Mini-Quilts

 Are you a frustrated quilter, never enough time in your day to cut out ALL those little pieces, match them, for all the HOURS it takes to at least complete a throw quilt, if not a bed quilt of varying sizes?

Well folks, onto your frustrated scene marches the lowly potholder.  Only takes an hour or three...can be displayed in your kitchen either on the wall or in/on other spaces.  Not to mention the utility it creates for those hot chores that can aggravate your skin cells as they attempt to navigate your hot pot handles! OUCH.

There are as many ways to quilt a lowly potholder as there are ways to traditionally quilt:

-log cabin

-rail fence

-scrappy

-crazy

and so forth. Allow me to bring to your attention some of these exciting methods, to enhance your quilting skills, add to your kitchen design, pick up and support your color scheme there, use up scraps in your sewing room and maybe most importantly - exercise your creative sewing energies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfn13KReGCU

Erica from SEW.QUILT.CREATE shows off an easy example of a traditional pattern with her pretty christmas fabrics. Then she adds a traditional quilting finish with a quick binding and a neat way to connect the ends. Presto, now she has a quick holiday item to add to her baking area, or a lovely gift to wrap and add to her holiday giving.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcX-tQhVtbU

Sherri from THE QUILTING LIFE presents an easy, detailed tutorial on a 16 and 20 patch quilted potholder.  She shares several interesting points for making these lovelies.  

-How she does her quilting

-How she adds batting to the Insul-Brite for a thicker potholder

-How she rounds her corners

-How she uses BIAS binding because of the rounded corners - instead of regular binding

-Explains her reasons for HAND STITCHING the binding on the opposite side instead of machine finishing.

-How she includes a little 'hook' to hang the potholder - if desired.

A more detailed tutorial, yet all points are succinctly explained for even a beginning sewer.  Have at it folks: hands down, the lowly potholder is a beautiful way to express your creativity - no matter what your sewing level.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9WNLONQnQo

Becca from SEW BECCA presents a 30 plus minute tutorial on 4  different types of potholders: the last is my fav! So sit back, maybe with your fav drink and be prepared to enjoy. Some parts may be familiar, some not.

RE: the last example: I have also used 4 triangles to make this jewel, your choice.  As well, most people use only 2 choice fabrics.  Be creative - use 4 different fabrics to sparkle up your creation! 4 examples of the lowly potholder...magic again!

One of life's MAGIC ways to reboot...rejuvinate your day, your hours - can be easily achieved by an hour or two - in your sewing area.  Don't think you have an area?  Yes indeeddy you do, your kitchen table!  Get a small plastic tote and fill with your basic sewing necessities...scissors, thread, pins, ruler. Use a small, vintage portable machine and set your "sewing area" up. Eating on your TV trays for a nite or two...won't erase your lifestyle. Change - particularly TEMPORARY change...can stir up your energy, your creativity.  Can't hurt to try.  In a few hours, you will have a new LOWLY POTHOLDER; something YOU created - to adorn your kitchen area. 

The MAGIC of making!

Thankx for sharing.

danielle

The MAGICAL Potholder

 WHAT IS A POTHOLDER? It's 2026, AI is here, so - let's begin with that:

Potholders are essential kitchen textiles, typically 7-9 inch squares, designed to protect hands and surfaces from hot pots, pans, and baking sheets. They are commonly crafted from 100% cotton fabric, cotton batting, and heat-resistant insulating material like Insul-Bright, or made via crochet and knitting. Durable, heat-resistant options include quilted, silicone, or thick terry cloth, often featuring loops for hanging.

IN REALITY... what are the real live BASICS of a potholder? After all, running to the nearest big box store may not be the easiest solution at any given time when a REAL potholder is needed. Lets think about scooting over to your sewing area and putting one of these little jewels together. WHERE TO BEGIN?

-Fabric for the outer parts, front and back, (usually cotton since they will be near hot areas: other types of fabrics (like polyester, nylon, etc.,) can melt, "OUCH"

-"Stuffing" to keep your delicate little (or big) hands safe.  Remember "SAFE"? 2026 folks...we are now ALL about SAFE. 

So...INSULBRITE, if you have some on hand; if not, then cotton batting, cotton felt or cotton flannel (or even several layers of LEAVEDOVER scraps taking up precious space in your sewing area) will suffice. Anything NONMELTABLE so these little guys can do their job - be a SAFE barrier between you - and the heat of whatever you are handling.

In real life....hanging on your wall, next your stove, your counter, etc., let's see how a REAL potholder comes to life. These lowly little beauties may be "just" a utilitarian part of your home, yet - once you get into their creation...can be MAGIC.

-Thread, scissors, a sewing machine OR your willing hand/fingers ready to do a bit of work. (And MAYBE...a thimble, remember those little life-savers?!).

Let's explore some examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnCniQeTAiw

Stacy from STACY LEE CREATIVE shows how easy it is to create a simple little potholder.  Simple...little...but OH SO NECESSARY in your kitchen area.

