Modernista - For the Kitchen

For the past several months I have been involved with the Modernista Homemade swap as a mama.  It has been a lot of fun to see the fun things that folks have created.  We are taking the house a room at a time and creating wonderful items to brighten each other's lives.  What fun!

Our first adventure was into the sewing room, and sewing machine covers and mini quilts abounded.

I received such fun items from my partner, Whitney, an uber-talented sewist and one that I missed by moments, I am told, at my brief foray into Sewing Summit (I was the babysitter, remember...)

This time I got to assign the partners - all the partners, including mine.  Yeah, that means I know who my partner is, if I go back and look, but to be honest, I have forgotten.  It also means I got to pick the partner I sewed for, and I have to admit that when I saw that Cynthia wanted a casserole carrier, I picked her to sew for.  I had a dynamite idea that I wanted to see come to life.

Many years ago, my sister made me a casserole carrier along the lines of the one above.  She used double sided quilted fabric.  It has gone with me to every pot luck and compassionate service assignment for at least 25 years!  It has been well used and well loved. And still looks pretty good for all the wear it has received over the years (even if it does look a little 70's).

And so I set out to create my own.  I've made a few of these over the years, but they have all used the double-sided quilted fabric you can buy.   I wanted this one to be different.  It was also a good chance to use my EZ Dresden template.  I've been wanting to use it since the SLMQG issued their challenge last summer.  Alas, I'm too late for the prizes, but what the hey!  I used two layers of batting so it would be extra puffy and keep foods nice and toasty warm.  I also made it a little bigger than the original.  Sticking a 9x13 pan in mine is kind of a stretch.  Cynthia should have no problem fitting a large pan (round or oblong) into this carrier.

It was not a difficult project at all, and in fact, I had a lot of fun choosing fabrics to my partner's taste.  I probably would not have added the brown if she hadn't mentioned that it was one of "her colors", although I am really jazzed by the Pure (by Sweetwater for Moda) text fabric.  It was on sale when I was in Utah last time, and I bought a couple of yards of it.  You can probably expect to see it in quite a few projects until it is gone, which I know will make me sad.

I think I may make several of these casserole carriers for Christmas, and may even do a tutorial if anyone is interested.  They're pretty fun to make, and I really like the Dresden design.  I may even try a scrappy Dresden, if I do it again.  Or, create a patchwork block and then cut it to shape and size.  I think the variations are as endless as your imagination.

I also made her a variation of the 1-hour tote with Aneela's Crazy Scrappy Blocks for the pocket,  and no batting, so you can use it for a grocery tote.  I added a string and some velcro, so you can roll it up and tuck it in your purse so you always have a bag when you shop.  I must have a dozen fabric grocery totes, but somehow they never make it into the store with me.  I made some crochet dish cloths and decorated a dish towel and sent it off in the mail.

Cynthia has already received it, and said she liked it.

I guess I can call that a successful swap.

Can't wait to see what my partner has made for me.