Not Just Another Pretty Face

It is sad to think that nature is talking and the human race is not listening.

                                                                                   --- Victor Hugo

My First Checkbook Cover

I made my first checkbook cover this week.  It's one of those little projects I've wanted to try for awhile.

I used Rebecca Mae's checkbook cover tutorial.  The fabric is New Chevron from the Botankia Collection by Paula Prass for Michael Miller.

It was so easy that this won't be the last cover I make, especially since I had a little something go wrong, which I didn't notice until too late.

I was using heavyweight Pellon fusible interfacing and the directions didn't say how long to press it.  After my first pass, it wasn't sticking very well, so I tried again.  It seemed fused to me, but after I turned the cover inside out and did my topstitching, I noticed that one corner felt a bit thin.  The interfacing had folded back, probably during the turning-inside-out process.

Next time, I'll do one of two things differently to solve that problem.  The directions called for interfacing that was 1/2" smaller than the fabric, to reduce bulk.  So I probably should stitch around the interfacing to secure it to the fabric.  

Alternatively, I could cut the interfacing and fabric the same size, and since you have to sew around the edges before turning, that would do the trick, too. 

This is why I needed a new checkbook cover.  I bought a new purse and I wanted everything that went into it to be coordinated.  If I only had black or brown purses, I could move the contents from one to the other.  But all the purses I buy are bright colors or patterns, and that means lots of opportunities for new wallets, etc.

New turquoise cell phone holder in the lower left, always a good combination with coral / orange.

Vintage kimono segment in the background.

The little flamingo purse is just for fun; I don't use it.  But the zippered California "woodie" leather pouch was purchased just for the new purse.  It's a "blender" accessory, just like we use blender fabrics in quilts.

I was able to reuse my mustard-colored wallet, because that color is in the car pouch.  The chevron fabric was the only thing in my stash that tied all the colors together.  

All this makes it quite exciting every time I delve into my new purse.  

Spring Flowers and Dinosaurs

Over the weekend, I spent some time at a botanical garden that featured spring flowers with dinosaurs tucked amongst them.  Hyacinths perfumed the air; sunlight streamed through the windows and reflected on the pond; and the dinosaurs were well behaved.  Who could ask for anything more?

You can see two sizes of dinosaurs here.  If I was dinosaur-educated, I could tell you what kind they were, other than purple.

Here's one trudging along the shore.

 Violas.

 At the entrance, they were loaning the visitors a laminated guide to the flowers, to help in identification.  Having only two hands, both of them occupied with a camera, I declined.  I confidently, and as it turned out, incorrectly, assumed that I would be able to recognize all the flowers.

Well, I know the purple flower is Grape Hyacinth, but I don't know what the orange one is.  I think the yellow bendy one way in the back is a Gerbera.

 

While making my way through the exhibit, I overheard a woman say she didn't know if she liked the yellow and orange flowers better, or the pink and purple flowers better.  Both color palettes are beautiful - no wonder she couldn't decide.

There were lots of dinosaurs - this one was in an entirely different area than the first one.

With all the dinosaurs around, there was bound to be some eggs.

If you had tons of money (and space), wouldn't it be fun to buy out a nursery and make your own indoor garden like what we've been seeing?  I know I've seen that small, flat, fern for sale as an indoor plant.  That's my favorite shade of green.

I think my favorite color combination is a little of everything - purple, yellow, pink, and I would add some orange to this mix.  

Don't those Canterbury Bells look animated and enthusiastic the way they're leaning in, wide open?

Counter clockwise from top: two kinds of Cineraria, two kinds of primrose, perfect begonia, and a rare fringed tulip.  Oh, and some yellow flower at the bottom.

A giant dinosaur, shnuffling around a Cineraria.  His ribcage was visible in the previous photo.

The show ended yesterday, and today they were selling the small dinosaurs.  I was excited to bring an orange one home, and I'll introduce you to her one of these days.

Canister Potholders

I finished my last set of potholders today.  I'm glad I only had enough silver backing for four sets, instead of five like I originally planned.

The central block is a paper-pieced pattern from Cups and Saucers by Maaike Bakker, the same book I used for the bowl potholders.  It's supposed to be a jam jar, but I turned them into canisters, which seemed more relevant to baking.  

The potholders are shown here with vintage plastic canisters from the 1950s.  You can faintly read "FLOUR" on the large one, and "TEA" on the small one.  It sure would be nice if the "SUGAR" one was in the middle, hidden by that potholder, and I'd like to believe it was true.  But it got lost somewhere, sometime, by somebody, which means it wasn't available for me to buy.

How did I transform them from jam jars to canisters?  By embroidering labels on them.  (They still look like jam jars to me.)

The pockets for all the potholders were made the same way, by stacking three layers:  batting on the bottom; covered by the lining, face-up; topped with the block, face-down.  Stitch across the top, flip the block over so you have a batting sandwich, then quilt and trim.

 

Here's a close-up of the silver stuff that is on the back of the potholders.  The other side is a flimsy white cotton, so you need to face it with some normal fabric, coordinated with the potholder pocket.
 

Because the stitching on the silver stuff unravels so much, I learned it's best to sew seams before trimming to size.  

All ready for some baking once they get to their new home.

And I'm all ready for some new projects.  That silver stuff dulls metal, so I've already changed my rotary blade and needle.  The sewing table is all clear, and I'm thinking maybe elephants.

"Bowl" Potholders

Yesterday I finished potholder set number three.

Since I'm not working with a fixed pattern, each set is a different size.  I think the first set might be too small, the second too large, and this is yet another size - nearly 9" square.  Sounds about right.

The block features stacked bowls from Cups and Saucers by Maaike Bakker, a book comprised strictly of kitchen designs.

All the blocks in that book are paper pieced.  Here I'm fussy-cutting a chunk that will make up the bottom bowl. 

You see that yellow acrylic ruler in the top of the photograph?  It's an "add-a-quarter" cutting guide.  If you like to paper piece, and don't have one of them, I highly recommend you buy one.  Before sewing a seam, when you fold your paper back over an index card, a little ridge is formed.  The ruler has a groove on the back side that snugs right up to that ridge, providing an automatic 1/4 inch seam allowance to trim in preparation for the next seam.  Jo-Ann Fabrics sells them for a reasonable price.

I love paper piecing.  And I don't know how I sewed without this clamped-on light I got last year.

To quilt the silver stuff on the back, I stitched over its grid using grey thread on the silver side and mustardy-colored thread on the fabric side.  For the first two sets, I stitched horizontal rows through the middle of the diamonds.  But the stitching on the piece of silver stuff I had left was coming unraveled, so I needed to stitch on top of it.  It turned out OK.

To quilt the top block of the pocket, I echo stitched.

I machine stitched the binding, to make it nice and sturdy.

I'm making each set in a different color palette.  This set works well with many colors of Fiestaware.

 I'm using a 2.5" binding strip now and it's wide enough to easily cover the very thick edge.

Pocket demonstration.