As some of you know, I went through a cancer scare this fall, and had my hands more than full with doctor visits and subsequent surgery a couple of weeks ago. But I am thrilled to report that my final biopsies came back negative & I’m getting my groove back!
I have a quick and fun project for you all that also makes a great gift – coasters! I’ve made mine in Christmas colors from the December Java Batiks box from Cotton Cuts, but you can choose any fabrics and colors you like – although I prefer quilting-weight cottons.
Project video by Beth Ann Williams
A few additional tips:
If you are having trouble getting your curved folds to stay folded before they are sewn, try using a bit of water-soluble fabric glue such as Roxanne’s Glue-Baste-It to keep the folds in place. (I tried fabric glue sticks, but they were a lot messier; the syringe applicator on my bottle of Roxanne’s Glue-Baste-It was worth its weight in gold!) You could also use a tiny bit of Elmer’s Washable School Glue if you’re careful not to let too much come out at once.For this step, I like to match the color of my top thread to my top fabrics and the color of my bobbin thread to the fabric on the underside of the coaster.You can see here that I switched from green (I used the same green thread on all the green fabrics), to deep red, to white for my top thread when stitching down the curved folds, depending on the color of the fabric.
Since they are made from 5 inch squares of fabric and batting, these coasters are perfect for using up scraps leftover from other projects.
When health challenges made hand-sewing (and hand appliqué and hand-quilting) no longer physically viable for her, Beth Ann’s first instinct was dismay and discouragement. But Grandma Baldwin gave her a loving (but stern!) “No pity parties – just figure out a different way.” So Beth Ann turned to her trusty sewing machine and began devising ways to achieve the fine quality appliqué look she craved faster and easier than she ever thought possible. And a career was born!
Now Beth Ann enjoys sharing her accessible “invisible” machine appliqué and creative machine quilting techniques with other quilters and fiber artists around the world.
