Wednesday, October 30, 2019

October's Purely Practical Minis

When Wendy posted her October mini earlier today, she invited folks to participate even if your mini is only a mug rug - music to my ears!

I've been experimenting with using felted wool from an old blanket as a filling, along with a layer of Insul-brite, for kitchen oven mitts and pot holders.  The first oven mitt was shown in an earlier post, and I was pleased with the results.  The next two items are potholders, just finished tonight. 



I must have cut from a portion of the felted wool that was thicker than the piece used in the oven mitt because these are a bit stiff at the moment.  If they don't soften up a bit, they will end up being used as hot pads on the table or counter, and there are plenty of scraps around here to create more!  These are thick enough that it was difficult to keep them completely straight in the sewing machine as I attempted to stitch the binding onto the front, not to mention that a 2-1/2 inch binding was really tight to turn and stitch onto the back.  A 2-7/8 inch binding on the second one turned out a bit too large this time.  Live and learn, and try again!

Here are the backs:


Linking to Wendy at Constant Quilter where you will find links to the other October miniquilts featured this month.

14 comments:

Kyle said...

Your October minis looks more challenging than a traditional quilt, but cute and practical at the same time. Your experimenting was worth it. I bet you'll be making a lot more.

Janet O. said...

A clever use of small pieces. I bought a bunch of Insul-brite once with grand intentions and have yet to use any of it. Maybe you will inspire me. :)

Lizzy D said...

Tiny gems of quilts.

Sandy said...

Excellent! Love the Tim Holtz scraps. Interesting experiments with the batting.

Debbie said...

They look great to me! Like the idea of extra padding even if it is thick.

Barb said...

I love these! so sweet like a piece of quilting candy

Barbara said...

Oh my gosh...cuteness overload! I love minis. They are so much fun to make and give away.

Cynthia@wabi-sabi-quilts said...

It's fun to experiment with pot holders - yours are terrific.

Hill Top Post said...

What an eye you have for design and color! These could be used in so many ways. I love them!

Ruth said...

Pot holders and/or hot pads are always useful. Maybe your grandson would like these since they are made out of scraps from his quilt? My grandson is interested in cooking and I'm planning to make him a couple pot holders for his birthday - he'll be 24 next week.

FlourishingPalms said...

It's so impressive that you are using-up... making do with scraps and a used, felted blanket. You're being very green!

Wendy Caton Reed said...

Wow! So many minis - so little time! I love them all. I finally have power and internet back so I am linking these up today. Thanks for joining in again!

Barbara said...

Great use of a felted blanket and fabric scraps! I bet you'll get lots of use out of these potholders!

Needled Mom said...

I never thought of using the wool in there, but it is a great idea. They look too pretty to use.