Friday, January 26, 2018

two things

Welcome to finish it up Friday! This week didn’t feel very productive, but it sure felt FULL! Anyone else in the same boat?
I did manage to round up a few finishes for this week, though! My major finish was quilting Nancy’s charity quilt. I brought it home as a flimsy just last week and I returned it to her yesterday, ready for binding. That was fun! I tried out a new-to-me machine, which is always a little challenging, but it was also a very good experience. (I'll be sure to blog about the machine again after I use it a little bit more.) The quilt is about 64" x 83" or so.
The other little finish I have for this week is turning an orphan block into a pot holder. It's what Lynn calls "cleaning up the slow way". Isn't that a great way to describe it???
I used a few scraps of Insul-Brite and stitched them together (by hand) before using it as the "batting." If you are not familiar with Insul-Brite, it's a great product that has a layer of heat resistant material in it, making it a perfect choice for projects like hot pads, oven mitts, etc. This is the first time that I tried piecing it together (a machine zig zag stitch would also work, I'm sure) and it felt good to eliminate wasted product. Just the trimmings went into the trash! 
The backing is a cute pear print (it's cotton lawn, so it's super soft) by Robert Kaufman. I LOVE it!
I quilted it with a concentric square and bound it with a spring green gingham print. It's ALMOST too cute to use, but I WILL use it! It's going to replace one of my super gunky old ones. It's a good way to put the scraps to use, don't you think? It measures about 8.25" square and it is scrap project #195.

That's it for me today! Now it's your turn. Please link up your finishes for the week. Thank you, as always, for joining me for finish it up Friday! Have a great and safe weekend!
finish it up Friday, 1/26/18
1. Melissa @ Happy Quilting  60. Frankie Baldwin  
2. La vida en Patchwork -Kimono  61. Anja @ Anja Quilts  
3. Icicles Quilt Pattern  62. Charm About You: hanging basket tote bag  
4. Roseanne @ Home Sewn By Us  63. Vera @negligentstyle  
5. Quilting is more fun than Housework  64. Gretchen's Little Corner  
6. Charity Puzzle Quilt - Cotton Cuts  65. Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs: Flutter  
7. The Wool Collection - Patchwork Witches  66. Kelly Cline Quilting  
8. Alison @ LBQ - Farmer's Wife Quilt  67. tubakk - Norway  
9. International Association of Quilters  68. Modern Circles + Baby Quilt  
10. Carie @ Space for the Butterflies  69. Suzy Webster  
11. Bambi  70. Pack Rat With A Plan  
12. Mari @ The Academic Quilter  71. Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts  
13. Dizzy Quilts: 1-Hour Basket  72. Susan @ PatchworknPlay  
14. Cortney @ Knit 1, Make 2  73. The Inside Stori  
15. Rebecca Grace: Math Quilt Finished!  74. HappyFlowerQAL - ArabesqueScissors  
16. Chris @ The Art of Making Blog  75. Riceford Streams: Charming Bits  
17. Mirror Image Crochet scarf  76. Farmhouse Baby Quilt & Stars PinkDoxies  
18. Tanya Quilts in CO  77. Angela A @ betterndogbiscuits stars  
19. Suck It Up, Buttercup  78. K Sorensen Design Decisions  
20. Adaliza  79. Terri Faust Quilts  
21. Erica @ Kitchen Table Quilting  80. Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts  
22. unbeehaved - Free Pattern Friday  81. Nancy  
23. Gumdrops - Elephant Parade!  82. Storied Quilts - Match the following  
24. Karen  83. Mary @ Fleur de Lis Quilts  
25. Kat & Cat Quilts  84. Yanicka Hachez  
26. Bernie @ Needle & Foot  85. Ruth @Stitching Impressions  
27. Shannon @ The Fleming's Nine  86. JanineMarie@QFTLH: Quilt for CA 2  
28. A New Pattern!  87. K Sorensen SW style mandala  
29. DonnaleeQ  88. Patricia - Tumbling Block Help Please!  
30. KatyQuilts  89. Hobbies Up To Here: The Beatles Quilt  
31. Brooke@SillyMamaQuilts  90. Deana  
32. Kathy @ AlliKat Quilts Dear Jane  91. Bag for Anna from PugMomQuilts!  
33. Debora @ Studio Dragonfly  92. gretchen @ Snug Harbor Quilts  
34. Johnna @ Yellow Bird Stitches  93. Melva Nolan  
35. Sarah @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict  94. Alison @ thechainpiecer  
36. jann @ making scraps  95. Sue Daurio - No Broken Bones Required  
37. Vicki in MN  96. K Sorensen decisions to make  
38. Sandra@mmm! quilts  97. Sarah Goer Quilts  
39. Snowcatcher  98. karenbbsnow 2 finished tops  
40. Hufflepuff Lace Shawl  99. Laura  
41. Joy - Butterfly Quilts  100. Kris @SewSunshine  
42. Lizzie Lenard Vintage Sewing  101. Crazy Town @ Creatin' in the Sticks  
43. viridian61  102. The Joyful Quilter  
44. Summer Lee Quilts  103. Color, Creating and Quilting  
45. Almost Plaid Placemats Tutorial  104. Ann @ FretNotYourself  
46. Marie (QuiltBee)  105. Sarah  
47. Improv Cut Stripes @ QuiltFabrication  106. mammafairy  
48. Modern Romance Mug Rugs  107. Treadlestitches Pixel Hearts quilts  
49. Scrappy Valentines Hearts & thrifty tip  108. Sandy O  
50. Red white & blue flags quilt ideas  109. Janice@singreadsew  
51. Heidi @ Buttons and Butterflies  110. Amira _ Hearts Free Motion Quilting  
52. Wendy’s Quilts and More  111. JulieBagamaryArt-BackingUpIsNotAlwaysBad  
53. Patty @ Elm Street Quilts  112. K Sorensen Works In Progress solutions  
54. Quilting Gail  113. steffishobbys  
55. DIY Fabric Push Pin Art Tutorial  114. elaine from Emily's cupboard  
56. Feathers Allover | Finished or Not Frida  115. Why Kay Sorensen blogs  
57. Kate @ Katie Mae Quilts  116. Retreat - the lilac cat  
58. CrispyKristin - Noodlehead Maker's tote  117. Union Jack Quilt @ Dresden Lane  
59. Judy Magnolias finish  

