The Latest Littles

Over the last week, I've sewn a variety of small projects. First up were 2 noodlehead pouches - another Open Wide Zippered Pouch in Mochi Dots and Essex {again}, plus a Lil Cutie Pouch. The open wide pouch was the large size, and the lil cutie quite a bit smaller finishing about 4"x6". I used the same Essex for the little pouch, which I accented with a little quilting, and then both pouches were lined with the same fabric as the zip end and key ring loop.

Next up were a set of potholders for my coworker's birthday. I dug into a charm pack of Color Me Happy by V and Co. and made a pair of Granny Square Quilt Blocks made popular by blue elephant stitches. 

More charms were pieced together for the backings.

I used my machine's serpentine stitch to quilt both, in slightly different patterns. Binding is Echo by Lotta Jansdotter. Oh, and I got a question about what I fill my potholders with and it's always the same - 1 layer of Insul-Bright + 1 layer of cotton batt. This makes a sturdy potholder, and I've never had any trouble with them not being protective enough.

Another co-worker asked if I could make him a phone pouch with a lanyard. I used a tutorial I've used several times - Kindle Cover by Ellison Lane - and basically just cut it down to size. In the tutorial, Jennifer suggests measuring your own device and adding 1 1/2" to length and width. I did that here and it worked out perfectly. For the lanyard, I just took a strip 1 1/2"x40", pressed it in half lengthwise, then pressed both long edges into the fold. Then I top-stitched the length close to each long edge and it was done. I downsized the closure tab to 2"x3", and added the lanyard ends in the last seam right along with the tab. Reportedly it's working just fine for him, and I got an "A" for making it "manly" enough.

Lastly was a case for hubby's sunglasses, per his request. {And yes, he chose the fabric for this project and the one above.} I used the Curved Sunglass Case by modern handcraft and it was perfect. I did cut mine down to 4"x8" and still had enough room at the end to add a 1" velcro square to make a closure. I also quilted my case, which I really like, though I think I'd do it much denser next time to make a stiffer case.

So those were all fun diversions. I think after the excitement of my recent mini quilt finishes, I've been a bit hesitant to dive into something too big. Plus a quick finish or 4 is always invigorating.