Missions Month: Quilted Potholders

Today's Missions Month feature is the Set of 4 Country Quilted Potholders. (Don't know what Missions Month is? Check out this post.)

These potholders are quilted with an insulated batting to keep your hands and countertops safe.

These quilted potholders are 8" square and come in your choice of two themes: people (1st picture) or roosters (2nd picture).

For each set of potholders sold during the month of October, I will donate $7.75 to Gospel Proclaimers Missionary Association, Inc. Check out this post for more details.

These would make excellent Christmas gifts, so get them while you can! Be sure to check out the rest of the Missions Month products while you're there.

Missions Month: Burp Cloth Sets

Today's Missions Month feature is the baby burp cloth sets. (Don't know what Missions Month is? Check out this post.)

I hear a lot of mothers of boys complaining that all baby things are girly. So when I found this soccer ball fabric in my stash, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it - burp cloth sets!

The soccer ball fabric is a quilting cotton, and it is backed by a white and black polka-dotted cotton jersey knit. The jersey knit keeps it from slipping off your shoulder.

Of course, I had plenty of girl-themed fabric in my stash, too.

These burp cloths feature an upcycled cotton bedsheet fabric with polka dots in shades of brown and pink. They are backed by an upcycled cotton flannel bedsheet fabric in pink gingham.

Here again, the flannel keeps these burp cloths from slipping off your shoulder.

For each set of burp cloths sold, I will donate $7.50 to Gospel Proclaimers Missionary Association, Inc. Check out this post for more details.

These would make excellent baby shower gifts, so get them while you can (if my sister hasn't bought them all before you get there)! :) Be sure to check out the rest of the Missions Month products while you're there.

Kicking off Missions Month in my Etsy shop

Today is the first day of October, so it's the official beginning of my Missions Month project in my Etsy shop. During the month of October, 100% of the profit on sales of the handmade items in my shop will be donated to Gospel Proclaimers Missionary Association, Inc. There is a note with each listing that indicates how much will be donated to missions.

To make things easier, I've included free shipping with most of the listings. I've even created a Missions Month section of the shop for the products I'm adding specifically for this project (although all handmade items are included). I've also tried to price everything very reasonably so you can feel good about your purchase, but not break the bank in the process.

If you're so inclined, this would be the perfect time to do some early Christmas shopping!

Let me tell you about the missions organization that I'm donating to ...

You've probably never heard of Gospel Proclaimers Missionary Association, Inc., so let me tell you a little bit about this incredibly dedicated man and the unbelievable tragedy he has faced this past year.

Perhaps you heard about the American missionary killed in Mexico this past January. She was this man's wife. If you don't remember the news story, please check out these links:

• Here is CNN's coverage of the tragedy.
• This article includes a Youtube video of them singing at a church service.
• And this article takes a more religious view of things, although you'll have to pardon some grammatical errors.

There are all kinds of links to online stories about this tragedy, but those were (in my opinion) the top three.

Sam and his wife Nancy dedicated their lives to evangelizing the Mexican people. They spent over 30 years ministering together in Mexico, and Sam (and his son's family) plans to continue to work there, although he will now have to change his methods just a bit to ensure his own safety.

And that's how my Missions Month idea came about. He needs to raise about $110,000 to put these changes into effect. Yes, that's a large sum of money. No, our people are not independently wealthy. But we serve a big God that owns everything in this world, and I've seen Him come through time and time again on behalf of His people. I've seen it in my own life, and now I'm going to do my part for this need.

There are quite a few products available in the shop already, and I'm going to showcase one each day on the blog, a few times a week. I will be adding some products as the month goes on (hopefully some quilted totes and maybe a quilt), so keep checking back! I just didn't have the time to finish them all by the first of the month.

Today I'm showcasing the Four Seasons Dishcloths.

Change your dishcloth color with the seasons!

