I really enjoy washing my hotpads and keeping them nice-ish. A little kitchen luxury for the cook. My old hotpads had been used and washed so hard that the fabric was splitting.
For the new ones, I used fabric scraps that were lingering in my stash because they weren't 100% quilting-weight cotton. I tried to mostly stick with darker fabric or with busy prints, and I do love kitchen brights.
As filler, I used felted wool sweater scraps that were so thick the hotpads barely fit under my machine's walking foot. The hotpads are wonderfully insulated, if a little thick and stiff, but they are great with the cast iron which gets quite hot.
Please, if you have insights or reflections for "out with the old, in with the new," leave a comment with your wisdom. Or if you just want to chat about hotpads, I am all ears for that, too. Happy New Year, dear friends!
I love my hotpads that I bought from you! They have such charm, as do your newly made ones in the above photo. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteLisa, that warms my heart! Happy New Year to you, too.
DeleteThis post makes me miss your little store.
ReplyDeleteThat's sweet of you. I did enjoy sewing for it, but the Etsy algorithms were not working for me anymore.
DeleteOut with the old grocery budget and in with a new higher one and thank you Social Security COLA for making it possible.
ReplyDeleteOoooh, that's nice! What are you planning to add?
DeleteJust $25 but I feel like it will make a difference. I hate to admit defeat and do it but life is short when you are retired and we don't need to eat like we have five kids anymore.
DeleteYes, looks great! Out with the old stress, in with the new calm:)
ReplyDeleteYes to CALM.
DeleteI love your hot pads and as a long term follower I appreciate how many you have made . They are all charming!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Leisha! I do wonder how many I've made over the years, haha
DeleteAdorable. Happy New Year.
ReplyDeleteThose are charmers! I love that the old ones are going to the outdoor kitchen.
ReplyDeleteI made my daughter an apron and a tea cozy in matching fabric but she never uses the tea cozy. I have some of the fabric left so I suggested a hot pad which she thought was a great idea. Thanks for the reminder!
Ohhh, I need to sew or knit a tea cosy and use my teapot! Thanks for the reminder :)
DeleteI sleep under a quilt that my sister made from what we call "scraps too small to save". That's a reference to my mother, who while she was losing her battle with Alzheimer's, staved off the worst by labeling everything-but-everything with post-it notes. One of our favorite finds after she passed away was a box labeled "pieces of string too small to save".
ReplyDeleteMy sister got started quilting by making hot pads, and I have some of those in my kitchen, but I don't sleep under them.
Just fyi, I'm blogging under a new name now (for reasons I can't go into, but kind of like the blogger's version of the witness protection program). So, new name, but old commenter!
"pieces of string too small to save" - says so much. Bittersweet and also hilarious. Thanks for reminding me who you are :)
DeleteYou already know I love your hotpads. And these are wonderful! I think I might need to refresh ours too....
ReplyDelete:) :) Also I started my MCC comforter this week!!! Thought of you. . .
DeleteHow many layers do you use in your hotpads?
ReplyDeleteReally depends on what filler I am using and how heavy-duty I want the hotpad to be. These have just one layer of thick wool felt (with 2 sides of patchwork) and they are thick and not very pliable - great for heavy hot cast iron, not so great for pinching a hot muffin tin or a pie plate out of the oven. I sometimes use a piece of batting plus a piece of quilting cotton. I have used old cotton sweater fabric, too - 2 layers. Hope this helps!
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