Zips

In amongst the more involved projects of late have been just a couple of small ones I made as gifts. I used the same pattern for both - Anna/Noodlehead's Open Wide Zippered Pouch, a long-time favorite.

The first was the larger size made using an Essex print from Anna's own Forage collection paired with an Essex Yarn Dyed Classic Woven stripe. Gotta say I love the pairing.



My favorite little detail is the leather zipper tab, which I totally copied from Anna too. Even simpler than a fabric tab, and believe it or not, stitches together so easy. I did use a 90/14 needle and a longer stitch-length just to be sure.

The second was the medium size, and for it I used a cross-weave for the pouch upper, and an Essex Yarn Dyed Classic Woven plaid for the lower section. 

Oh, and a hot pink lining!

Again, I added a leather zipper tab, and since the zipper I used was longer than necessary, and thus trimmed off, I stitched all sides of the pull so the 'unfinished' end wouldn't show.

Just a tad wonky there, but as I like to say.... you can tell it was made by human hands, and I'm ok with that!

Christmas Postscript {two}

Web-surfing one night, I happened upon a darling apron that I thought would be a perfect gift for my new daughter-in-law. The Cloud9 post led me straight to my sewing book shelf, where luckily I indeed had a copy of i love patchwork by Rashida Coleman-Hale, and the necessary pattern for the Patchwork Bordered Apron.

I had just enough navy Essex, which I thought would give the apron a nice feel and weight, as well as be a sweet 'background' for the loulouthi I'd chosen as the main patchwork fabric. I added in a few coordinating prints to add to the patchy look, but you can get a little peek at the apron's lining below - pure loulouthi.

A couple of quilted potholders seemed to be in order so I used the same prints as the apron, mirroring the 9-patch pocket, binding in more Essex and quilting a la teaginny Designs.

This set was a really satisfying sew, and hopefully will be useful, while adding a bright, fun touch to the newlyweds' kitchen.

Christmas Postscript {one}

When I saw Svetlana's Christmas patchwork table runner, I wanted to make one for myself!

photo permission by s.o.t.a.k handmade

But being handmade gifts was high on my priority list at the time, I instead sewed one up for a friend.

I had a charm pack of cloud9 Cut Out & Keep that I had been hanging onto for reasons unknown, and I'm so glad I brought it out for this project. It went so nice with the flax-colored Essex I used, and of course, I always love how that Essex quilts up! I followed Svetlana's lead, doing straight-line quilting and used one of my newer favorite Aurifil 50wt threads - #2326. It's called 'tan' but seriously has a bit of a gold tone, and has gone so nicely with several of my recent makes.

Since there was no matching yardage in my stash for the binding, I went with the charcoal stripe from the awesome new Botanics collection. And I think it finished it off just fine. With the Essex and organic prints, the texture of this runner is just lovely.

Finished size: 15 3/4" x 41"

Svetlana's tutorial was a joy to follow, and being so pleased with my first finish, I went on to make another.

For the second one, I used a light and creamy Essex, along with a mini charm pack of V and co.'s Simply Color. Where the original runner used 2" squares for the patchwork, I went ahead and used the 2 1/2" mini charms as cut, and adjusted the sizes of the other fabric pieces as needed. This resulted in a slightly larger runner, about 20"x46". (The sashing between blocks was cut at 2 1/2" wide, the side borders 3 1/2", and the ends 4 1/2".) Again I straight-line quilted, this time using my stand-by Aurifil 50wt #2000 (beige) and there it is again - the most texture indeed. Backed and bound with Notting Hill, it's similar yet different from the original, and just goes to show where inspiration can take you.

And guess what? Santa left a mini charm pack of Moda's Blitzen in my stocking, so guess who's ordering up some more linen and may just make a Christmas patchwork table runner for herself after all?