That's Hot! DIY Tortilla Cozy.

You've heard of a tea cozy- a quilted comforter in the shape of a tea pot, to keep your tea from cooling off too quickly.
This is a "Tortilla Cozy"- 100% all cotton quilted pockets that you can slip your toasted burrito wrappers to keep caliente.
You can heat your tortillas over an open gas flame like we do, or you can take a paper towel, sprinkle a little water on it, and slip it in with some fresh tortillas. Place them in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Use until it needs washing. You can throw it in the machine with your laundry. They also double as a great looking trivet or hot pad.
I used some Robert Kaufman "Cilantro" orange fabric, and some vintage flour sack fabric with a Mexican motif.
Quilt the fabric (all cotton batting or bamboo) before cutting the shape/circle.
Bind 1/2 of each of the circles, then sew right sides out and bind the naked edges together,
OR sew from one bound end to the other bound end with right sides together and flip inside out.
Embellish with ric-rac if you want to be really fancy.

Spin cycle.

I am fortunate to work with one of the most talented fabric designers around today, Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom. She is so inspiring, and I often leave her studio dreaming about my own fabric designs and what they might look like. My Lotta Jansdotter book is the perfect introduction to printing my own yardage. I am starting with the most elementary of techniques by using rubber stamps and water proof archival ink pads. Not only has she got a great eye, but she gives lots of great hints and there are great projects to do. Lotta's Printing Studio is available in my Open Sky Shop, and don't forget that UNTIL SUNDAY JANUARY 17TH 100% OF ALL SALES MADE THROUGH OPEN SKY (FROM ANY SHOPKEEPER!) WILL GO TO HELP HAITI!
I wanted to make a salad spinner, like my mother in law, Clarita used to use. My husband and his siblings would be more than glad to run outside and spin the sack over their heads until the greens were nice and dry.
I used 2 pre washed all cotton flour sacks from the American Chair Store. They are perfect for making a salad drying sack because they are lint free.
Lotta recommends you put a bath towel on the work surface and smooth out with your hands.
Put the flour sack you want to print on right side up, smooth it out and print your design with the rubber stamps.
When the ink is dry, heat set with your iron.
Stitch the two sacks together at one side seam, right sides together.
Then I folded over the top 1'' and stitched the tube for the drawstring, leaving the ends open.
Then I stitched the other side seam, right sides together, careful NOT to stitch close the ends of the open drawstring tunnel.
Now stitch the bottom.
Turn right side out, and using a large safety pin pull ribbon or seam binding tape through the tube.
Draw shut after putting washed lettuce in the sack. Take it outside and let the kids spin it over their heads until there is no more water splattering about.
Toss in a bowl and dress!
***DON'T FORGET to check out Design2Share, Cooking with Friends, Amy Powers from Inspire Co, Tasra Dawson and all of the other fabulous and talented shopkeepers who are so generous at this time of need. ***

Keep your man busy.

When my husband, Tim, isn't busy stitching old feed sacks by hand to make some sassy bedroom pillows, he finds his way to the power tools. His latest project, and it was a big one, was to build 5 sets of jump standards for the riding arena. Check the video tutorial for how to build your own.

(That's my friend Sally Waugh on her horse Captain John.)