How to make your own face potholder, part one

Just in case you are eaten up with jealousy at my vintage style pot holders, here is how I have been making them. I am not an expert, despite what I tell my kids, so there may well be better ways of doing things. This is just how I do it. I use a piece of pink fabric for the face color, because don't stock any plausible skin tones in my stash. You will also need four scraps of batting, as big as your plate pattern, a piece of jeans or heavy weight fabric for the back, and a four inch wide strip of bandanna color fabric, cut from the width of your goods.

I used a salad plate, about 8 inches across. I start by just cutting the skin fabric, and then use the embroidered face as the guide for cutting the rest.

To determine face placement, fold into quarters and crease.

The eyes go on the center line, half way down the face. Keep the mouth small, even smaller than this, for a vintage look. The nose is indicated by two dots. Embroider the features, or fabric paint or fuse or whatever you like to do. I used six strands of floss ( the whole strand, as it comes from the little hank.) I like this for the eyes and mouth, but next time I will either use size 8 Perle Cotton or divide the floss, because I think it looks like she has on too much eye makeup.

This how to is spread out over three posts, because Blogger and I have a disagreement about how many photos should be in a post!

Maked a lady, part two

use your 4 inch wide strip, and sew for the bandanna.

you will now press. Don't skip pressing.

Lady Face potholder, part three

Turn the face over and trim the bandanna to match the circle. Sew an 8 inch strip by folding it lengthwise and sewing. Turn this right side out and press. Fold it like an AIDS ribbon, into a loop. The original had a little ring sewn on top. The fabric loop reminds me of how Lucy Riccardo tied her bandanna, and besides, I didn't have any little rings lying around. Layer the backing, face up, the face face down, and the batting. Sew around, leaving a space to turn.

Trim the batting closely, as though you were grading a a seam. Trim the batting at the opening, as well.

This wont hurt a bit! Turn right side out. Sew the opening closed by hand. I hate to sew anything by hand, but the first two I tried to close with the top stitching, and it came out kind of warped. So, hand sew.

Top stitch along the bandanna through all the layers. That will hopefully keep the layers in place. Also top stitch all the way around the circle. Ta Da! Let me know if you make one! Thanks, Deb, for sharing the vintage ones, and I look forward to seeing more of your collection!

Face Pot Holder Lady- Person

Inspired by Deb Browden's wonderful blog, I made my own lady potholder. Not as cute as the vintage one shown, she could be the beginning of yet another weird obsession...I used four layers of cotton batting inside and a piece of jeans for the back. The little lump on the right was an attempt to indicate an ear- however in the few seconds it took to sew around to the other side, I had forgotten about it. A more symmetrical sister will have to follow, I suppose!

I Will Survive!

This past January, while I was cleaning the kitchen, I heard a little song coming from behind the microwave. It had a disco beat and an oddly familiar tune

Once I was a yam in a bad place,

A sad place,

Heading for the stove.

Then I pulled my self together

rolled behind the microwave,

Layed down low...and now (music swells)

I! I will survive!

I ain't no candied yam,

I ain't no sweet potato pie!

I growing cute green shoots,

I'm becoming who I am,

and I! Will! Survive!!!"

What else could i do but look for disco toothpicks and a glass of water?

The odd couple

Mr. Woolly, I've been placed in charge of video content. So the music is good, but that's not totally unexpected. If you want to make money from passerbys then quality is a plus. No, the real question is how the old Jewish guy playing the accordion hooked up with the middle-aged Chinese guy on the erhu. And then how did they decide to play their music on the subway platform for change?

Celebrity knitter sighting!

I met Rachael! Yarnagogo Rachel! She gave me a publicity card for her new book, and I was such a social dork I just put it in my knitting bag. (Full disclosure- I actually knit with her one before, and she remembered me, but this was an in the wild sighting.) She is very nice, and has a lovely blog. Go look, I'll wait.

I also drove four hundred miles today to a rural area where I bought my ebay car. It is a nice looking junker, and I am ever so grateful to be a two (functioning) car family. Life will be so much easier. When you have a kid in childcare, pick up time is absolute. If I am late, it is $1 a minute, and if you do it three times, you are out of the program. Taking the bus to work adds three hours to my day. It only take twenty-thirty min to drive. So, yes, very happy to have a second car!

Otherwise, back to my Cocoknits sweater. I have to work up the intestinal fortitude to rip the borders off the Amish abstraction inspired quilt. blergh. it is a lot of mileage to rip.