Okay, Now, Here's What You're Going to Do . . .

Are you ready to make some placemats? Is this the cutest placemat fabric, or what? I found it at Quilters' Corner, a local quilt shop, during a lunch hour excursion today--it's from a Timeless Treasures line called Kitchenette (you can find it on the internet too--try eBay). My friend Teri pointed out that it would make a great apron too!

Anyway, pick out three fabrics and grab yourself some batting. Get out your cutting stuff and have at it! Here's what you'll need and what sizes you'll cut. For the two front pieces, cut two different fabrics that go well together:

FOR EACH PLACEMAT:
Backing fabric - 12-1/2" x 18-1/2"
Batting - 12-1/2" x 18-1/2"
Front pieces - 12-1/2" x 13-1/2" and 12-1/2" x 7-1/2"
Rick-Rack - Approx. 12-1/2"

Here are my pieces cut and ready:

Now, on the bottom, set the piece of batting. On top of that, layer the backing piece that measures 12-1/2" x 18-1/2" with the "right" side UP. (Layer so edges line up--I've just offset mine so you can see what I'm doing.)

Next, the smaller front piece that measures 12-1/2" x 13-1/2"? Turn one edge under about 3/4" and press so you have a finished edge. That edge will be placed toward the center of the placemat and the piece will be on the right side of the placemat, so if you have a directional fabric, please take that into consideration when deciding which edge to press under. Now layer that right side piece, "right" side DOWN, on the right side of the placemat. If it's directional, place it so the top of the print is at the bottom of the placemat closest to you and the bottom of the print is at the top of the placemat. In other words, the placemat, as you're layering it is, upside down. I hope that makes sense!

Finally, place the left side (larger) front piece, "right" side DOWN on the left side of the placemat. Pin all four corners and pin where the front pieces overlap on the long sides. (Note that the two front pieces are on top--you should see the two different fabrics with the backing fabric in the middle of the "sandwich" (facing up) and the batting on the bottom.)

Now, sew all the way around, taking a 1/4" seam. I prefer to use my walking foot because I feel the layers feed better and don't shift, but you probably know how your machine works best. Just keep in mind that the bottom layer, the one against the feed dogs, is your batting. Once I'm done with the seam, I also trim the corners almost to the seam lines to reduce bulk.

Okay, this is the cool part, I think! You know how you make a pillow cover and overlap the back pieces to slip the pillow in? Well, the placemats are kind of like that. Turn the placemat right side out through the overlapped opening between the two front pieces. Press the outer seams flat so you have a sharp edge and press any other wrinkles out at this point.

The final step is to stitch the center opening closed and add top stitching along the outer edge of the placemat. I like to add something like rick rack to stitch down and cover the place where the two front sections come together (just turn under the raw ends and sew down). In this case, I wove two colors of rick rack together, wrapping them back and forth. I used monofilament as my top thread so it was clear. At this point, you can also add additional quilting to the placemat if you wish, although it's not really necessary.

These can be made fairly quickly. I cut enough fabric to make six placemats but I only finished this one because there was nothing else to watch on TV tonight--I'll finish the other five tomorrow night and show you--they should go pretty quickly, although the most time-consuming part will be weaving the rick rack!

Enjoy! (P.S.: Yes, the placemat I showed you to begin with isn't the same one I eventually sewed together first. All six of my placemats will be different, and the one I sewed just happened to be on top after I pinned them all--you're not going crazy or getting confused!)

Awwwwwwwwww . . .

I thought you might enjoy a kitty fix. By the way, we've named him Stitch. Here he is, napping in one of the wool baskets under my desk in the office.

I wouldn't throw THIS boy out of bed for eating crackers!

Gathering in the Peppermints

For the past few days, I've travelled high and low, searching out the elusive peppermint. Today's expeditions took me to Pier 1 and Beverly's. I suspect many of you are familiar with Pier 1. Wonderful things were found there; things that as yet remain in their alarmingly large Pier 1 bag. I hesitate to unveil these wonders to the male eye because . . . well, just because. You know, right?

I DID NOT leave them in the trunk of my car though. In my class this past weekend, I heard a cautionary tale of a quilter who left her fabric purchases in the trunk of her car, only to have her car stolen. And never recovered. The police officer failed to understand the quilter's panic. No telling what the insurance company thought. Be warned.

