Small Things

Neck protectors

I have a few friends that every Christmas we give each other small things, mostly hand made gifts, like a jar of marmalade or a dish of pâté. I think you already guessed what kind of hand made gifts I give: something quilted.

This year I made 4 neck protectors for my four friends. You wonder what that is, right? In summer my seat belt always cuts into my neck. I know not all cars are made that way, but many are. I’ve heard one of my friends complaining last summer about the same problem I had.

I’ve been using one neck protector for many years. It is actually a shame to admit that I made it from a quilted case of glasses that my friend Rhea gave me long ago. I undid one seam and put the case over a seat belt. I was so lazy that I fixed it with safety pins:

For new neck protectors I made rectangular quilts, just like regular quilts of three layers, finished by binding, 8 x 16 inches:

It closes with snaps but it is possible to use Velcro.

When I put it over the seat belt there are two layers of quilt protecting my neck from seat belt cutting into it:

Just need to wait until summer because now our necks are protected by many layers of clothes. Winter is really cold here.

Pillow sham

I love giving new life to old textiles. This was just a small project but I loved making it.

My friend Elvyra asked me if I could make a pillow sham using an old table runner, that her mom embroidered when she was young, some 70 years ago:

It measured 36 x 60 cm but Elvyra wanted the pillow to be 45 x 45 cm. I had to come up with the idea how to make it square and what to do with the back. I didn’t want to leave it blank white. I decided to add two rows of triangles to the front and a star on a back:

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Quilting is always my favorite part of quilt making:

It was a little complicated to quilt the front, but I really liked how the back looked. Such simple pattern but very effective, right?

Next I added a zipper and pillow sham was finished.

Now I can start working on larger as I have an entire year ahead of me..