexies hop will be about and I may just need this bag for that.

When I gave serious thought to bag 2 I thought about contents before construction and I determined that I needed a bag to put my "socks in progress" in.  I always have a sock on the needles for when I just need mindless busy hands.

I tried out the current skein of yarn and the started sock and as you can see it just wasn't going to work out as I envisioned it.  Solution to the problem, enlarge the bag.  I can't imagine life without the magnify button on the copy machine.  1st I found a larger closure.  Then I took the original closure and blew it up on the copier till it matched in size the new one. It turned out to be 130%.  I then took the pattern and blew it up to 130%. Perfect.

Above and beyond the fact that the second bag is bigger than the first, Bag 2 is slightly different from bag 1 because miss know-it-all didn't bother to open the instructions. I just played it by ear. I did intentionally not trim the outer pockets because I didn't have a fabric I liked with the fabric I choose for the bag. I did forget to sew the seams in the pockets. 

Then, if you look at the picture of the inside you won't find pockets at all.  Found the pieces for the inside pockets on the floor under the table much later.  Not much of a mistake for my intended use.  I will probably make a matching zip pouch if I find that I really need to have the pocket inside.

See the whole skein fits just fine, I think I could fit another in if I needed too.

Here is a picture of the girls, Tammy and her big sis.

I hope you have enjoyed this stop on the hop and that you will find the time to visit all of the participants of this great event.  Thanks to Mdm Samm for her pattern and her never failing energy as the head cheerleader.

Here is a list of todays players.  June 14th ( friday)

 Bente

Jane

Wendy

Geta

Julia

Jan

Loralynn

Selina  (You are here)

Mara

Jan 

Hands 2 Help 2013 - Done before the deadline

                                   Two weeks ago I was in major doubt if I was going to make it.

 Don't know what my problem was, well yes I do, I just kept changing my mind as to what I wanted to make for my 2nd top.  I have 1 other top 2/3's of the way done, and 2 tops cut out, but not started.  All started with this project in mind.

I'm blaming all of you out there in blog land.  If you weren't all making such great things I wouldn't be in such a decision tizzy.  Anyway, I had my 2 tops done 2 weeks ago and had a vacation to work around. You can read all about it and how I got my tops quilted in my previous post.

Last night I sat down and finished the hand sewing of the binding.   They are both backed and bound with the same sheeting. It was amazing just how much orange I had in both of these quilt tops.  I don't think of myself as an orange kind of gal.

            I just need to run them through the wash and dry them and then into boxes they will go.