Handmade Country Apple Kitchen Towel

       Right after Christmas, I got in the mood to do some hand stitching. I didnt want to use my embroidery machine. I kind of wanted a country, or vintage look to my new towel. I bought a piece of fabric from a store in Berlin, Ohio. I believe this is the largest Amish area in the nation. This fabric had a nice stiff weight, so I hope it wont bunch up in the wash as my Joann fabric does.
      I cut out 3 apples from some country looking fabric, and turned the edge under and placed them in the center of the towel. Then I slipped the stem pieces under the apples, and the leaves in place. Then I hand stitched the pieces in place. For the apples and leaves I decided to do a blanket stitch with 3 strands of embroidery floss. I then sewed on the border fabric. I cut it  5 inches wide by the length of the towel. I stitched the back side of this border on the towel, then folded it to the front, turned the other edge under and top stitched in down from the front side.
     For the embroidered trim between these two pieces, I used the tutorial found HERE. For the crochet border I used the tutorial HERE. Here is the results:

Learning A New Craft

        For the about the past month, I have been researching a new interest. I plan on trying out Crazy Quilting for the first time.  friend peaked my interest in it. I had thought about it before, but just didnt think I would have the patience to do all the stitching that would be required in doing a quilt. I had a  "duh" moment when she mentioned just doing a pillow. I dont know why I never thought of that before, but i got excited over the prospect. Here is her webpage.
   During my time researching crazy quilting, I seen several pinned samples of blocks done with tatted pieces. Tatting is another thing I once thought of trying many years ago, but never got around to buying a shuttle. To be honest , it seemed a little difficult when I seen pictures of someone working with a shuttle. Then I came upon a youtube video HERE. I couldnt understand a thing she was saying. Well maybe a word here and there. But her video was excellent to follow. What I noticed was that you could also tat with a needle. I didnt need to learn to use a shuttle! She  made the needle tatting look very easy. Plus I love the delicate look of the lace. She is making earrings, but I thought these pieces would look very nice on my crazy quilt block.
     Then , I found this series of videos HERE. I liked her finger positioning technique. She was able to move very quickly. So with her  video's and the other's I watched, I managed to start a piece. This is only a segment of the earring piece, but it is coming along nicely. Especially considering this is my very first attempt at tatting.

What I Have Been Working On

    For the past month I have been putting together 4 diaper bag sets for my grand daughters. They include a diaper bag, plastic case with baby wipes, bib, diapers in 2 sizes, and a burping towel. Plus a magic sippy and bottle. I cant wait for them t open them. My girls just love their babies.

I made up the diaper bag pattern myself. The diaper and bib pattern came from here: http://beeinmybonnetco.blogspot.com/2012/01/new-outfit-for-dolly.html

I believe I played with the percent of full size settings in my printer to get just the right size to fit my granddaughters dolls.

For the wipes I simply cut a 6" square piece of flannel, and turned the edges over once and did a decorative stitch. However, later I seen to use the plastic travel soap dishes as a wipes case. These would be best done about and inch smaller to fit the boxes easier. I also cut a peanut shape out of 2 pieces of flannel and with right sides facing stitched the edges together. Be sure and leave a small opening on a striaght of way for turning. Clip the curves, turn, and press. Then top stitch clear around.

I think a small doll size sling would also be adorable. Here is a great tutorial I will be using if I get time to make them: http://www.pinterest.com/offsite/?token=486-205&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oursevendwarfs.com%2F2011%2F07%2Fbaby-sling-tutorial.html&pin=131519251591473810