Sewing for distraction is fun, too !

Our tax refund was due today, although our mail isn’t delivered ‘til mid-afternoon. I know me, I’d go nutz waiting if I didn’t keep m’self occupied. I wasn’t alone – Dearest Son asked several times, and I got a text from Beloved Hubby about a half hour after mail was due. It ran late, of course, but it’s here ! Yaay ! Soon as Beloved was home, we scurried to the bank and deposited it. We’d already have half of it spent if it got direct deposited in the first place, so perhaps it’s better this way.

Anyway, while I was still waiting, I decided to go ahead and make the hanging kitchen towels I wanted – I’d already printed out the super-simple pattern from Little House Living Saturday, when I bought the two kitchen towels from Dollar Tree. I knew I’d be cutting them in halves, so I only got two, but I want at least one more. Easy enough to be fun, new enough to require my attention – perfect. 

Went with the green ones first, natch, and started digging for the fabric I wanted. For some reason, this star field print wasn’t with the milk crate of star fabrics. Yes, I’m sure it’s a surprise to no one that I have a milk crate full of nothing but star-print fabrics, folded tight. It went pretty well. But this is the second freebie pattern in a row that really doesn’t get into how thick some of what you’re sewing is. Maybe my KJ-machine isn’t really built for thick, but sewing over a gathered towel was as much a challenge as sewing over those folded triangles in the Fabric Box project. Luckily the dark fabric hides most of my black thread uneven stitching. 

Maybe took an hour or so to make both – this fabric gathers really easily. I was a bit concerned about making buttonholes, I’d pretty much forgotten how. But KJ made it easy, it’s part of his built-in stitches. May have to make buttonholes more often ! That little white scrap in the photo is most of my buttonhole trials. Wanted to get fairly confident on bits and pieces so I wouldn’t wreck my project on the last step. Slit the buttonhole open with a seam ripper – after pining top and bottom so I wouldn’t rip right past ‘em – and FrayChecked the newly raw edges, just in case. Wish I had more of those sparkly buttons. The next set of towels will be orange, on the same fabric (it’s already cut out) with either large red buttons or swirly black ones. Since the VA has me hyper about hand-washing, I pretty much need a fresh towel every day. Thanks to this pattern and DTree, I’ll have it !

I know this seems minor to get so het up about oven door towels, but . . . well, a friend of the family made us some of these waaaay back years ago, and we used them ‘til they fell apart decades later. I think those were cut-up bath towel, they lasted forever ! I loved the lavender buttons, too. They were so much a part of our lives that it made me happy to make some for us. Back when I was a kid, I was in awe of all the effort it must’ve taken – those things sold for $5. each back then, perhaps $15. in ‘00s money. My mother always said they weren’t much, she could make them all day long.  For the rest of my years in their home, she never did. When I moved out, I looked for them for my kitchen, but I guess they were out of favor then. So, yeah, it’s silly, but I finally have my own, and I’m happy about that. 

And it didn’t rain today. Yaaaay !