Tab top curtains, oven mitts, and a recipe book

Earlier this year I decided I needed curtains in my kitchen. Although I have had a sewing machine for years and have sewn things before, the truth is I really am a novice and am just learning how to sew. I don't really know many people around where I live that can teach me the tricks of the trade, so I have been learning a lot from reading other people's blogs. The point is, I knew I wanted to make simple curtains with tabs at the top and I didn't want to mess with a lining and I needed a little guidance. I found very helpful instructions here. It worked out perfectly and I was very pleased with the results. I also just made something up for the tie back and used Velcro to close it.

I was so excited by the idea that I could finish an entire project in a weekend (I mostly had been crocheting for the last few years) that I was inspired to make coordinating items from the left over fabric. I made these oven mitts following Soozs' tutorial and this hot pad that I just improvised.

At this point I had entered into some sort of crafting frenzy and just couldn't stop. I had seen this post recently and really liked it so I took inspiration from it and modified it to be a recipe book. I just cut a piece of stiff interfacing and slipped it inside the 'pillow case', tucked in the ends and top stitched around. I used the insides of a cheap binder style photo album that holds 4x6 photos, or in this case, note cards. Two eyelets each at the top and bottom with a yellow ribbon holds the pages in the book.