Sewing Bowl A Cozy

I have been sewing bowl cozies for the last week! 

I was asked to sew some for the boutique where I sell sewn items.
I didn't know there were so many ways to sew a cozy. But a Google search came up with MANY!
I finally chose to use the method I saw in a video tutorial by The Crafty Gemini HERE.

I modified her shape and size, but the rest of the directions made it a fairly easy item to sew.

I cut my pressed fabrics and the 100% cotton batting using my 9.5 inch squaring ruler. Maybe if I had a 10 inch squaring ruler I would have used that.

I sewed a fabric square diagonally (wrong side on battinig) onto a square of batting using the "eyeball" method Vanessa described in her video. I found that if I gently held the point opposite the one feeding through the needle the stitching line was pretty straight. 

I did not cut the curved corners as she did, but if I had, it would have eliminated a tough job of sewing the pointy corners on my cozy in the final edge stitching.

I made a little cardboard marker for measuring the starting and stopping points of the darts.
I didn't mark a line, I just sewed from mark to mark, back stitching on the open edge(where my pen is).

I pinned the corners and the darts to match and sewed a 1/4 inch seam, leaving a starting and stopping gap for turning the cozy right side out.

Here is how I started and stopped my stitches. I came in 3 stitches from the edge, back stitched, and came back to the seam line, needle down and pivoted to sew the seam line. This helps make the seam fold into the cozy for easy edge stitching later.

I found That Purple Thang was the best tool to work the points of the corner out. 

Have you made bowl cozies? What pattern or method did you use?

Sewing for a Baby Gift -- Bowl Cozies

I have been busy sewing late into the evenings for the past two days. Tomorrow I am attending a baby shower for our cousin's daughter. I had to make a few items. Of course, I wrapped the present without taking a photo of what I put in it. But it did include these microwave bowl cozies. 

I also made some burp cloths from this free burpies pattern. I did not make mine elaborate with bias binding and since it is a boy, I did not use lace. I used flannel on both sides and stitched around the edge after turning them right side out. I could make one in about 10 minutes, so I was stitching away and had 6 done in no time. 

Pincushion Prototype

I am drafting a pattern for a monthly pincushion class I am going to start at The New Ewe. 

This one uses 2 charm squares and half of one strip from a jelly roll--and a good amount of stuffing. I am going to use a HST technique I read about on She Can Quilt's blog. It is #4 Make 8 HSTs from 2 Squares. I like teaching quilters new ways of doing things. I have tried many of the HST techniques on this blog post, but this one was new to me, so I figured it would be new to others as well. 

EQ Photo Fun Blog Hop Coming

I am participating in the EQ Photo Fun Blog Hop hosted by Carol FUN THREADS. It begins April 14 and ends April 16. There will be 8 of us posting various techniques to use photos in EQ. So, do check out the fun that starts soon. 

Nancy Zieman's Autobiography

I am reading Seams Unlikely by Nancy Zieman, thanks to a friend who loaned me her book. Nancy's story really is amazing. I am halfway through the book and have enjoyed each chapter (which none are very long). It is amazing to think about how and what she has accomplished in her lifetime-a true pioneer in the sewing world. With blogging, there is a new frontier to explore and I am having a great time exploring its surface! Can't wait to finish the book.

What is your next project? Mine is cleaning my studio so I can start a new project.

A Trunk Show, A Hint of a Pattern and a Giveaway

The Tall Pine Quilters Guild had a trunk show at the February meeting. Robyn House-Guettler brought so many of her quilts. I have known Robyn for many years, having met her at a family reunion when she was young. Her mother is a quilter, as were her grandmother and great-grandmother. We attended many Mystic Lake quilting retreats together. She is a wealth of quilting knowledge and skills.

Robyn's quilts were stunning. She is now publishing patterns. I bought 2 patterns and have them in my TO-DO basket. I will share a few photos with you, with her permission. She has information on her Facebook page named Between Patches. Unfortunately, the only photo I got of Robyn was not flattering, and if I posted it she would probably cut me off as a shirt-tale relative.

And My Projects: 

What in the world could I be doing sewing all these strips together?  Yes, I asked myself the same question when I got half way through! I signed up at the LQS to participate in a "sewn strip exchange" related to Edyta Sitar's book, Friendship Strips and Scraps. Well, I signed up to sew 5 sets of strips which had to be the 18" x Width of Fabric. Of course I waited until the last possible day and spent well after midnight last night sewing. I got them done and will take them to the store today. I am not sure what I am going to make with the 5 strips sets I get in return, but I am sure it will be a fairly large project. Any suggestions?

