Serendipity Hand Towels

Serendipity means "a happy accident" or "a pleasant surprise." A couple of days before my surgery, I just happened to find a set of two terry cloth kitchen towels in just the right colors to match the "Kitchen Utensils" set for the hope chest. I am amazed that the colors are so perfect! I don't plan any more embellishment and am just adding them to the set. Hooray for something easy...

"Blessing Towels"

The day after my last post, I went into the hospital for a surgery to correct an injury to my ankle. Thankfully, after four weeks, I am finally able to put weight on my foot and walk again. Maybe I should say that I am able to move on my own since I still have some work to do before I can call this walking. Still, I am so grateful to be moving without crutches. The Lord is gracious unto me!

Because of the surgery, I've had some down time to do hand work for the hope chest. I finished up the last items for the brown/aqua "Kitchen Utensils" set. Actually, I still need to sew the apron, but alas, not until I can use the foot pedal on the sewing machine again. I've been calling these hand towels the "Blessing Towels." The blessing comes from the Bible, specifically Numbers 6:24-26. I love this blessing and wanted to pass it on to Miss Abigail. A friend of mine saw these towels in TJMaxx and I was so pleased that she snapped them up. The color is perfect and there is a plain weave space amid the waffle weave that is just perfect for cross stitch. I didn't want to put too much cross stitch work into kitchen towels and this alphabet was simple and quick. I really like how the towels turned out.

Monogrammed Envelope

I wanted to make a kind of envelope or bag to keep the whole of the aqua "Kitchen Utensils" set together in the hope chest. The stack of linens was simply to tall for a bag to work very well, so I made something even more simple. I'm calling it an envelope, but it is open on the sides. It is more like a wide ribbon band. I like it somewhat better than the one I made for the Thanksgiving Set because, while this one keeps things together and more or less enclosed, I can still see the contents of the set without undoing the whole thing.

I started by measuring the stack of linens that I wanted to cover. The largest folded towels on the bottom of the stack measure 12 inches square and the whole stack is about 11 inches tall. So I cut a rectangular piece of aqua fabric 25-inches wide (12 inches doubled, plus a 1-inch seam allowance) by 36-inches long.

I wanted an embroidered monogram on the outside of the envelope so I enlarged the same style of letter as I used on the "Retro-Fun" towels in the set.

I sewed along the long side of the fabric rectangle, creating a long tube.

I left a small opening for turning later and then pressed the seam open.

I sewed along both ends of the tube. I put the seam in the middle so that both edges would be pressed and look the same. I turned the tube right side out and pressed everything well. (Remember to use a press cloth over the embroidery so that you don't flatten the stitches.)

Finally, I sewed buttonholes and buttons and it is finished. I can't wait to finish the last of the projects in this set and tuck it all up in the hope chest.

"Fancy Fans" Dishcloths and "Basket Weave" Hot Pads

I made these crocheted items sometime ago and think they perfectly fit into the aqua "Kitchen Utensils" set. I haven't posted pictures before because I wanted to share the patterns and while I have written notes about how I made both the dishcloths and the hot pads, it takes quite a bit of work to write up, edit and correct patterns. I just haven't had time to do it. Hopefully I'll still get to it at some point. Since the Kitchen Utensils set is almost finished, I wanted to include pictures of these items in the set.

Tucked Handtowel

This cotton towel was just the right color for the aqua and brown-toned "Kitchen Utensils" set. I've been thinking about what I could do to embellish it and finally decided to use an aqua rick-rack trim along with three simple sewn tucks along the bottom of the towel. I like the way it looks and how quick the project was completed.

You might remember a previous post with a tutorial on using tucks. If you are interested, use that tutorial for more detailed instruction. The darker woven threads on this towel made sewing the tucks extremely easy. I didn't need to measure or mark anything, except by sight.

I also like to apply rick-rack with this simple cross-over long stitch. You'll find another tutorial for this method here.

Monogrammed Dishtowels

These dishtowels are another item in the aqua and brown toned "Kitchen Utensils" set. I re-used a favorite pattern for the print borders--the "Retro-Fun" pattern from Sew4Home.com. I also added a simple monogram, using a chain stitch to outline the letter and french knots to fill in the space.

New Items for the Hope Chest

I haven't had much time to blog lately, but I have still been hard at work on the hope chest. I finished this set of three Tunisian crocheted dishcloths for what I think of as the "Kitchen Utensils" set. (tutorial here)  I also added this set of four brown-toned hand towels and a second set of dishcloths with a simple scalloped shell edging.

I painted a set of dishtowels as well, using the old fashioned tube paints. I remember these paints as being quite easy to use, but I think I need a little more practice.

I have a list of items that I want to include with this "Kitchen Utensils" set and I am now finished with all but a couple of the projects. Soon I can sew up the apron and a bag of some sort to keep it all together in the hope chest. I'll try to get pictures taken and posted soon. Promises, promises...