Gifted Handmade

Last month when I made an On-the-Go Project Bag from Svetlana Sotak's That Handmade Touch, I told you it was my new favorite. So when I needed a handmade gift recently, I happily made another.

For fabric, I was glad to find I still had enough of this floral from Anna Graham's Forage fabric in my stash. I used another Forage print for the contrasting bottom, and one of Carolyn Friedlander's Harriot yarn-dyeds for the lining. Leather handles, once again, were from a 3/4" wide 56" length from Anna Graham's shop. This bag's shape and size (and those handles!) are really a nice combo, and I doubt this will be my last one.

For another handmade gift, I looked to 50 Little Gifts and chose the Fabric Basket designed by Jennifer/@EllisonLane. At 6" x 5" x 4", it's a sweet size, and has a fun and unique construction method. That hand-stitching, which was done with Auriful wool 12wt #8021, is actually what holds the basket together - decorative AND practical.

I liked it well enough that I dug back in my Cotton +Steel collection and found more coordinating prints and drafted a slightly smaller basket.

You'll have to look really closely (I probably should have used contrasting thread) but on the second basket, I hand-stitched X's, which I love.

So once again, it feels good to gift handmade....

QuiltCon :: Gifted

You guys! I'm back fresh from QuiltCon, exhausted and full, still going over all the moments in my head. It was such a good time. I'll be posting about it for some time, I'm sure, but for today, just a little reveal post about a few gifts I took with me for my roommates and birthday buddy.

Wouldn't you know most of my recent makes were patterns by Svetlana/s.o.t.a.k handmade? I tried her scissors cozy for the first time and was really pleased with the pattern, which goes together pretty quickly.



Both were quilted prior to construction, just one of the details I love.... you know, besides the little tabs and the zipper pulls. Very fun! I made one for my roommate, Louise/
@imfeelincrafty, and one for Ellyn/@ellynz, with whom I had agreed ahead of time to meet up and exchange birthday gifts.



A couple of years ago I had made daughter dear a large Lola pouch, so this time (my other roommate!) I made her the smaller version in fabrics coordinating with the first. This pattern, with its unique zipper installation technique, really is sweet, and I like that the binding allows for a little fussy-cutting.



I needed a giftbag for Ellyn's gift, so I dug into my scraps and stitched up a qayg drawstring bag, also a tutorial from s.o.t.a.k handmade. I don't do much quilt-as-you-go, but it's perfect for this kind of project, plus a nice change of pace.



I copied Svetlana's lead and added one of my leather labels - perfect, don't you think?



And lastly, even though I didn't end up using or gifting the lanyards I made, as QuiltCon provided ones that were perfectly adequate, I wanted to share in case you (or I) need one in the future. I really like this tutorial by Simply Cotton and is a super quick sew! I used the suggested charm squares to make scrappy lanyards, but you could also make them with a single fabric of course.



Anyway, I'll be back with a variety of QuiltCon posts as I can, so stay tuned! Meanwhile, it's time to get back in the swing of things!

Handmade

There's not much to show for myself this week in the way of new finishes. The days have been full, and I've got a variety of things in mid-stream. But I do have a single little make to show off. One that I actually made about a week ago for my coworker's birthday. 



It's a Lola Pouch, made with the pattern by Svetlana/s.o.t.a.k handmade. I needed something pretty quick, and having made one Lola in the past, I thought it would be manageable, plus I knew how sweet it would be made up from my Cotton + Steel stash. Gotta say, I love that recessed zipper!

Though I was definitely pleased how the pouch turned out, what I was really looking forward to was the reaction of my coworker when I presented it to her. Our relationship is somewhat new, and I had never made her anything before. She did not disappoint, and as she opened the package she exclaimed, "You made this, didn't you?"

It never ceases to please me to hear those words. And every time, I am again thankful that somewhere along the line, I was given the opportunity to learn to sew, and I took to it like a fish to water. It's an amazing thing, really, what fulfillment I get from it, the sort of calm it gives me. It's a gift of the unexplainable sort isn't it? But then again, I know I don't have to explain that to you.

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday.