"Summer Preserves" fabric just in time!

Just in time for making cute jar toppers for your homemade jams!

Strawberry preserves made fresh from our garden.
My strawberry fabric was cut into a square and
tied onto the jar with 6-strand embroidery floss.

My new fabric collection called "Summer Preserves" is delicious. The fruit and colors will brighten your pantry and update your kitchen for the summer into fall.

Quilted table runner

Here are some very simple projects that make great little gifts, or sew them as a cheerful gift to give yourself! 

Apron made from pre-printed panel.

Reversible/lined with green gingham

This blog will show you the steps to sew a reversible potholder that can be made in one short evening.

Potholder with matching tea towel

All of the fabrics used are from the "Summer Preserves" fabric collection which I designed, sold under the name Nancy's Cupboard and manufactured by South Seas. It's sold in most independent quilt fabric shops.

Or, you can order yardage online...click here to link for Fabric.com. You can also purchase fat quarters from Amazon.com.

Potholder with matching tea towel

 

To make a potholder:



layers to make potholder



Materials required and layers to sew are...

1) 8" square fabric for back, placed good side down

2) 8" square lightweight batting (I use needled cotton)

3) 8" square Insul-Bright*

4) 8" square lightweight batting

5) 8" square fabric for top, good side up

1 package double fold bias tape (or make your own to edge the hot pad)

* Insul-bright is sold as yardage in fabric shops and is a metallicized type of batting that reflects heat. It can be sewn and quilted. Do not place anything sewn with it in a microwave.



Quilt or sew all layers together

I made an 8" quilt square for the top of my potholders. It's a great way to try out a new-to-you quilt square and learn quilting and piecing. I quilted all layers. This is such a good project to learn quilting stitches and patterns on even a small home machine. (You can purchase a quilting foot for most machines for freehand quilting such as stippling.)

 

Trim your quilted piece to make it square. Then enclose the raw edges inside the folded bias tape and sew all around the edges for a finished product. Add a loop in a corner with the tape. I made my own binding out of coordinating fabric, the same as binding a quilt.

VOILA! Next blog, I hope to have a cute embroidery pattern for the matching tea towel. For now, I better check out the blueberry patch for the next batch of preserves.