Something out of [almost] nothing

 A few weeks ago I was offered a bag of small curtain samples from a local store.  They were being thrown out and replaced, and someone thought I might be able to use them in crafting.  In looking them over, I could see some very obvious possible uses for them.  My granddaughters turned two of them into iPod cases.  Some of the thicker, more upholstery-type samples would make lovely little purses.  Some are trimmed with fringe or with prism-like dangles.  It will be fun to see what I can do with these in days to come.

Two of the samples were obviously for kitchen curtains.  One was a chicken/rooster print and the other an apple print.  I thought these would make good potholders, but I decided before sewing them that I would open out the hems to make more of the print visible.  This gained me a good inch or more on all sides.  I then cut backing fabric the same size as my curtain sample, and added 2 layers of cotton batting for the inside.  When these were finished, they were actually much larger than one would use for potholders, so I decided they would be nice hot mats for the table instead.

My daughter and her family have chickens, so I knew from the beginning that the chicken mat would end up on their table.  I gave the apple one to them also.

The apple-themed one came out cute too but there was a lot of blank space at the top above the design, so I used a Sharpie® to trace the word "Delicious" on it before sewing.  I heat set it with an iron in hopes that it will hold up in the wash.  This type of item doesn't typically get used all the time or washed frequently, so I think it should hold up okay.

That is some of my more recent simple crafting.  Check out my Christmas blog for a more complicated project I recently finished!