The magical burrito pillowcase

Need a gift for that favorite neighbor, the girl scout troupe leader, a special teacher or a sports-minded brother-in-law? Here's my answer to the "what-to-give-them?" conundrum: Pillowcases.

A menagerie of pillowcases for holiday gift-giving.

With all the colorful, fun and fanciful novelty fabrics available at your local quilt shop, pillowcases can be personalized with just about any motif or theme you can think of. Or pick a pretty floral, a wild geometric or a funky stripe… any of the quilt shop quality 100% cotton fabrics will wash up nicely and be soft to sleep on.

Novelty fabrics for pillowcases—choose a theme.

My original pillowcase tutorial is posted here. But recently, I discovered the "magical burrito pillowcase" method on Twiddletails blog that uses French seams and is a pretty cool technique. (I think we even had a guild program on this once upon a time.) You might give this method a try.

A note on directional fabric prints

Each pillowcase in the set has its opening and band on an opposing side.

Note: If you're working with a directional print, however, you'll want to pay attention to which side of the body you attach the pillowcase band. I like a set of cases in which each case has the band opening are on the opposite side. When the pillows are placed side by side, the bands fall to the outside of the bed and the motifs on the pillowcases are in the correct orientation (no upside-down kitties). 

My two new kitty pillowcases.
An antique pinwheel quilt hangs in the background.

However you decide to sew them, custom designed pillowcases are thoughtful gifts. They can't help but make you smile and the recipient will think of you every night as they drift off to dreamland.

And don't forget to make a set for yourself! I had to test drive the burrito pillowcase method on these kitty cases… which are now on my bed.

The Minnie Scarf: a potato chip project

Over the past several months, I've been industriously piecing tops and quilting quilts. With the few cold, winter-like days that popped up in December, however, my fingers started itching for yarn and a pair of knitting needles...

"Minnie Scarf" in Poems Chunky by Universal Yarn.

... so my quilt guild's annual holiday dinner and "handmade" gift exchange was the perfect occasion to scratch that itch. (Besides, there was a deadline.)

Are your knittin' fingers itchin' for some stitchin'? If so, then try Annie Lee's "Minnie Scarf" at Jumpercables Knitting. It's a fast and fun knit that makes a great gift for you or someone else. This one here—in shades of pink—was made with 2 balls of Poems Chunky [Universal Yarn] in the Mantra 904 colorway.

Good ol' garter stitch shines in this project. The yarn's color changes provide a tweedy look because of garter's purl bumps, but a solid color yarn would do justice to this project as well. Garter makes the piece reversible, lie flat, and is a great TV-knitting stitch pattern with a plush "squishy" texture—especially with Poems Chunky. The end-of-row bobbles keep the knitter from nodding off and bring a delightful decorative edge to this wedge-shaped, cool-weather accessory.

The Minnie is also a "potato chip" project—you can't make just one. Here are other versions and the multiple ways of wearing it. My multi-colored version (this scarf is for me) uses leftover bits of Poems Chunky (various colorways) wet-spliced together. The blue version is knit with a worsted weight Classic Shades [Universal Yarn] and a carry-along sock yarn from Regia in a Kaffe Fassett colorway. Both weights of yarn were held together to simulate a thicker, chunky weight yarn.

How can you wear this asymmetrical scarf? So many options:

Minnie Scarf: with or without a shawl collar.

Minnie Scarf: with a shawl pin closure.

Minnie Scarf: over the shoulder or both tails in the front.

Minnie Scarf: as a neck scarf or a shoulder wrap.

 And I guess you could wear it with the pico edge up???

In the blue version, a variegated sock yarn added the color changes to the monochromatic blue Classic Shades worsted weight yarn. This way, I could use the same needle size as when I knit Minnie in the chunky weight. Annie Lee's pattern calls for Aran weight—yet another possibility!

Yarns used for my Minnie versions: Poems Chunky
and Classic Shades carried with Regia sock yarn.

This week, my knitting students and I also had a holiday get-together. Of course, everyone brought Show and Tell... sweaters, scarves, hats, cowls, wraps... with slip stitch and texture patterns, color work, lace... we were all so impressed with each other's creations! Maybe there will be some Minnie Scarves added to the collection... or better yet... under the tree and in stockings this season.

Thanksgiving

"The things that take longer to make inevitably have more beauty."

Quilting is in the air

Hand quilted Holly Leaf quilt for auction.

There's nothing like blustery, 30- and 40-degree temperatures to get you in the mood for quilts and quilting. I spent most of the day yesterday at the Open House and Charity Quilt Auction at Pins and Needles Quilt Shop demonstrating free-motion quilting. Here (left) is one of the top bid-drawers, a hand-quilted holly leaf bed quilt—very graphic with all solid fabrics and a contemporary red and yellow-green color palette.

I understand the bidding process is still going—due to late night news clips on Channels 3 and 12—so go to the Facebook page and email a bid before it's too late. Proceeds benefit the Salvation Army Angel Tree and Make a Wish. Also among the quilts in the auction was a vintage Dresden Plate quilt top.

Antique quilt top and hand-quilted bed quilt are items in the Charity Quilt Auction.

There were lots of door prizes and special holiday sales on fabric. Quilting classes for 2014 are scheduled and there was a discount for early registrations.

Patterns for the Honeybell tote bag (left top) and quilt are available.
The Kaleidoscope runner is an upcoming class. 

The shop was decked in holiday finery and hot and cold refreshments were served. 

The handmade tree ornaments caused such a buzz, that the shop is taking orders for them.

Holiday decorations made by the shop owner and staff.

My demonstration table was right next to the cookies. (Oh well, someone had to be in that space, right?!)

Hot and cold refreshments were served.

And, the piping hot wassail hit the spot!