 

I made 2 paper-pieced log cabin blocks for the annual guild quilt project.

New Pattern in the Works

I can't give details right now, but I am working on my next pattern for Cut Loose Press. I have a deadline in order to have it ready for Spring Market. I will give you just a little photo hint. 

      

Scraps put to use. 

I can't throw away most scraps. So from the projects I have been doing, I am using Angie Padilla's suggestion of turning  them into fabric collages. (She has lots of other ideas for scraps at her website.) So I lay them on a batting scrap near the cutting table to be sewn and then cut into inchies, made into a cosmetic case, etc. Presently, I am making a tiny landscape in the style (and I use that word loosely) of Ann Loveless, from whom I took a class a few years ago.

Spur of the Moment Giveaway! 

Microwave Bowl Cozies are my latest project. I am making them to sell at the Gala Gourmet, a local kitchen shoppe. I will be able to use some of my large cotton fabric stash for these. The photo shows just 2 of the many that I have made. They are reversible. They are made of totally 100% cotton materials and come with instructions for use. They are like a potholder that can be used as a pretty server under your bowl of oatmeal, soup or whatever from the microwave. Just hold opposing corners as you take it from the microwave and you are all set. 

In fact, I have just decided to have a SPUR OF THE MOMENT GIVEAWAY. Well, heck if you have read this far, you should have a chance to get a free cozy. So leave a message, giving me a suggestion of what to do with those strips I am going to be receiving. I can't tell you what fabric colors your cozy maybe, but we can probably work out some pleasing colors.

However, I will only be able to send to a winner within the United States. One winner will be chosen on Wednesday, March 5 at 9 PM EST. In fact, you can earn a second chance by signing up to follow my blog, leave me a second comment telling me you are a follower. And what the hay, share this Spur of the Moment Giveaway on your website or blog and leave me the link for a THIRD chance! But remember to leave me a method of contacting you. Anonymous comments go to my spam folder.

Happy Quilting!

Cozies, Mice, Furoshiki, Zentangles and MORE!

Wow, have I been very busy with a number of projects since my last blog! 

BOWL COZIES
The booth I had the church craft bazaar yielded me a very tiny profit. But, I did get an order for some microwave bowl cozies in a blue and white theme. 

I thought I would try a round cozy. It was a bit more difficult to make and does not work as well as the square cozies. I may go back to the drawing board with this design. 

FUROSHIKI

I hemmed some 40" x 40" fabric pieces to create Japanese-style Furoshuki wrappings to sell at the kitchen store where I work a few days a week. These can be used for a table covering after the gift is opened. I actually wrapped some bottles from wine with the clothes. 

There are YouTube videos showing how to wrap almost anything with the cloth. One I liked is HERE. I liked the book carrier method.

   Here are 3 wrapping methods.

PINCUSHIONS
I joined a pincushion swap that Bea, from Beaquilter.com, organized. I made a few of these mouse pincushions to see how they made up. 

I found the pattern for the mouse pincushion at All About You. I wasn't really sure how large I was suppose to print the pattern. My mouse is setting on 4" square tiles on my countertop. So not too big. The pink one was my 3rd try and I definitely got better as I made each one.

I sent the pink one off to my December partner on Monday and she got it today. I have another one to make which will be sent to a different person in January. I will try a different pattern. 

MUG RUG
I had a new Mug Rug demo on the 1st Saturday in December. I made a wreath with bias tape strips and buttons (to cover the joint from the ends). Seven ladies were there, which was a very good turnout. 

ZENTANGLE and LUMIERE QUILT TECHNIQUE

I took a two-week class at The Arts Place. Sandy Dekker taught the class and it was wonderful. Here is what I got done:

This is the entire piece (18" x 18").

Below are some close-ups of a few areas.

In the first class we did free-motion quilting with a Zentangle look. In the second class we played with Lumiere paints. I will be using this technique again for some type of project!

BARN ADVENT CALENDAR

I came across this wonderful advent calendar craft posted as a link on Persimon Dreams Facebook page. Lynne of Lily's Quilts is putting one barn quilt printable template on her blog each day in December. I have a bit of work cut out for NEXT year's calendar!

EASILY make WEBPAGE a PDF 

I found a link to a very helpful tool today. I visited a website with a tutorial. There was a reference to a site that can turn a webpage into a PDF or print in a nice layout. I had such an easy time using it--much quicker than highlighting my selection and telling the printer what to do. Here is the link: http://www.printfriendly.com/ 

I wish all a very Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year.

And fun quilting as often as you can.