So Hot Out...

It continues to be well over 30ºC during the day so I've been huddling inside. Yesterday I found a bunch more batting in my stash so thought it would be a good day to make a retreat mat.

I took a look at what was being sold on Etsy and determined that 19" x 14" would be appropriate dimensions. 

Basically a retreat mat is a large-ish placemat that protects your stitching from whatever table surface it's on. I previously made one with some Peanuts fabric.

I loved the inspirational interior fabric. Basically it's a big placemat and it has certainly served its purpose.

I noted other creators added pockets and a magnet/needle minder under a thread bed. Once again I agonized about what fabric to use, deciding on this big print .

and plain, white inside. The thread bed is just a piece of batting with a trim. The little magnet (under the needle) is loose  under the thread bed but easily felt with the fingers. I could stitch it in place if I need to later.

For the simple 30º quilting I used the lines on my cutting mat to draw an initial line in each direction using blue tailor's chalk; then set the guide on my walking foot at 2 1/2" for the rest of the lines.

On the Charlie Brown mat, I added the border separately and hand-stitched it in place after folding it over to the other side. On this one, I just made the exterior fabric 3/4" bigger on all 4 sides and folded it in half then over to the inside, sewing it in place. The corners were mitered and for extra security, I did a couple of machine stitches at a 45º angle. I also added my little sunflower 'logo'.

The right side and bottom of the pocket were secured when the binding was sewn. I didn't realize I was playing 'thread chicken' but this was all the white thread that was left on the spool when I was finished.

Yikes! Note to self: buy more thread.

This project could be done with 2 fat quarters. 

A couple of my windows are being replaced today.

Hopefully the house can get closed up again soon.

The air quality is so bad. The skies are yellow from the haze - a NW wind blowing forest fire smoke our way. From the current Ontario Forest Fire map: (I'm just east of Toronto)

It's like the filters used in dystopian movies. I had to use filters to brighten my photos when editing for this post.

Another good day to stay inside...