Two pairs of hot pads

Here is another long-unblogged project. Almost a year ago, I purchased a walking foot for my sewing machine. I raved about it back here. It is a great thing, especially when you’re sewing bulky or slippery fabrics.

When it arrived, I wanted to test it out on something small, something I hadn’t already invested a lot of time in (i.e., not a pieced quilt top!). So, I started by making a couple of hot pads. I used Insul-Bright, sandwiched between two layers of Warm & Natural, sandwiched between two layers of quilting cotton. For one hot pad, the outer fabrics are just squares — one of a dark brown Kona cotton and the other of a rather goofy large-scale print featuring pioneer bears. For the front of the other hot pad, I pieced a fussy-cut square of the bear fabric into a dark brown frame of Kona cotton. The back of that is plain Kona cotton. The bear print was purchased at Sew Low Fabrics in Cambridge, MA, but I have no idea who designed it or when. Incidentally, I’ve just discovered that Sew Low has closed. :(

I quilted the solid hot pad in straight lines about an inch apart. The pieced one, I quilted in a square around the piecing lines (about a quarter inch out). I bound both with homemade bias binding, made from the Kona cotton.

In August, I turned to the same formula to make a couple more hot pads. I used the same interior, but for the exterior fronts I used a blue yarn-dyed shirting (purchased at Mood and no longer available) and a plum Kona cotton. For the backs of this set, I used a a dark blue floral print from Winmil Fabrics in Boston that I’ve used in many other projects. (I have a ton of it.) I also bound both hot pads in homemade bias tape made from the same dark blue print.

For these hot pads, I got a little more fancy with the quilting. The plum one is quilted in a heart design, the blue one features a suspension bridge. I used plum thread to quilt both, to tie things together a bit more. Why a bridge? These were a gift for a friend who was moving to my beloved San Francisco Bay. It’s definitely not an exact replica of a particular bridge, but I was going for a Golden Gate vibe.