This Week in Wichita

I hope you all had a great week.  I hade a very productive week.  This week I made a quilt top, a jar carrier, and two pot holders.  I am also sorting through my scrap stash which includes 1/2 yard or less fabric.  This size does not wrap around my comic boards for sorting fabrics.  I do cut strips and squares from new stash so I have more variety.  Scrappy quilts are not always made by me with scraps only.  I do use some of my stash, but I seldom buy new fabric, unless it is for the back of the quilt.  I need to iron my quilt top and drop it off at the long arm quilters.  (The Master's Quilt Shop in Downs, Kansas) 

Have you noticd that Melissa Gilbert from Little House on the Prarie has an on-line store that sells home goods and clothing.  I saw a jar carrier on that site.  I have a pattern like this for a casseroe carrier made the same way.  I don't know where it is, but I will eventually find it.  In the mean time, I made one and it turned out fine.  I may want to increase the square by another inch.  I made some apple butter and other goodies around Christmas.  It would be handy to carry a jar to someone for safe passage.  It would make a great gift, but many people do not can or place goodies in jars.  

Thank you for viewing!

Dawnie

The top is acyually here on the left.  

I had a little help with the display.  This pattern is Brick Roads.

This is the backs of the new potholders.  Don't you love this fabric!  Since these are vintage potholders depicted on the fabric, I felt the need to make potholders.

I like the freedom in crumb quilting.

This is the jar carrier.  I have a pint jar in it.  It is reversible.  I crumb quilted the exterior of this also.

Loops or Rings

I hang 2 or 3 potholders by my stove because I have limited drawer space in my kitchen.  My mother places all but one of hers in a drawer by her stove.  My brother hates the loops.  He thinks the plastic ones melt and the other loops get in his way.  What is your preference? 

I like to place loops in the corners of the hot pads/potholders I make. If I knit or crochet them, I usually make a loop with yarn.  If I use fabric to make them, I sew a small plastic hoop on a corner of the fabric.  I have used a leather strip for hanging in the past along with crocheting around the plastic rings.  I find that the rings are what wear will out the fastest on potholders. I found plastic loose-leaf paper rings.  The box I ordered has 5 colors of rings which can be easily installed and removed from a potholder if desired. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DQTZLKS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What do you think?  

My grandmother and us 4 kids in the early 60's.

They provided this mobile home for my dad as part of his salary.  I am on the left looking goofy.

My younger brother in the 80's?.  The sweater I knitted for him.

Thanks for viewing!

Dawnie

Bonnet Pot Holder

A while back I found an antique pot holder made in the shape of a bonnet.  I wanted to replicate it, with a few little changes.  This is what I found:

The top of the bonnet has been quilted with a sewing machine.  This is very thin.

I made a pattern.  I am not an artist.  Remember that when you view my pattern.  LOL  Oh, the pattern is free......

This is what I made.  I used ric rac instead of lace.  I also put ric rac along the bottom instead of bias tape.  I used a plastic ring to hang the bonnet instead of bias tape.  I felt that the bonnet needed to be tied.  You won't notice it, but I actually quilted the bonnet at the front and along the left of the bias tape on the top of the bonnet.
I used cotton fabric I had, but you can buy a fat quarter if you don't have fabric laying around.  I made my bias binding from more cotton fabric I had on hand, but it would have been easier to purchase some.  The cotton batting I placed inside of the bonnet was also leftover scraps from quilting projects.  The ric rac came from a package, but I doubt I used more than 12 inches.  I also had the plastic ring on hand.  All of the supplies are available at a fabric or hobby store.   I used white thread so you can see the sewing.  Matching black thread would have looked better.   

Back.  I added my label.  

I forgot to add seam allowance and I think the neck and bottom are smaller.  I think the bottom could be larger and gathered to look more realistic.  Just a  thought.  I hope you enjoy this post.  If anyone decides to make it, please let me know and send me pictures.  I would love to see it.  

Thank you for viewing!  Dawnie

Back in Action

 Do you ever have one of those days that turns into one of those weeks and then one of those months.....  Actually I am referring to my electronics.  My computer finally had to be replaced.  It has too many issues to list.  Then my camera memory card got stuck inside my camera.  A new memory card did not work. On the bright side, I only lost a couple pictures.  I finally replaced the camera, so you will see pictures again.  Lucky you.  LOL

I have continued making pot holders for crafting pleasure.  I plan to sell and gift most of them.  I use a thin cotton yarn to make them.  The yarn is a bit thicker than what grandma used, but it is not thicker worsted weight yarn. 

 

Today was Glenn's moving day. 

A few years ago the squirrels planted a peach tree in my front flower bed.  I let it grow, but kept the side trimmed and away from the driveway.  It is an odd shaped tree, but this year we have several peaches.  The peaches are smaller than the store bought ones and they are not as ripe.  I had to brag a little about having my own peaches.

 I hope you had a wonderful Labor Day!

Thank you for viewing.
 

 Blessings to you and yours!  Dawnie

A Chicken In Every Pot

Have you heard of a chicken in every pot?  I decided to photograph one of our chicks in a pot.  She is growing leaps and bounds.  Now, our chickens are egg producers first and pets second.  They kids are great chicken wranglers.   I do remember grandma wringing the necks of chickens and chopping the heads off and letting them go afterward.  At an early age, I understood the term "running around like a chicken with its head cut off."   I am sure that I could not kill one of our chickens.  My cook books just happened to be behind the pot.  LOL

You said a chicken in every pot?

What was that again?

Did I hear you right?  You said a chicken in every pot???

Oh.   I see.

Now, how do I get out of here?

During the presidential campaign of 1928, a circular published by the Republican Party claimed that if Herbert Hoover won there would be “a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.”

Read more: Promising a Chicken in Every Pot — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/askeds/promising-chicken-every-pot.html#ixzz2FYnw966R

I have been making more pot holders.  I used the same basic pattern as the last one I posted, but I made an edging around using a single crochet 4, chain 3 all of the way around as the last row.  I also added velvet ribbon in one of them.  The ribbon looks like it does not match, but it really does.

I hope you and yours are doing well.   I wish you abundant blessings!  Dawnie

Little Flower Cotton Pot Holders

Inspiration Front

Inspiration Back

My Versions

My Favorite, but I ran out of yarn and the yarn store was out.  They no longer make the yarn.   I found a place on line and ordered it, but it will not make it under a Christmas tree this year.  LOL

I have been crocheting pot holders with an old design, but with a little larger yarn (most is dk size).  The yarn is mostly 100% cotton and even organic cotton.  I purchased an inspiration vintage pot holder and I found 2 blogs with photos and instructions.  The blogs are: http://theflowerbed-shr.blogspot.com/1212/11/flower-potholder.html and http://breienenhaken.blogspot.nl/2011/01/traditional-crochet-potholder-tutorial.html.  I changed the pattern a little and tried a few different variations.  The original directions instruct you to crochet between the petal-like designs and then back up.  I crocheted between the petals on one all of the way to the middle of the potholder.  I found that if I just crochet down to the second row, it works best.  I also found it had a little petal slant if I crocheted back on the crocheted row going down instead of next to the row going down, when I crocheted back up the petal.   The pot holders take more yarn than you originally think, but they are large and thick.  I am sure that I would not make a profit selling them.  I doubt I could sell them for as much as I spent on the cotton yarn, let alone the amount of labor used in making them.  If I was frugal and used acrylic yarn, or scraps of yarn, I could make them for less money.   I am making them as gifts, so I was not so concerned with the price of the yarn.

They are fun to make, so you may want to give it a try.  Thanks for reading my blog.  Blessings to you and yours!  Dawnie