Red, white, and I want to win a sewing machine

I have never been a fan of the color combination red, white, and blue. In fact, while I am grateful to be part of this country, I find overt patriotism embarrassing. And then I had a baby girl on the 4th of July.

Now I feel like fireworks and red and white gingham are tributes to Scarlett. Go ahead, make fun.

I’m always on the look out for mildy-themed 4th of July wear. Those Old Navy shirts with the flag on them are not for me.

When I saw the potholder-making contest on Prudent Baby, I was gung-ho on entering one. One, because I never enter a contest where you have to do something in order to win. And two because, Hello? Did you see the Brother sewing machines they are giving away? And three, because I have a lot of fabric scraps.

(photos of sewing machines are from Prudent Baby’s giveaway post.)

Included in my fabric scrap pile is some grey and white polka-dotted bias tape that I made (using another Prudent Baby tutorial) but never successfully attached to anything. I thought I could make this the hook for my potholder with very good odds of success.

And I also had this navy blue faux quilt stuff. So I was all set for insulation.

I put my layers together and sewed a rectangle. (You might remember the red and white polkadots from Julian’s clown costume or from Heather’s Hanukkah apron.)

Do you see how much space I left on the left side to turn it inside out? Not enough. Next I sweated and swore my way through turning it inside out.

Then once it was flattened out, I inserted the piece of bias tape I had selected for the hook, and sewed all the way around the edges. First, however, I folded up one end of my rectangle, making it into a square.

Do you see my sewing machine? Yes, it’s fine, but I got it in high school. Now I’m 37. You do the math. (I deserve a new one, right?)

And done! A semi-patriotic potholder that I will not be embarrassed to hang next to my stove.

What do you own that you’ve had since high school?