My sister was the first to spot these treasures as they were being unpacked in the store. By the time we returned they had been sorted into bundles of 6 potholders for $1.50, so what could I do except buy a bundle. Of course they bring back happy memories of making these when I was a kid. The colors combinations here are a bit surprising and I like them. The 2 pictured on the left are my favorites. I've been working with grid ideas this spring in some painting experiments. The 6" x 6" painting below seems just a few steps away from a potholder, but not as functional!  I know I will enjoy using these little gems.

I posted a photo of this Uncommon Quilting Square a few weeks ago, lamenting that my zipper supply was almost gone. LOOK WHAT I FOUND.

That was the best item, but not the only treasure I found. Check this out: a bag of crewel embroidery threads, a couple of bead necklaces and a short string of large wooden beads. It would be fun to work out a little sculpture that uses a bit of each of these things. I'll need some time to figure that out. Stay tuned!

I am more or less at the half-way point on my Uncommon Quilting Challenge for 2019.  I am rating this a success, even if stop right now. Might happen.

To start this design I folded the red fabric in half and made 5 cuts that each became 2 sides of a triangular opening when I laid the fabric out flat.  I made 2 more rows of cuts going the opposite direction. Then I folded back the flaps to create the triangular openings. I laid  this over the yellow and  print fabrics, letting the circles peek out. All of the was stitched in place. At this stage I realized that I had used a 6" x 9" piece of batting by mistake.  So, I added the strips of yellow on the 9" edges to bring it out to the 7" width, strengthening the design in the process.

The pink shape that is the centerpiece of this design was intended to become the top of a baby's bootie. My grandmother cut this from her original pattern and it survived at least 65 years waiting for this moment. I added the red background, the lace and worked out a stitching pattern that repeats the negative shape. It looks like a valentine!
The red and white striped fabric is some I bought many years ago to make Raggedy Ann arms and legs. I played with a sheer black ribbon that happened to be the same width as the stripe. If I had been thinking ahead and used blue ribbon, this could have been my Fourth of July offering.

The square on the left is made from a pair of antique lace cuffs set on a black background. The print in the center successfully joins the cuffs into a single design. The quilting just follows the lace design and holds it in place.

Finally, the square on the right is my favorite one of this group. This is based on a handful of scraps from a piece I made several years ago. I just can't throw stuff like this away!  I laid the pieces out in a new design and added some fun, quick quilting. 

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