Anyway, Beverly's. If you live in northern California, you probably know Beverly's. And if you don't? Think Michael's but better and with fabric--quilt shop quality fabric. Kind of a high-ish end craft, fabric, and holiday decorating mecca. Good stuff. (And 50% off on Christmas stuff on Saturday, I think.)

So now I believe I'm done searching for peppermints and shopping for Christmas decorating stuff unless I've forgotten something. My friend Eileen thinks I go on shopping sprees, and she's at least partly right. I don't enjoy shopping much, so when I'm inspired by stuff like peppermints, I tend to do it all at once and get it done--and get all the other things purchased I've been needing for awhile too. So, yeah, I'm done now I think.

My friend Eileen also asked me whether I'm skipping Thanksgiving and going right to Christmas. Funny, but Hubby asked the same thing. No, I'm not. But it's not like I can start cooking the turkey right now. However, I CAN start getting some of the Christmas stuff ready so I can put it up right after Thanksgiving. Like peppermint picks.

"Say what?! Peppermint picks? What the heck's she talking about, Mabel?!"

Okay, I'll show you--but don't tell Martha, okay? She'd probably say she invented them.

First I gathered my peppermints and other pick-making supplies, like purchased already-made picks from Michael's, peppermint decorations, small glass ornaments, sprays of white berries, green floral tape, wire cutters, glue gun, etc. See? All kinds of goodies!

Then I snipped wires and cut things apart (kind of like quilting, when you think about it) and divided everything up; then I put it all together again with tape and glue, tied a bow on it, and it looked something like this:

And then I did that again nine times more and the peppermint picks looked a little like this:

And now I have ten rather awesome looking peppermint picks to decorate my kitchen Christmas tree--when it gets put up after Thanksgiving. And all I have to do is shove them in the branches. Sort of.

Oh, and something else about Beverly's. See the red and white stripe and polka dot fabrics, kind of above and behind the "bouquet" of peppermint picks? I found those pieces at Beverly's. Tomorrow night, if things go according to plan, I'll use them to show you how to make some quick placemats for your holiday table or for gift giving. (And maybe I'll also use some of the other fabrics there to the left.) This is one of the projects I gave my class last Saturday. I hope you can stop back by--see you later!

What The . . . ?

In my quest for peppermint, I wandered into Tuesday Morning during my lunch hour and what did I find there? No suitable peppermintanalia (good new word, huh?!). But I did find--

TA DA! Okay, seriously, folks--WHAT? Yes, I know there are all kinds of tabletop trees these days, but really: a TAMPON tree? Or, if not tampons, then what? What are they supposed to be? They seemed so silly to me that I had to take a photo to share with you, but in hindsight, I kind of wish I'd bought one--seems like the perfect Christmas tree for the bathroom, don't you think?!

Shhhhhh! Don't Say Anything, But I Think Martha's Spying On Me!

The last thing I need is Martha's process server showing up on my doorstep with a complaint against me for slander or libel or whatever, so don't tell anyone I said so, but I think she's ripping off my ideas. Shhhhh!

This year's Christmas word is "peppermint." I think you're going to hear it a lot! From me AND Martha, apparently! I'm terribly infatuated with peppermint right now. I did some internet searching today for peppermint anythings-and-everythings and got the itch--the peppermint itch. So I got dressed and headed out to the craft stores in search of the objects of my red and white lust. And found some. (But I might need more.)

And you know what? I guess Martha found it too, because in the Martha section of Michaels, peppermint was shamelessly displayed everywhere! HRUMPH! I bet she got inside my head and stole borrowed the idea from me! (Bet it must have been that night I forgot to wear my aluminum shower cap to bed!)

You know what else? Merchants are already gearing up and pushing hard for Christmas. In JoAnn's, an employee presented me with a coupon for 20% off. At the grocery store, I was given a coupon to use at Kohl's for $10 off. (I might stop there tomorrow--I bet they have peppermint wonders too!) Oh, and also? The sales have begun! Hurrah! Huzzah! And a Hip Hip Peppermint!

By the way, do you know there are only 46 days left until Christmas? Don't you think you'd better get going?! I'll race you there!