WIP Wednesday

I have been playing around with these 5" squares - I am using them to make two baby quilts.  I was planning to make two half square triangle quilts, which would have been very similar but unique at the same time.  However, I just can't face trimming the number of half square triangles I would need to make two quilts, so I decided to change things up a little.

One quilt will be half square triangles, and one quilt will be...wait for it... wonky stars.  Can you believe I have never made a star block before?  Crazy!  I must remedy this immediately.

I've also been plotting my item for the Modernista Homemade swap.  I posted this picture of my potential fabric selection to see whether my partner would like it, but she hasn't commented.  I was aiming for a spread of colour values from light to dark, but given the lack of feedback and my partner's stated preferences, I think I will stick with the brighter fabrics.

What are you working on this week?

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced:

Handmade Christmas Revealed - Day 4

Happy New Year!

I had been thinking about making an oven mitt for a while, but hadn't really got round to it.  I wanted to make my Dad something for Christmas that he would actually use, and since he enjoys cooking (and, incidentally, is an excellent cook) I thought an oven mitt would be just the thing.

The process to make it was quite simple - I used freezer paper templates made from tracing around my own oven mitt.

The side that touches hot dishes is Essex Yarn Dyed Linen in black, and I filled it with a layer of Insulbright and a layer of cotton batting.  I am quite happy with the square based free motion quilting design I used to quilt the mitt.  Because of the sharper than normal angles, this required a little bit more concentration than other designs I have done, but once I got into the swing of things, it was quite quick and fun.

The trickiest part for me was the binding.  I initially bound it with store bought bias binding, but then I caught it with my iron, and because it was poly-cotton, it melted instantly.  Obviously, it wasn't suitable for an oven mitt in any event, so I pulled it off and made my own bias binding using my favourite crosshatch sketch in charcoal.  I'm much happier with this binding and know it will stand up for the heat of dishes straight out of the oven.

Have you even made an oven mitt, or had a small disaster with melting fabric?