This set of 4 crocheted cotton dishcloths (11" square) comes in four colors to carry you through the seasons: Tangerine (for autumn), Red (for winter), Mod Green (for spring) and Hot Blue (for summer). Please note that these cloths are sure to last you much longer than one season.

These cloths are soft enough to be used as a luxurious alternative to washcloths, too.

These cloths are already made and ready to ship. (I will take orders once the first set sells.) They would make excellent Christmas or hostess gifts for the upcoming holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years).

For each set of Four Seasons Dishcloths sold during October, I will donate $5.50 to Gospel Proclaimers Missionary Association, Inc.

So, are you excited and ready to shop? Check it out!

Do you need to sign up for an Etsy account so you can shop? This help topic from Etsy should guide you through the process painlessly.

Purple Patchwork Bag

Here is the last of the patchwork bags for the custom Etsy order.

Since purple isn't a color I find a lot in vintage sheets, I pulled in some fabrics that had purple as an accent color, too. I really like the overall effect!

I made this one more uniform from front to back. The design is pretty much the same.

I hope you've enjoyed a peek at my recent custom purse orders. I'm always open for a custom order, so feel free to contact me if you have something specific in mind.

Pink Patchwork Quilted Bags

I had a custom order for some patchwork quilted bags in my Etsy shop recently. I showed you the blue patchwork bag last week. Today I'm going to show you the pink bags.

These were made out of 4" squares I had cut from the scraps of the quilts I made for this same wedding.

The front and back of the bags are a little different, but most people probably wouldn't notice.

Of course I added pockets inside to organize the contents.

Here's the second one. It's little different, although some people might think they were the same bag. Notice that I used more of my self-covered buttons on these bags. They're my favorite purse button now.

And here's the back of it.

I really like these totes. I may just make a few more in the coming months.

Bragging on my daughter's creation

You'll have to excuse a proud mother today. I just couldn't resist showing you what my almost-6-year-old daughter did over the weekend:

She made this hat for her doll using a Knifty Knitter!

Here she is, hard at work. She's left-handed, so at first she was wrapping the pegs backwards. But once I showed her the difference, she was off and running with it.

Yes, she did it herself. She even learned the special "knot" to wrap around the peg each time to keep the yarn from unraveling, something none of my Sunday school girls have mastered in the two weeks we've been working on it.

I did turn up the brim (put the loops onto the pegs) and take it off the loom for her, but the rest was all her doing. She has been playing with them off and on for the last week, so I was especially proud that she took the time to finish this one. She's already started another one since she has so many dolls that this will fit.

If you've never played around with Knifty Knitters, I'll warn you - they're really fun and addictive! I found the first round set at a thrift store really cheap. It was missing the smallest blue loom (the one my daughter used for these hats), but then I found another round set at a flea market a few days later that included the blue loom.

I must have made 15 or more hats already, a few in each size. It's a great use for the huge garbage bags of yarn my mother-in-law gave me, since you can use smaller balls of yarn for these hats. I can knit the traditional way, but I'll admit this is different and very fun. You really should try it!

You can make your own looms at home out of things you would usually throw away. Here's an example of one (a video tutorial), but I've seen lots of them.

Some day I'll have to round up the hats I've made and do a post about them. :)

"Just Married" Quilted Sign

I just made this banner for the Etsy wedding I've been working on the last few months. I'm all done with the wedding projects, and now I can't wait to see pictures from the wedding itself! (I'll show you the rest of the projects over the next few days.)

This sign was my customer's idea. She had seen it in another wedding and loved the idea, so I adapted it to her theme.

All the fabrics I used had also been used on her quilts, so everything will coordinate. I also added batting between the layers and quilted around each letter so that each of them is like a mini quilt.

So, how did I do the letters? I tried out freezer paper stenciling, that's how!

I had originally planned to applique the letters, but then I remembered seeing freezer paper stenciling online, and I decided to try it. It was easy and worked great!

I'm thinking of making custom name banners for my kids' rooms like these. I wonder if something like that might be a hit in my Etsy shop ... :)