Posted on 07/03/2021 6:20:29 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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If anyone would like to make pocket prayer crosses for soldiers, private email me. I can give you the information you need.
My brother-in-law is a Navy chaplain and he distributes the pocket crosses to troops that are deploying.
Thanks!
Major project in progress .... a knit lace baby blanket! First time I’ve done something so large & with this technique. I’ll post some pics later this weekend - headed out for a bit of “lake vacation” at noon today. Happy 4th to all!
The only thing I’ve done, fiber-related lately, is to have Beau mail off my big box of stuff to ‘Warm Up America.’ Great timing, with a Heat Wave over 3/4 of the country, LOL!
I am starting on some more crocheted dishcloths because I can make them while watching a movie, and I’ll be binging on ‘1776’ and a new series called ‘Wolf Hall’ about Oliver Cromwell - who I am already prepared to hate. ;)
I’ve been doing other crafty things, and I’ll post them later in the weekend, too.
Have a great time at the lake! :)
USE UP YOUR OLD FLEECE BLANKETS for PLACEMATS, THROW PILLOW TOPS, SMALL QUILTS
During the shutdown/slowdown, I’ve been doing a lot of the “projects” with those collected fabrics going back years ( ! ) and items cleaned out of the closets.
One way to save a couple of bucks is to use old acrylic blankets or fleece fabrics as batting in small quilted items. I’ve been making placemat sets with some of my stored fabric, with one or two layers of fleece inside.
Friends of mine make small lap quilts for hospitalized kids with donated fabric and fleece as batting. Cheaper than buying new virgin batting! Sometimes you can hit a fleece sale as well, because the color doesn’t matter as long as it harmonizes with the outer fabrics if it shows through sllightly.
With multiple layers, it’s important to FIRST wash the fleece in hot water and the outer fabrics in the warmest water possible to avoid fading colors, and iron the outer fabrics as hot as they will take, so that there will be no uneven shrinkage once the layers are assembled.
PLACEMATS, QUILTS, PILLOWTOPS
You can assemble placemats with a top fabric layer, a fleece layer, and a back fabric layer, baste the edges, and stitch a bias binding around the outside to finish them off—or you can sew the layers together on the wrong side and them right-side out.
If you choose the turn-out method, pin the layers together and sew around with a 5/8” seam; it will form nice padded edges when you turn it right-side out. Leave an opening on one side, clip the corners (or curve-stitch and trim), turn them right-side-out through the opening, and blind stich the opening closed by hand. Press them and put a row of top stitching around about 3/4” to 1” from the outer edges.
***One mistake to avoid if you are going to stitch and turn them right-side out: Put the top and back fabrics right sides together, and the fleece on top of them before sewing around on the wrong side. If you put the fleece in between the top and back on the wrong side, when you turn it right-side-out the fleece will end up being the back of the placemat instead of the batting!***
For placemats and quilts, you can machine quilt the top to the fleece first, then add the back and stitch as above, or you can machine quilt through all 3 layers once it’s assembled, or you can quilt through all layers and add bias binding. For quilted pillowtops if your pillow will have a zipper opening, you can back the fleece batting with a thin layer of muslin or gauze so the stuffed pillow form will slide right in.
BIAS BINDING
I make wide bias binding with a metal ruler that is about 1-1/4” wide and 20” long. Cut the bias strips, sew your needed length by stitching strips together at a 45-degree angle, and then lay the strip on the ironing board with the metal ruler in the center of the strip. Press the sides up over the metal ruler with a steam iron, moving the ruler along as you go.
The strips will not be precisely flat because of the 1/16” thickness of the ruler, so you need to go back over them by lowering the steam iron flat onto the strips a few inches at a time without rubbing.
GIFTS FOR MEN OR APARTMENT DWELLERS
Men like the placemats with their sports team or college colors to use in the man cave, on a TV tray or a glass top coffee table, or for singles on a regular table when their girlfriend comes over. I made some sets when my sons/nephews left home before they got married. They will use placemats, and sometimes even cloth napkins! Apartment-dwelling young women like placemats, also—anyone who uses a laundromat appreciates a dressier set of placemats when having friends over instead the everyday plastic wipe-cleans, or having to launder a tablecloth. Good for elder folks, too.
That is a great post - THANKS!
I’m not much of a quilter, but I made a table runner because I fell in love with a piece of fabric. Imagine that, LOL!
Anyhow, I used an old towel as the ‘batting’ and it worked just fine.
I like making hot pads, so all of your posted advice is spot-on. Thanks, again! :)
You lay them across the spine of your open book, then close it up to mark your place. I had a picture of one of these IN A book, but I can't find it right now. Sorry!
Also - the vast majority of the beads and spacers have come from buying big bags of junk jewelry at my local Thrift Shop. I just take the jewelry apart and keep the beads that will work best for this project and earrings and bracelets. It's a huge Treasure Hunt that I find very rewarding. I love recycling stuff. :)
The pleasure was mine! Thanks for these threads about threads!
That is a great idea! And so are the bookmarks!
Thanks! Pretty proud of myself on this ‘recycling’ project. ;)
So far so good …. I've made a bunch of mistakes (all corrected) and learned a lot. I knew to put in a “lifeline”(although I found out after ripping back 9 rows that I needed one more often) and I've learned to “un-knit” rather handily to get back to an error on this pattern. I put each pattern row on an index card so I can focus on it exclusively, rather than getting lost in the print of all the rows on one sheet of paper. After each pattern row, I go back and check the entire row for the correct pattern & on the purl rows, I go back and count the stitches. Tedious, but it keeps me from making mistakes.
The yarn I'm using is a skein of Pound of Love in light green that I've had 'forever'. The GRIST (yardage divided by ounces) is similar to the yarn used in the pattern. I should have enough, but I'm getting that little “spidey sense” feeling that I'm going to be short. Sigh. That's typical for projects I do, knit or crochet.
I do have another baby blanket with a beautiful pattern that I want to do and I've got the yarn for it. This current project is practice for the second, although I think a recipient for this blanket, which is really turning out well & is prettier than I thought it would be, has been brought to my attention recently. It needs blocking, so the pic shows it “in progress” and the border, etc. will lie flatter once blocked. I do not know why the pics (took several) turned out so dark, but this was the best – blanket is folded in half.
Pattern:Valley of Lilies Baby Blanket
Future project:Lace Chevrons Baby Blanket
Beautiful! You have so much patience!
Got the plan/pattern written up for my next afghan - due by Christmas for my Mom. I love starting a new project - and finishing one, too! This is the pattern that won me the Blue Ribbon at the fair. I am doing it in various shades of blue, cream and gray. Will post pictures when I get started. Works up nicely; I used 'I Love This Yarn' from Hobby Lobby in the previous ones I've made. Any beginner can do this! This will be afghan Number 4 in this pattern. Love it!
Looking for help from fellow fiber friends.
My sister’s grand daughter wants to sew clothing and wants “Mimi” to show her how. We went to Joann’s to find fabric yesterday but there’s really nothing but 100 percent cotton. Nice for crafts, but ... ironing clothes!
Any suggestions on where to find decent cotton-poly blends for kids’ clothes?
Michael’s, Hobby Lobby?
I usually shop eQuilter.com, but they have mainly quilting materials, so again, all cotton.
I found this spot, though:
https://www.moodfabrics.com/fashion-fabrics/cotton/cotton-blend
Wolf hall is a great series, have watched it a few times.
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