More of Those Littles

A ruler sleeve wasn't necessarily something I knew I needed, but when I saw Krista/
@poppyprint share a tutorial recently, I quickly decided I did. Add in that I promptly added a 4" x 14 1/2" ruler to my birthday wishlist, and thanks to Rachel/@snippetsofsweetness, I now have one that I'm definitely enjoying using. SO many folks commented on Krista's post that this was their favorite size ruler, that I had to try it. Go figure.

Anyway, I was totally up for a little quilt-as-you-go. Use up batting scraps? Oh yeah. And curate a mini collection of my favorite Carolyn Friedlander prints? For sure. The sleeve was definitely a fun, quick sew.

Next up was a small Olivia Pouch for my nine-year-old grandgirl. She'd asked me to make her an "emergency kit" to keep in her desk at school - you know, to hold the essentials like ChapStick, a few Band-Aids, and a tiny flashlight. Purple was the clear color request, and this new-to-me pattern from s.o.t.a.k handmade, is one I'm glad to now have in my repertoire.

Grandgirl enthusiastically approved, and of course I was happy that she was happy. All good.

Redux

So I made another Pop Open Pouch over the weekend, and realized that though I mentioned making one in my holiday sewing recap, I didn't really tell you much about it.

The pattern is by Aneela Hoey, and it features pleats on the corners and a long zipper, that indeed let it "pop-open." I fully intend to make even more of these pouches. At 10" x 5"x 5", with that pop-open feature and extra-long zipper, they're more than a pouch you'd carry in your purse. And using just a fat-quarter for each the exterior, and interior, they are good stash-busters. I must have spent/wasted an hour just picking out fabric for this one. As one does, of course.

One detail I really love is how Aneela finishes off the boxed corners - something I had never seen before and plan to try to apply to other projects. Basically, after boxing the corners, she sews the lining and exterior corners together, which makes for a really wonderfully snug fit in the pouch's interior.

I finished this one off with a black leather zipper end tab and a length of suede lacing for a pull. Love those little details.

Oh, and for once I thought to add one of my leather labels. For the record, fabric was a Maker Maker cotton/linen blend (left over from my Traverse bag) with Spark in bright blue from Melody Miller for the lining, and a metal zip from Zipit. All stash finds, which is always perfect for a little project such as this, don't you think?

Other Small Makes

Looking back, I apparently started my pre-holiday sewing with a Pop Open Pouch, pattern by Aneela Hoey. I think I was really celebrating having finished my Modular quilt by trying a new pattern - something small and doable in a couple of hours. This pouch totally fit the bill, at 10" x 5"x 5", a great size and the pop-open design is really clever!

Fabric is all Carolyn Friedlander, which I love to pair for pouches.

And finished off with a leather pull and zipper tab, it became my new favorite and since I had the perfect use for it, I gifted it to myself. It's good to do that sometimes!

As always, I had ambitious plans for all the reusable fabric gift-bags I'd make. First were a handful using s.o.t.a.k handmade's drawstring bag tutorial, which I've made so many of, I have it memorized.

Then were a few using the Lined Drawstring Bag pattern + Expansion Pack from Jeni Baker. I especially love the new Mini Accent variation, like the two on either side of the basic bag below. Though they're all so great for gift-giving, and truth is I made a couple more that got used so quick I didn't get a photo.

Next up was a set of potholders that I hadn't planned until I saw Allison/@allisonehs post, inspired by a pattern in Modern Rainbow by Bryan House Quilts. They looked so perfect for what I needed, I stopped by my bookshelf for my copy of the book, then headed straight to my stash, where I happened across a "Strip-It Bundle" of Ombre Hand Dyes by Marcus Fabrics. It'd been there a while, obviously saved for this project. Made for someone who loves the ocean, the varying blues were just right. I loved them with that gray Essex, and quilted the potholders with straight lines.

I used the full width of the strips to piece backs for the potholders, and then found the ombre to be perfectly perfect for the binding.

On I went to make a sweet and small Wee Braw Bag, using Laura Cunningham's pattern, which I'd made a few times before, so I knew it would be enjoyable.

It's fun to pick out fabric for these, and I coordinated everything to go with that Rifle Paper Co. floral. Super sweet.

And finally, a Boxy Pouch, the original size in Pink Stitches' tutorial. Waxed Canvas is perfect for this pouch, in my humble opinion, and though I didn't get a photo, it's lined with a handsome print from Carolyn Friedlander's Instead. And again, a bit of leather lacing is the perfect finish.

So I think that catches you up on December's "special" sewing. Now I'll head to that WIP pile and see what else I need to finish up....

Hello Sophia

When I was looking to make a pouch to coordinate with my mom's new bag, I hopped right on over to s.o.t.a.k handmade to see what Svetlana had that I hadn't tried yet. There I happened upon the sophia pouch, and I can now say it's a new favorite.

For 5"x8", this pouch has plenty of extras - a roomy exterior pocket with velco closure, an interior pocket, plus a 1" gusset that allows for extra space. And the pouch has what I consider Svetlana's signature zipper technique, which personally I like alot, and which you'll also find on her lola pouch. Though the pattern calls for piping, I went without this time, but it's definitely another nice design element.

Fabric-wise, I believe the 'main' fabric I used was a chambray, though I'm not 100% sure. It gave just the look I was after though. All other fabrics were Cotton + Steel - the dark blue/black on the exterior pocket and zipper binding is from the Honeymoon collection by Sarah Watts (same as mom's bag); the interior pocket and lining fabrics are both from Zephyr by Rashina Coleman-Hale. Mom chose them all from my stack of C+S, and I think they go really nicely together.

Making a new pattern like this, I go super slowly, reading and rereading each step. But that aside, it was easy to follow, and the pouch was very enjoyable to make. I'd definitely make it again....

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday.

Zakka Along Week 17 :: Delightful Linen Pouch

This week's Zakka project was an easy and quick little bag designed by Erleperle. Sukie, who happens to be one of the hosts of the Zakka sew-along, shared her version, and I was so impressed that it prompted her to try embroidery for the first time! Awesome!

I decided to go with more of a patchy, machine-stitched version. Not having the suggested interfacing on hand, and not understanding why it couldn't be fusible, I went ahead and used some of what I had - some feather-weight fusible. It seems to have worked fine, and really, next time I'd interface the front and back fabrics as well.

As Sukie says, the front is really a blank canvas, so the possibilities are endless. For my pouch, I densely stitched a square of lime Essex Linen onto the natural Essex front, using some organic straight-line. Then I just stitched around the square a couple of times, basically achieving some raw-edge appliqué of sorts. With the floral square, I continued with the raw-edge look, just stitching close to the edges a few times.

The pouch was simply constructed, though there was no way I was able to press my seams open, so curious how others did with this. And I ended up trimming about 1/8-1/4" off the top of the lining so it would sit down in the main bag smoothly. That might have been due to my seams being non-pressed, but it worked fine in the finished project.

My main disappointment over this finish is that I used more of the lovely floral for the lining, but it is basically hidden from view, the bag is so small. But I know it's in there, and it looks great! haha.

After rummaging through my Grandma's button tin, nothing seemed quite right, so I changed things up and added some natural twill tape ties instead.

I think this little pouch would make a perfect little gift bag. Wouldn't it look just as delightful with some actual patchwork on the front? I can definitely see myself stitching up this pattern again!

Linking up with LRstitched and T.N.T. Thursday.