An Abundance of Potholders

As a demonstration project for a quilting group which has recently begun, I constructed 26 potholders to dress up our kitchen.  It's not as if we didn't need a few replacements; if your kitchen is like mine, there are always stained and heat-damaged potholders to replace -- and they rarely match (except in the level of wear), which is only a consideration when one has company or is sharing a hot item with a neighbor!

These simple potholders were made of 2 1/2-inch squares of green and white cotton solids and prints, sometimes enhanced by the addition of 4 1/2" squares that I had on hand from a different project.  For padding, I used four layers of Warm and White cotton batting and the backings are apple green cotton canvas, purchased on sale this week.  Nothing was pre-washed, which made all the layers nice and smooth for the quilting; the green backing of the pad pictured at the lower right shows what happens during laundering, with more than 5% shrinkage!  The greens range from yellow-green through blue-green; most of the fabrics are reproductions of Depression-era prints.  They don't "match," exactly; but they look harmonious and will help pull together multiple shades of green, so I don't have to make everything I like "match exactly," either.

Who cares about new potholders?  My supportive husband has admired them, saying they are too pretty to use, but they were made to be used and worn out -- and they get even better with washing!