Basic hot pad tutorial

Today I want to teach you how to make a basic hot pad.  For your hot pads you want to make sure that everything you use is 100% cotton.  The reason for this is that cotton burns and polyester melts. Also, make sure your thread is 100% cotton

Materials list
1 - 6 1/2 inch square of fabric for the front
2  - 1 1/2" x 8 1/2" rectangles of a contrasting fabric
2 - 1 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangles
1 - 10 inch square for the backing
2 - 10 inch squares batting

You will take your 6 1/2" square of fabric and your 1 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangles and on two opposite sides you will sew the rectangles.  Use a 1/4" seam allowance.  Once you have sewn the two short rectangles on, then press the seams towards the darkest fabric.

 You will now take the 1 1/2" x 8 1/2" rectangles and do the same thing.  Press towards the dark side of the fabric.

Now you have the beginnings of a hot pad.  Good for you.

Now, comes the fun part.  Layer and quilting the hot pad.  Sometimes I will free motion quilt them, but for this one I decided to just do a simple crosshatch with 2" squares.  So, take the top of the hot pad and mark 2" segments across the top and bottom.  Unless your fabric is directional it does not matter which side is the top.  Then turn the fabric 1/4 turn and mark again.  Now layer the top piece with the right side up, 2 layers of batting, and then your bottom fabric with the right side down.  (You have just made a quilt sandwich,  Good for you).  Now you will start at one of your markings and go all the way down.  Do on one side first, then 1/4 turn and do the same.  You will have some cute little squares on your hot pad.

In this photo you can see that one side has been 

done, and now I am doing the other direction

You are almost done with your first hot pad.  Good for you.  Trim all sides of the hot pad so front and back are even. Should be approximately 8 1/2". Now comes the binding  To do the binding, cut  2 strips of your fabric for the binding at 2 1/4" x 8 1/2" and then cut 2 at 2 1/4" x 9 1/2".  Take the 2 8 1/2" long pieces and fold in half lengthwise and press.  Stitch using a 1/4" seam to opposite sides of the hot pad on the front side..  Now, take the 2 remaining pieces and fold down a 1/4" on each of the short edges and press.  Fold in half lengthwise and stitch with a 1/4" seam to the two sides that don't have binding on.  Now you can do the next step by hand or machine.  It may get a little tough with the machine, so I suggest trying it first, if it is hard, then do this by hand.  You are going to fold the binding to the back and stitch it down.  

Now, your hot pads should look like this.  Yay!!!! great job.  

Be watching for more fun tutorials and tips and hints for learning to quilt.

I am asking you to please not share this pattern with others.  If you have someone who you think would like to do these, then have them visit my blog.  

If you don't sew or don't want to make your own, I would love to make some for you.  just send me a message to kathyskwiltsandgifts@gmail.com in the subject line, put hot pads.

Please let me see yours.  If you have an instagram, post it on there with #basichotpads . My instagram is @kathyskwiltsandmore

So, I am a country girl at heart. In fact, it seems like it is coming out more and more. I love to do things like sewing, quilting, crocheting, baking, and  cooking in my Dutch ovens. I sometimes can picture being at my grandparents house. They lived up in the cache valley, and had a rambler type house. I can remember on clear days, sitting in the kitchen or living room with grandma and being able to see clear into Logan. We could see the Logan temple from grandma's and grandpa's. They had 2 grain silos outside.

Grandpa was a dairy farmer. He would be up before dawn, and when he came in for a nice hot breakfast he would bring in fresh milk. Grandma was always in the kitchen, at least it seemed that way. She always baked everything from scratch, which is what I like to do. I can remember her making her own bread, hamburger buns, and she always had homemade cookies.

So, what brings me to my reminiscing,  a quilt I am working on. There is quite a rage going on over a certain quilt. It is called farm girl vintage. Oh, my goodness. The lady who designed the quilt, lives in Utah and grew up on a farm in Herriman. As I started seeing these quilts, I knew I needed to make one.  So, I got the book and started on one block. I chose the tea kettle block. I love tea kettles. I don't know why, I just do. Maybe it brings back memories of camping and having a tea kettle going in the mornings to make hot chocolate. As I write these blogs, and as you read them, I hope that you will enjoy my dreaming with me. Sometimes I dream that we live on a farm, even just a small one, somewhere in the country. I think it would be fun, but then I wonder if we are too old to do that. That may be a dream that never comes true, but then again, it just might. This is my tea kettle block. Now I am ready to make a milk can block.

