It’s time again for our list of gifts and/or gadgets to make our sewing lives easier or more enjoyable. You can see our posts from previous years by clicking on these links: 2018, 2019 (Part 1), 2019 (Part 2), 2020 (Part 1), 2020 (Part 2). All the links in the articles still seem to work, which is saying something!
Submitted by Dianne
As I post this, we are less than 10 days away from Christmas. That’s all the time in the world for some of us; and for others of us, we’re feeling the time crunch. In Part 1, Liz showed us lots of cool stuff that would make any quilter happy. Now it’s my turn.
Sew Tites
In 2018, I mentioned these very cool “pins” that are actually magnets to hold two pieces together when you don’t want to use a standard pin. Since then, SewTites has expanded their repertoire. Now they have small dots, strips with lighter magnets for those of us that find the originals too tight. They even have magnets that are designed by Tula Pink. These work great for English Paper Piecing (EPP). SewTites Website
Quiltfolk Puzzles
Who doesn’t love a good puzzle? Quiltfolk (the publishers of a wonderful quilting magazine) offers many wonderful gifts and books in their shop. They also have jigsaw puzzles. These puzzles represent something they have used in one of their publications over the last year. The puzzles are high quality and present just the right amount of challenge. My second puzzle is patiently waiting for me to start.Quiltfolk Shop
Kelmscott Design Snips
Imagine you’re working on some handwork while you’re waiting for the bus, doctor, or whatever. You’re ready to cut your thread and you pull out these adorable snips and smugly smile to yourself. Yes, you have awesome snips and are the envy of handstitchers everywhere. Kelmscott Designs carries many very cool snips of different lengths. While you can’t order directly from them, the good news is the quilt store, The Cotton Cure, carries them. You can find their new address on their website. The Cotton Cure Website
Holiday Oven Mitts
Every well appointed kitchen needs a pair of holiday oven mitts. MPS member, Dawn White, has written a very thorough tutorial on how to make these great oven mitts that actually fit. You’ll find the tutorial on her website, “First Light Designs,” and you can even download her free pattern. The button will link to Part 1. I just finished making these mitts for gifts for my sister and my sister-from-another-Mr. Dawns directions and photos made the process very doable! They were fun to make. My only mistake was that I didn’t get enough fabric to make a set for me!First Light Designs Tutorial
Tea Towels
Tea Towels make a great hostess gift and are so easy to make. You’ll need about 3/4 of a yard of a good cotton/linen blend, and I recommend that you pre-wash the fabric before you start the project. Cut a length about 26 or 27 inches. Then cut the WOF in half, which will give you two towels that are between 20 – 22 inches wide. Then head over to our Quilt College post to learn how to sew mitered corners. MPS member, Cydney Gordon presented the tutorial for making napkins, but it also works great on tea towels. Mitered Corner Tutorial
The tea towels are going with the oven mitts. Here’s my dilemma: Do I give a set of gold mitts and towels to one, and a set of green mitts and towels to the other? Or to I make up a set of gold and green for each of them? What would you do? Feel free to cast your vote in the comments below. I’ll be making my decision the morning of Friday, December 17th.
Thanks, KIm and Stacey! I gave the gifts just as you suggested, and they loved them.
The mitts look wonderful. I agree with Kim to keep them in matched sets with the towels. Great job Dianne!
Dianne, I vote for keeping the green with the green, and yellow with the yellow. (but I’d welcome either one!) Thanks for all the great gift ideas.