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

23 comments:

Melissa Corry said...

Cleaning Up the Slow Way, that is classic!!!! Such a cute little pot holder and so glad you had a good time on the Tiara :) Can't wait to hear all about it!!

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Amanda,
What a great use for an orphan block! And who can't use a new potholder?! I sure can . . . and I believe I might have an orphan block or two around if I were to do a search and rescue. The quilting really makes it pop and I'll bet it was a quickie finish too. Great way to end the week! ~smile~ Roseanne

Alison V. said...

What a cute potholder! I was doing the same thing with batting last night while I was working on some placemats -- it was great to take a few minutes and reorganize my scrap batting and realize I have actually made a little dent in the pile lately!

Rebecca Grace said...

That stippled charity quilt came out looking fantastic! It looks like you and the Tiara are well suited to one another! :-)

Kristin said...

What a chic potholder! Love it! And way to go on the quilting!

Bernie Kringel said...

Gorgeous pot holders. I wouldn't want to use it and get food all over it (which happens so often when I cook!)

mangozz said...

I never thought I would say this about a potholder, but I really love it! The colors, design and especially the quilting are great, but if I put that much work into it, I wouldn't want to use it and get it messed up.

Pamela said...

lol at cleaning up the slow way - that is exactly how I do it!

Marie said...

I've used a machine to sew pieces of insul-brite together and it works like a charm - done in no time. Great pot holder.

Susan said...

Beautiful orphan block - now it's something special!

Lucy | Charm About You said...

I love the way Lynn uses such little pieces. The pot holder is very pretty and the green gingham is perfect!

Unknown said...

All my potholders are "gunky" and making some new ones is on my 2018 to-do list. I LOVE yours!!

Mary Marcotte said...

"Cleaning up the slow way!" Ha, is there any other way? I need to get some insulbright and get to cleaning a few left-over blocks, too.

Pamela Arbour said...

Cleaning up the slow way produces lasting results! Nice. Thanks for the reminder.

dq said...

You have lovely finishes! I have basted batting together before. There is no point in wasting those extra pieces.

Jan said...

The potholder is so lovely, and I had a hard time finding the join in the binding. Wow! That’s a finish worth aiming for. Love the quilt. Simple are my favourite.

Danice G said...

What a cute quilt. The potholder is adorable also. 'Will have to try Insul-Brite. I have wondered what to "fill" potholders and oven mitts with.

Janice Holton said...

Yes, I DO think that is a great way to use up scraps! Your sewing even on a simple hot pad is sew precise! Love that quilting!

Unknown said...

What a great way to use orphan blocks! I sometimes make little table toppers or mug rugs for my café of those. With regards to the batting, I frequently use "franken batting", meaning that I stich little leftovers together by machine (big zick-zack stich). It is fast and easy and suits my "no waste policy"!

Audrey said...

Cleaning Up the Slow Way. I love it. I am on my way upstairs to try this out. It will make the task of organizing my sewing room so much more fun. Just the motivation I need. Thank you.

KaHolly said...

The quilt came out great! And I’m motivated now to replace my potholders! I have a few of those rogue blocks kicking around and some insulbrite scraps I could bear to toss.

Carol E. said...

Is one piece of ultrabrite all you need for the batting? Or do you supplement with some regular batting in addition to the ultrabrite?

Carol E. said...

Oops.. I mean Insul-Brite.