But - is that all there is to a "potholder"?  Oh my gosh, NO! Let's begin a creative journey that may be small...or a 'cross country' ride.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sipzCAflJQ8

Sue, from CRAFT SANITY (a few years ago...) demonstates a more complicated version that OH-SO-EASILY finshes the edge of a potholder with ease and beauty. Sewing magic to behold - in 8 MINUTES!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZPgJQBw89I

Vanessa from THECRAFTYGEMINI demonstrates an easy way to BIND your little potholder without the someimes - more complicated finishes that many quilters use. Again, easy, fast and finished so you can return to your initial KITCHEN project, without the sometimes OUCH that can occur - using a towel or your apron corner for the job more suited to the magical "potholder".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPB8jhQIN_Q

Cheryl (sp?) from THE SEWING ROOM CHANNEL gives a detailed, easy-to-follow video for making a potholder with traditional quilting type binding. This may be a more involved, more  detailed/creative version of our lowly potholder - if you are so called to follow.  I call them..."little quilts in a heartbeat!"  Certainly beats a 3 day quilting effort to express your creative energy.  AND - indeed does create something quickly displayed and USEABLE at the same time.  MAGIC again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPyB4C4jD6k

THE SALT FAIRY nicely gives us another different version of an easy, no edging needed - quickly created "magical" potholder. Different stuffing, secured with criss-cross sticthing to hold everything together with extended use.

And the list goes on. JUST a lowly potholder....me 'tinks NOT.

With the life-business that fills your days (and sometimes nites...), making a little METIME in your sewing corner can not only add beauty and utility to your home...but can - as well, reboot, rewire the YOU that can get slightly LOST as you race through your hectic days.

Be BRAVE! Try a few minutes of creating just ONE...lowly little potholder; see where this little bit of magic takes your being...MAYBE...on an amazing little 'DE-tour' in our life.

THE MAGIC OF MAKING...

Thank you for visiting

 danielle

Back From The Brink, sort of...

Hello to sewers and crafters - using all types of machines, needles, thread, media etc. Three cheers for HOBBY LOBBY's fabric department!

Welcome to life and all its twsts and turns and sideroads and valleys and...

This will be short, talking about LIFE and its many roads.

I heard a saying today...one that tops all sayings that I have heard in my many, many years.

Enjoy.

THE MEANING OF BEING HUMAN

"A SMALL SPARK....IN A BIG UNIVERSE....LINKED TO TIME".

Andreas Kalcker

NAMASTE, NAMASTE.

 

Potholders are nothing new to our culture. Wikipedia explains some historical facts relating to them:

Throughout the pot-holder's lifetime, it has also been used as a representative symbol of various cultural movements. During the United States Abolitionist Movement, they were displayed by women who wanted to show their support for the Abolitionist cause.[1] These provided women with some way to casually identify as part of the Abolitionist Movement without overtly expressing such. Additionally, it is sometimes used by Cajun cultures as part of their Mardi Gras masks.[2] During the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, the interred Japanese created several pot-holders out of various colored fabrics in order to reflect their own culture.[3] This was done to break up the monotony, as the colorful nature of the crafts was in stark contrast to the generally bland surroundings of the camps.

Surfing the web looking for more history on these little gems – though fruitless in that area, brought me to this interesting pinterest site with some absolutely amazing crocheted potholders.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/220183869255628033/

One particular cutie popped out for me; https://www.pinterest.com/pin/435793701449244830/ 

But then, I HAVE been called the 'chicken lady'. I cannot help enjoying my 'girls' as they provide for us daily, with those lovely little green and brown jewels we so Love...in our custards, surrounding our breakfast sausages, embracing the ham and cheese in the quiches we devour...etc. They are truly amazing little dinosaurs! But, I digress...back to potholders.

For those of us with cookware that does NOT have heatproof handles, this neat video I found, shows a unique way to make potholder “handles” for just this need.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXw21bWc-Pg

Another variation of the lowly potholder is the “finger” version. This was new to me. Craft Genie explains the easy construction method for this cute addition to the kitchen collection of handy hand protectors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJaUvE7N2M4

If that wasn't enough variation to the lowly potholder design, enter – the “double knit hot pad”! I'll bet you thought that two potholders worked just peachy for handling those large 9 by 12 sized bake-ware items. Think again. Here's a better way...at least according to “Scrappy Patch”. Very inventive, I say.

If you are the more traditional “oven mitt” type person, Crafty Gemini has a neat tutorial on just this little item. Per her usual upbeat, easy teaching methods, you'll be making these potholder cousins in no time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtS5itzH9tk

There are as many patterns and as many designs as there are imaginations for making the lowly potholder. One can practice their free motion quilting with them, use the 'turn them inside out' method to finish the edges, or bind them like a traditional quilt. One can even leave them ragged on the edges...providing of course that the ragging is short so as not to tempt any nearby open flames near the stove tops. OF COURSE!

Insulbrite or some other form of heat resistant fabric works well in the middle of our hard working potholders – providing they will be used as real workhorses, not the third cousin – twice removed - decorative crocheted variations that began this post. But what is a finished kitchen, if not one with crafty eye candy hung about....

So make sure to hang on to all those fabric scraps and leftover yarns, to make sure you have the necessities to create any amazing forms of the lowly potholder, when you want a little fun time in the sewing or craft room. After all...fun time is something we all need to help us relax our nerves in the INTERESTING TIMES we find ourselves these days.

The lowly potholder; there is always room for one more!