Fun Stuff

My mom comes from a big family, she is one of seven, which means that I am one of 21 first cousins on her side.  In the past year, I've had four of my cousins get engaged.  Since my mom also quilts, we decided to team up and get some handmade gifts going.  My Big Star Quilt recently went to my goddaughter, and my mom's version of the same quilt was given away this week at another bridal shower.  We're each working on another quilt for the next two cousins who are getting married next year.  Since we're splitting the work on a big quilt, we each also made some smaller gifts.

These were fun to make, especially the potholder, which is a total throwback. I highly recommend the Harrisville brand for their metal looms and cotton loops.  They even have a potholder pattern wizard, which is super fun.  Buyer beware...you will get addicted to looming!  The table runner is a cute brick pattern, called Two By Four's, that you can make with a charm pack, it's by Pieced Tree Patterns. And lastly, these microwaveable bowl potholders are super cute and useful.  

Linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts and Crazy Mom Quilts.  

Not so secret sewing....

Over Thanksgiving my mother-in-law spied a microwave bowl potholder that my sister-in-law had made for me last Christmas.  She hadn't seen one before and really liked it.  These are great easy gifts to make, so I sewed some up for her.  It's difficult to pick fabric for other people, but I think she will like this choice, which is an out of print Moda line called Mistletoe Manor by 3 Sisters.  A co-worker of mine gave it to me over ten years ago and I always liked it but didn't know what to make....I'm glad I finally cut into it!

Hope everyone is not too stressed about finishing up your secret sewing!  If you would like to make these yourself check out this tutorial by Karen Church.

Linking up with crazymomquilts, sewfreshquilts, and Needle and Thread Thursday.