potty

It was all about the scrappy this week.  I am very excited about getting the partner I've been allocated in the Scrappy Swap on Flickr.  I do hope she likes what she is about to receive....

one fat quarter's worth of scraps

a scrappy pot holder

The pot holder was based on an Oh Fransson tutorial and at some points has 9 layers of fabric/canvas/wadding.  My little entry level Janome worked her little socks off wading through that lot!  According to the instructions I should avoid taking up jeans with her cos she might not have the power to cope!  I'm not really all that comfortable with true scrappiness but I know my partner loves selvedges so that helped decide the design.  With all that padding it had better work as a pot holder.

We have to include a small something from where we live.  I live in Nottingham which was famous for its lace industry so I wanted to get some lace. There is this fab wee shop on a really really quiet street and the owner (Debbie Bryan) specialises in antique lace in really novel ways.  So I popped into town this morning and bought the cutest coaster made using lace samples from the 19th century embedded into resin.  Debbie offered to wrap it up for me so I don't have a photo.  Hopefully my partner will take one for me. 

PS.  I don't normally go for hijacking other countries' customs.  In fact, I wrote a terse letter to the Editor of the Guardian last year complaining about a big spread they did on making food for a Thanksgiving party (no reply...how rude!).  Still, I guess when big things happen, it is worth stepping back and being thankful, like being thankful for having had a great mum who gave me a totally amazing family and being thankful for my own little family that almost didn't happen makes even the dreechest days seem brighter.