A Little Something

Here are two of a dozen kitchen towels I decorated with Christmas fabric. Obviously these aren't a pair, but I did repeat the designs in twos. I prewashed the fabric so it won't bleed, but I didn't prewash the towels. A little distortion from shrinking should not hurt the appearance too much, I hope. I'm intending to use them as hostess gifts or small gifts for friends.

It was fun to use some of the things I learned at my Janome owner's class last week. I love the heavy topstitch on the right-hand towel, and the stitch-in-the-ditch foot made the piped edging on the other one easy. This whole project is so unlike anything I usually do that I enjoyed it.

Now back to pre-Thanksgiving chores. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

The News that Isn't

Snow...


Rotary cutter wound...


Grandchildren...

Sorry I don't have a picture of the kitten swinging from the design wall and sending all my star blocks cascading to the floor. That is probably the most exciting thing that's happened since I came home from my family visits. I'm not complaining, mind you. Peace and quiet is a good thing! Tomorrow I will spend several hours at owners' classes for my new Janome, hoping to learn some tricks I don't know. I'll continue my report on this machine afterwards.

Applique on a Sweater

I haven't dropped off the earth, but am visiting family and haven't been doing any sewing or anything that would interest anyone else. I have been thinking of a future project that has been in the back of my mind for a while. I want to applique bits of kimono silk fabric to a sweater, and I wonder what kind of stabilizer would be good. It should be something that can either be removed or if left in, looks ok, since this is a cardigan and stitching will show if the front should roll back a bit. Anyone out there have a suggestion? I'd appreciate it. The sweater is silk and cotton, but if this works, I have thought of buying others and embellishing them for Christmas gifts.

Nothing much quilty to report. I have made more red and white stars and have a bit of an idea for how I might set this quilt up. It's moving slowly, and I haven't touched it for several days. We went to Chicago for the weekend, and are having old friends stay for a few days starting tomorrow. It will be fun to watch election results with them; fortunately we agree politically, and we're hoping for a reason to drink champagne besides just pure sociability. (Nothing wrong with that, of course.)