The Quilted Snail: July 2021

Thursday, July 15, 2021

Starting Christmas Gifts Early -- 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop

This year is very topsy-turvy to say the least for me. 7+ months of unemployment, selling the house so that I don't lose it (and having no idea of where I'll end up at this point), trying to find a new job.....and so on. I know I'm not alone in going thru things like this, there are many who are going thru this and far worse.

Christmas isn't that far off so I'm starting to work on simple Christmas gifts that can be packed and easily carried with me if most of my things end up in storage for an extended length of time. And because the budget is tight this year, I'm working making all the gifts that I can.

Bowl cozies and potholders are the first things I'm currently working on.

The basic bowl cozies take 2 - 10" squares of fabric and I use 2 - 9.5" squares of the wrap-n-zap batting per cozy that I make. These will fit up to a 6" diameter bowl.

If you've never made one before, here is a good Bowl Cozy Tutorial to show you how to make them. One thing you want to remember as you choose fabric for cozies, make sure there is no metallic paint on them especially if they will be used in the microwave.

For more interesting cozies, orphan blocks can be used to liven up your cozies. A 10 inch finished block makes a perfect sized cozy. If you've got 12" finished blocks that you'd like to use, then cut the batting at 11.5" and make like you would using 10" squares. This size will allow you to use them with bowls from 8" to maybe 9" in diameter.

let your imagination loose if you decide to make bowl cozies for gifts!

And don't forget to check out the remaining bloggers in the hop as they post about Christmas in July.

Wednesday, July 14th

Joy of Days Filled With Joy

Thursday, July 15th

Moira of The Quilted Snail

Friday, July 16th

Jamie of L'Fair Quilts

Saturday, July 17th

Bonnie of In Stitches With Bonnie

Sunday, July 18th

Joanne of Everyone Deserves a Quilt

Monday, July 19th

Kate of Katie Mae Quilts

Shasta of High Road Quilter

Tuesday, July 20th

Vicki of Vicki's Crafts and Quilting

Wednesday, July 21st

Leanne of The Devoted Quilter

Thursday, July 22nd

Kathy of Kathy's Kwilts and More

Sandra of Musings of a Menopausal Melon

Friday, July 23rd

Carole of From My Carolina Home

Saturday, July 24th

Joanne of Everyone Deserves a Quilt (Part 2)

Sunday, July 25th

Karrin of Karrin's Crazy World

Gratitudes:

1. For this being a seller's market right now in real estate, hopefully that will make it easier for me to get my house sold quickly and for a good price.

2. For being able to get through the commissioned items that are in the queue at the present time.

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Scrap-Happy July 2021

Lots of scrappy work going on around my house as I try to get things ready to get the house ready to go on the market this week. (Photos coming on Friday, and going live either Saturday or Sunday.)

First there were three filled gallon sized zippered bags of scraps that went to a friend. They will ultimately end up give to her mom who has dementia and loves to look at lots of fabrics.

Next up was taking a 2 gallon bag of black solid scraps, many of which I've had bagged up for years since I last made scrub tops.

There were 10" squares already in the scraps and a few larger pieces that I left as is. Then I trimmed the rest down to 5", 4.5", 3.5" and 2.5" squares, and a couple 2.5" wide strips.

Next up was using pieces of fabric left over from prior orders of bowl cozies for another commissioned order. 2 more bowl cozies, and then 3 sets of 2 potholders. Remnants were used for the reverse sides of all pieces.

The next project was another commissioned item - a zippered pouch for a good friend. This was made with strips of fabric that had been leftover from a couple of the blocks I made in last years row by row quilt. A scrap piece of black was added to the bottom of the pouch for the bottom. Lining and batting used in it were also scraps.

The pouch was made with a boxed bottom to it.

Two bowl cozies were made for another commission from orphan blocks made from the scraps from a long ago project. Fabric on the reverse side side was from a remnant in the stash.

This commission was to personalize two towels for high school kids of a friend from church. The fabrics were from remnants. Names were cross-stitched on scrap pieces of aida cloth and the threads used were threads leftover from years worth of kits worked on over the years.