The sun is shining here this morning, and it's beautiful. Yay!
Update on red, running DMC floss...I got much of it out, but not all. I'll do a blog post on that when I reveal the quilt. Okay? Long story short, the red just kept bleeding, the more I tried to get it out! But it is a little better. Thanks, everyone, for your great suggestions, help, and commiseration!
On a happier note....
A while back, I saw a blog post on Sweetwater's blog that they had kits for these canvas hot pads. They suggested these would be great Mother's Day gifts. They suggested that (a) there was still time, and (b) here's an idea of what to do. What happens to them often happens to me: I fuss around so long thinking about what to make, in the end there's not time, so I end up buying something. LOL! But here they had given me an idea and the tools to execute it, and there was still enough time for me to actually complete it. So, I ordered the kit and sewed these up last weekend for my MIL for Mother's Day. (SisLH, if you are reading this, don't tell her!)
My MIL likes to cook a lot, so I thought these would be really cute for her. I think they would be best used as "trivets" rather than "hot pads." They are primarily made of canvas, with a little bit of Noteworthy fabric in the corners. (The backs are just a solid piece of canvas.) So, they are fairly stiff.
I love the fabric, and the labels really make these fun. (You can click on the photos to enlarge them, if you want to see more detail.) The labels look like a chalkboard. Very cute.
The pattern called for two layers of batting between the canvas layers. I have a ton of Insulbright laying around, so I substituted one layer of that for one layer of batting. I figured that would really protect a hand going in the oven or a table from a hot dish. I left the second layer of batting in there, however, because I think if you just use Insulbright, your item tends to feel "crunchy," and you can hear the Insulbright crinkle in there. I read on someone else's blog (I'm sorry, I can't remember where), that including a layer of batting helps get rid of that. So, I wanted to try it here. It really made all the difference in the world. I will always do that now.
EDIT: I made another project with Insulbright and batting. It was not made out of canvas, but rather quilting cotton. The batting also seemed to help with the "crunchiness" there, too. You can read about it here if you want to.
After I trimmed off the little extra triangles in the corners, I made these little pinwheel blocks from the scraps. Why not? I already had the two little triangles cut and put together! I used my new Eleanor Burns Half Square Triangle Ruler to trim them up, and they turned out perfect. I'm just throwing all these little pinwheel blocks I make from scraps into a drawer. Someday, I'll put them all together for a cute little quilt.
True to form, Sweetwater is generous with their fabrics in the kit. I have enough scraps to make another potholder. That would take care of all the canvas. Because they gave me a full width of fabric by 4" to make the little corners, and it only takes four 4" squares for the potholder, I have plenty of the cotton left to go into my scrap drawer. I love that.
This is a super easy project. I sewed up both in less than an hour. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. This is a great beginner project, or just a real quick project if you need one. I was thinking these would be great hostess gifts over the summer, too. :-)
If you are interested, the link to this kit in Sweetwater's Etsy shop is here. I might suggest buying an extra label (which you can do here or here)....You'll have enough scraps to make three and the kit only comes with two labels. I may order one more label. It's a great price, too. The labels themselves are $10 for two, and you get the whole kit for $10...in the kit you get the labels, the fabric, and the pattern. Very nice! EDIT: YOU DO NOT GET THE LABELS IN THE KIT. YOU HAVE TO ORDER THOSE SEPARATELY. SORRY. I FORGOT I ORDERED THOSE SEPARATELY. I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DO A STRIKETHROUGH ON MY TEXT IN TYPEPAD. :-)
(I have no affiliation with Sweetwater. I just love their fabrics, labels and projects. I think their kits are well priced and a lot of fun.)
I've also ordered my MIL a cute notepad with her name on it and five photos of Sweet Pea and her dad down the left-hand side. Snapfish had a great sale on those the other day, and I thought it would be a great Mother's Day gift. As soon as that arrives, I'll package it all up and send it off.
I'm still working on my own mother's gift. I better get cracking!
Have a wonderful day! I go to the eye doctor today. I am afraid he's going to say....bifocals. :-(
Until next time,
Might have been my blog where you read about the crunchiness of Insulbrite. I'll try it with a layer of batting next time.
I saw those hotpads on the Sweetwater blog. They are really cute! Their next Label Crew project is also very tempting. Have you seen it, the notebook covers?
Posted by: Lynn | May 01, 2013 at 09:55 AM
Those are adorable Mama Pea -- you're a good DIL. I love the idea of just making extra pinwheel blocks -- at the rate we make hst's you'd think we'd have enough blocks for a full quilt in no time!
Posted by: Thimbleanna | May 01, 2013 at 09:58 AM
These are so cute. I just love Sweetwater and their creative fabric and labels.
Posted by: liveacolorfullife | May 01, 2013 at 10:43 AM
Love love love them, and I betcha Sweet Pea's middle name is Water. So glad to know the hint about using the batting with the Insul-Bright - no more noisy pot holders for me!
Posted by: Amy DeCesare | May 01, 2013 at 04:41 PM
Those are really cute. I'm sure your MIL will LOVE them. And yes, you'd better be working on your mother's present right away. But you'd better not blog about it because she definitely reads ALL of your blogs!!! :-)
Posted by: PegVan | May 01, 2013 at 07:29 PM
You always have such creative ideas. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Sharon | May 02, 2013 at 07:52 AM
These are adorable. I like the labels in them, that's really the way to go. Such a good tip about the Insul-Bright. I hate that crinkling sound.
Posted by: Linda in Calif. | May 02, 2013 at 04:01 PM
Those are super cute! I love the way you photographed them too.
Posted by: Deb | May 10, 2013 at 12:59 PM
Adorable! I'm really in to hot pads lately. And the photography - nice!
Posted by: kathy olkowski | May 10, 2013 at 02:03 PM