Design Wall Monday--Christmas stitching

On my design surfaces today are some Christmas gifts.  See more Design Wall Monday posts on Judy's Small Quilts and Doll Quilts blog.  

We had a Secret Santa swap at work and the younger medical assistant's name I drew is one I've gotten to know a little bit, which always helps.  She loves pineapples and I found a great free pattern and tutorial for a pineapple shaped hotpad, on CraftyStaci's site.  There are many more great free patterns and tutorials on her site.  Previously I made a patchwork square out of 1.5" strips from a free giveaway at a quilt show.  Once I printed out the pattern, I needed to add another strip to the bunch I had sewn together already.  Luckily I had some Insul-Bright on hand, and the fat quarter dresser had several options for the crown and backing.  

 I chose a pretty pink for the backing, it matched the pink squares well.  The tutorial gave excellent instructions for layering the Insul-Brite, thin batting, and the cut fabric pieces.  Very soon I had both pieces made and followed the tutorial for joining them.  Topstitching and crosshatch stitching finished out the hotpad nicely.

 I didn't mark a thing, just eyeballed across the tiny squares.

The whole shebang took about an hour to assemble and finish.  Note that CraftyStaci's pattern did not require the patchwork, I decided on that design for my version.  My swap partner loved it!  She also liked the Minky scarf I made.

They are not much to look at, but are sure cozy and soft!.  The tan Minky I had leftover from a quilt back.  One scarf is wider than the others.  I found the pink star Minky in the remnants bin at my local fabric store, and got two scarves out of the 3/4 yard that cost me $8; one I gave to my Secret Santa.  Our daughters, daughter in law, and niece will be cozy with these.  I used a tutorial from Jenny Doan I found on YouTube.  Very simple to make by machine.  Cutting and pinning the slippery Minky took longer than sewing!  Still to finish before the big day are a couple of pajama pants for the grandsons. 

From my Secret Swap partner I received a fun seasonal sign...

...and a cute burlap bag filled with some sweet treats and a gift card to Joann Fabrics.

I love reusable things.  Unfortunately I missed seeing what everyone else got at our staff holiday party, as I needed to leave early and take daughter Erica to have nerve repair surgery on her thumb that afternoon.  More on that story later!

This morning I sewed up a bunch of Chef's boas for my brothers and sister.  Have you seen these in shops?  Very expensive.  I bought some basic dishtowels at Target and matched them to stash fabrics.  

Instructions I found online were modified as I was using towels with prefinished edges, which I cut in half.  I made long tubes from my cotton fabric and turned under the edges of this scarf portion, and folded the terry towel to fit the opening, top-stitching a double row to secure. 

Somehow the first boa--the red one--ended up skinnier than the others.  I hope they like them!