Play Kitchen Accessories

Julie is making Claire a play kitchen for Christmas, so she wanted me to make an apron for Claire. I do not usually make apparel, and without having Claire on hand to actually measure, I used a tutorial to make an adjustable apron. I opted to make it only 16" long however, since I didn't want it to be too long.

I also made a few accessories:

Pot Holder Extravaganza

I wanted to use up the scraps from my jelly roll quilt. However, since not all the jelly roll strips were a full 2.5", they were very narrow scraps. Since they were only 2" strips, I wasn't sure what kind of design to create with such narrow pieces. Then I thought about how much I liked the granny square quilt blocks and thought it would work out perfectly. Once I had the 2" squares cut, I had enough for seven pot holders, plus some narrower scraps for the pockets. Fortunately, I had just enough batting for seven pot holders, because I didn't take that into account. Of course, I can rarely complete scrap projects with just scraps, so I had to pull in three other fabrics to complete the tops, backs, and bindings. Hopefully they'll all have new homes soon!

 

Birds for the Kitchen

After I made my mom two bird pot holders back in May, I told her I'd make her another square one since she liked that one better so she'd have a set. I meant to have it ready when I saw her in July...then in September...but I just didn't sew much this summer.

I decided to use a different, brighter color scheme for this one, so hopefully she doesn't mind that they are not a matching pair.

I really love this brown fabric. It doesn't match the birds at all, but the binding ties them together nicely. For some reason the binding looks so much brighter on the back, even though I took the pictures in the exact same spot right after each other.

In my effort to use up craft supplies that have just been sitting around, I busted out my rusty crochet skills and also made this dish cloth since I thought I recalled that she liked ones like this. The colors are somewhat complimentary to the birds.

Bird Pot Holders

When I made pot holders for Julie, I decided to use up the batting to make some for my mom too. I used the same fabrics that I used for her mug rug.

Pocket Pot Holder

I love this design so much, I almost didn't want to send it to my sister. This brown fabric is also a leftover piece from her quilt, and I used the green fabric that she really liked but that got nixed from the final palette.

I really love the back too, which has a pocket. I like the quilted flower in the corner.

Finished size: 6.5" x 8"

Floral Pot Holders

These leftovers from Julie's quilt were just the perfect size for pot holders, and I knew I wouldn't want to cut them up any smaller. I used two layers of cotton batting leftover from the one quilt I used it in. I backed them with two fabrics she vetoed for the quilt, though I hope she doesn't dislike them too much because the browns are just perfect for disguising any food spills.

I put little hanging loops on these. I never hang my pot holders, but these are pretty enough to display.

Finished size: 7" x 7"

Green Dragonfly

I made this for my mom last year and sent it off without taking a picture, so I rectified that while I was home last week.


I was working with leftovers from a larger project, so I had to piece the back, but I like the effect.

Special Request

My aunt saw the folded star trivets I had made and sent me this fabric so I could make a couple for her.

Teapots

I saw this teapot pattern at Pink Penguin and I just had to make one! This time I was smart and sent the link to my mom to see if she wanted one too, because I knew she would of course. I didn't bother with the paper piecing as the tutorial shows though because that just seemed like a lot of work, so I just figured out what scale I wanted (finished project 7x9") and cut the fabric as I went. Since they are small, I actually hand-stitched the binding, something I am not usually patient enough to do. I made use of the last of this fabulous flowered fabric that has been featured in other projects. Now I have only a few scraps left, so we'll see where they turn up!

Folded Star Trivet

Long before I started using this design for Christmas ornaments, I made a larger version to learn the folded star technique.

Orange Dragonfly

When my mom saw the dragonfly quilt, she wanted one too. They are a lot of work, so I agreed to make her something smaller, and I sent her a pot holder. Then Julie saw my mom's and she wanted one too. This is the one I made for her.