Batter up, bases loaded.

Once upon a time (2016), there was a plastic bin filled with black, gray, green, and gold 2" strips.  Evidently it was waiting. . .

 for me to cut it into 12" sections and put in a (you guessed it) baggie.

 Unstarched 2" strips like to fray and tend to get squiggly when assembled.  To counteract the squiggles, I sewed them into 10 strip units, lightly starched, and trimmed the left hand side, top and bottom evenly.  All the while using a small stitch to prevent the ends from separating.

 Light / dark combination was used, and yes, some of the lights are mediums.  40 strips per unit with all seams pressed toward the darker strip.  Each lengthwise unit was trimmed evenly, then pinned, nesting each seam before sewing.

Here's the first,

 The second,

and the third.

This year's Quilt of Valor marathon is now underway . . . . care to join me?

Until then, keep stitchin'  . . .

Testing . . . testing! Yes, this is Goldilocks.

 The first one was tooo cool.

 The next one was tooo bright.

The last one was just RIGHT!

Since the original basket blocks are made using red/burgundy and warm blue/turquoise, the setting fabric had to be a bit warm.

I've settled on a slate/blue/gray with a blue/purple for the setting triangles.  However, now the wheels are spinning further and I'd like to do a bit of applique in the setting blocks and triangles.  Something with school bus orange and bright tulip yellow . . . very Pennsylvania Dutch and cheerful.

The problem is . . . I'm not very good at applique.  Hmmm, maybe it's time to give it one more try.

Since we're having another HOT July day, it's the perfect time to stay in the A/C room and sew.  Here's wishing you the same.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Decisions . . . decisions . . .

Like the rest of the country, we're under a heat wave.  Since there's no community pool, sewing in the A/C room is the next best thing.

I completed the last 3 blocks of this baggie project and must now decide on how to set the 9 basket blocks.  However, the dark purple for the center is a tad too dark.  It might work with yellow, possibly green, or a lighter purple.

The original quilt uses all red around the blocks; however, I've run out of the original red.

Hmmm, another conundrum.  I think it's time for a fruit slushy made with frozen strawberries, cantaloupe, and bananas.  And of course, some music by the Beach Boys.  "Let's go surfin' now" seems appropriate don't you think?

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Hooray for the Red, White, and Blue

We've had a busy week and are taking advantage of the rain by getting a lot of sewing done.

This table runner, made from 2-1/2" wide strips, worked up quickly last night.  The idea came from Pinterest . . . of course.

During clean-up, I came across a bag filled with left overs.  This quick QOV just needs a few more rows on the side.

 Lake Chatuge pictures taken a couple of weeks ago.  No doubt it looks this way today and many picnic-ers will need an umbrella at the very least.

Wherever you are on this important holiday and no matter what the weather, Dolly and I would like to wish you a grand 4th!

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

The 10-minute pot holder tutorial

Summer is the time for outside picnics, barbecues, and camping.  Thrifty made potholders that can stand up to the heat are a great way to use up left overs . . . and a fun project for visiting grandchildren.

I started with 100% cotton fabric cut 9 x 17".  You can also use denim weight fabric, but no polyester.

 Starting with the left over thin batting strips, I cut them a bit longer than the fabric width and placed on fold line.

 Slightly overlapping and layering as I went.

 The next layer uses longer, wider batting pieces  . . .

 which get folded in half . . .

 And placed on top of the first layer.

 Then the fabric is folded.

 Starting in the middle, using my walking foot, wide zigzag stitches hold all layers together.  It's a good time to use up odd thread.  Stitches are locked at beginning and end.  Quilting rows are about 1" apart.

 Once the first half is done, the piece is flipped over and the other half completed.  No stitches are near the edge yet, so it can be trimmed square.

 After trimming, a tight zigzag stitch goes around the edge like a serger.  I did this twice for stability.

There you have it, a quick, thick, hot pad / pot holder strong enough and thick enough to protect large and small hands alike.

Side bar:  Never use any kind of polyester batting or fabric.  If hot enough, they can melt and cause severe burns to the person holding the pan.

If you don't have cotton batting, left over pieces from blue jeans or felted wool sweaters can be used in the middle.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .