Visiting the past

 The ladies of my Wednesday group have been encouraging me to make some pot holders or placemats in preparation for the fall craft show.  Initially my reaction was horror, as that's the way I started entering sales and shows almost 30 years ago.  But on further thought I figured "why not"? I have fabric, I have experience and some skill, and there is no need for me to fill more than the corner of a table in order to be able to become part of the event.

So I started some pot holders, buying some Insil-Brite to provide some insulation from heat, and choosing some colour-matched fabric to work on.  I agonized over what size to make and settled on 7" square.  Got everything cut and started cutting, then some simple machine quilting and sewed the first thing together.  A nice thick, firm pot holder.  Too bad my sewing machine started to complain when I tried to add binding.  Just not going to work.

So back to the planning stage.  I read the instructions that came with the Insil-Bright.  Oh-oh.  Should have read those first.  I don't need nearly as much batting as I had used.  Tore apart an old pot holder to see how much bating had been used.  Y-u-u-p.  Screwed up there.  I even hit Pintrest to see if there might be any ideas there.

Finally, I accepted that this was going to be a major job, and I refused to admit defeat.  I cleaned up the two other projects in process, and put my EPP to one side.  I also put away all of the piecing paraphernalia from the current piece that is derived from the work of Maria Shell, but leaving the start of the design on the design wall.

Then I pulled out the leftover fabric from when I made "Long Time Gone" by Jen Kingwall.

I went back to an old technique where I cut scraps into pieces for several different finished pieces.  First  I cut as many 41/2" pieces as possible from the scrap.  Then as many 21/2" squares from the fabric left from cutting the larger squares.  Then for the first time I added 1"strips to use in an idea I'm stealing from the internet.  While I had only originally considered make 4-6 pot holders, now I appear to be planning all of the craft sale and charity work for the next year.

But, I haven't really forgotten my EPP.  It is on an extra small table ready for me to pick up any time.  Such as this evening when there are back-to-back episodes of "Antiques Roadshow" on PBS.