So for the past 2 weeks, I have been fighting what started as a cold and turned into a sinus infection.  Needless to say, I haven't felt like quilting. Finally on Saturday, the 13th, I felt like quilting. Yay!!!!. When you love quilting as much as I do, you tend to go crazy when you can't get up the energy or mojo to do it. So, what have I been working on? Glad you asked. I have a desire to enter a quilt competition and I am trying to decide which quilts and which categories I want to enter. Most of the quilts I am working on are using fabrics from my stash. I have been working on one called Chantilly reverie. It is a quilt I have been wanting to do for a while. When I go to the fabric stores, I find certain fabrics just jump at me. A mint green piece that has white and light purple flowers did just that one time, and I just had to get it. So, that was the piece that led to the 2 different blocks in this quilt. I laid all my fabrics out, showed one of my daughters the picture and she helped me decide which colors to go with.

 This quilt reminds me of spring and summer. I am thinking it will go in my master bedroom. Who knows, it may go to someone else.

Thanks for sharing my adventures with me, and I hope that as I post more quilt blocks and quilts on here, that you will share with Mr the ones that you like. Hope you all have a nice day.

I enjoy a challenge, especially one where you can win something. This year I decided I wanted to do a challenge, where I make a block each month, from a different designer, then at the end, they give me ideas for finishing the top. What can I win? A box of aurifil thread. This thread is a fine thread and is great for piecing. I have not tried it for quilting yet, but I have some ordered and can't wait to try it. The theme for the monthly blocks is blue and white. I decided to see what I might have in my sewing room, and I found what I needed. So, I made this block.

• There is also some new fabric out that I can't wait to use. Remember Laura, Mary, Baby Carrie, Ma and Pa? Yes, there is fabric reminiscent of Little House on the Prairie. As I have looked at the fabrics, my mind has gone crazy thinking of all the quilts I would like to make from this line of fabric.

I have a sweet little friend. This little friend is a cowgirl. She loves riding horses and barrel racing. Everytime I visit her mom, this sweet little girl has a hug for me. Her birthday was in October. I wanted to do something special for her. I had found a pattern to make a cowboy boot quilt and thought it would be fun to make a pillow from one of the blocks. I found out she likes red, so this is what I made for her. Her mom told me she loved It. I dropped it off on a Saturday evening. They weren't home, but the next day at church this sweet little friend gave me a hug and thanked me for it. I love to do things for people who appreciate it.

my dream

I dream. I have big dreams.  One of the things I would like to do this year is enter a quilt competition.  Why? I would like feedback on my quilts. I love to quilt and I am always looking for ways to improve.  I am going to try to keep up with my blog better this year. As I work on my quilts, I may share techniques from time to time for those who want to do quilt making themselves. I am also going to post pictures of things I am making. I love to sew and I love to sew almost anything. I made a couple of really big pillows for Christmas of 2015. One of the things I learned is that on pillows this big, it is best to do a zipper closure on the bottom. These were 24 inches square.

Dish towels

I love dishtowels, and I love them to be pretty as well as functional. I also like my dish towels to be bigger than the ones I get in the store.  The towels pictured below have a 100% quality cotton fabric on the front, and are backed with 100% cotton terry cloth.  They are very absorbent.  These towels measure 15" x 24".  They will add a lot of color to your kitchen.  The fabrics have all been preshrunk, and washed and dried after making them.  I do this, just to be sure none of the colors bleed.

 I love these crocheted dishcloths.  These dishcloths are made with 100% cotton yarn.  They measure 10 1/4" x 10 1/2".  They can be used for dishes or they even make great wash cloths and can be used in the bath or the shower.   They are soft and absorbent.  These can be machine washed and dried. 

 This dish towel is embroidered on a vintage 1930's flour sack towel.  The design embroidered is yellow peppers.  The stripes going down the dishtowel are on the sides.  There is also a hanging loop, for hanging the dishtowel.  This towel measures 18" x 28".  They are 100% cotton.

Any of these items are for sale. All of these items are handmade by my daughter and I.   I will be posting the prices soon, and you can reach me at kbruck2001@yahoo.com to order them.  I will be making more and if you want a specific color, please let me know.  These will also be for sale at the IDOS spring convention on May 11, 2013 at the Legacy Events Center in Farmington UT.