One more pair of the Hemingway pouches

Hello, everyone.  The slant-zipper pouches are so much fun--when the zipper cooperates!--that I made another pair. I used most of a fat quarter of ocean-themed fabric for the face and part of a blue, speckled one for the lining. Zippers were from stash, this particular pattern only uses one half of the zipper for a bag, leaving the other half in inventory to be combined with a zipper pull on another one. As witness, the larger of these pouches has a "pickup " pull and the maroon zipper tape that was also on a different pouch.

Now that there are three sets in the house, they will need to find a purpose to fulfill. The smaller ones are just the right size for coin purses. Phones would fit in some of the larger ones. 

I always feel like I need to use the test stitching

Hello, everyone.  Today I finished a book tote. It started out as test stitches for the embroidered brown pillow last year. The pillow went to its new home, but the test swatch sat there staring at me. For months. Reminding me that something should be made from it.

Fortunately there was more of the red duck in the stash.

It is lined and has a slip pocket. There is also a small D ring at the side for a key chain or charm. It's the right size for many hard cover books, too. 

Fabric: cotton duck canvas from stash, quilting cotton lining also from stash.

A new zipper wallet (edited to add link)

Hello, everyone.  After walking the Camino Francés with a me-made bill fold that didn't have a closure and didn't have any kind of an idiot loop attachment, I decided that the bill fold situation could do with improvement.  After scrolling past many Youtube videos, running down long pages of search results, and thinking about it, I went back to one of those videos: Ripstop By The Roll's simple zipper pouch kit. It was almost exactly what I wanted. 

The kit came, along with another kit that inspired me in their shop, and it had a piece of ripstop that wouldn't ravel, because they use something like a hot knife to cut it, a zipper, a piece of grosgrain for grab loops, and their video. I had also ordered some pocket mesh and the sample stuff sack kit--this came with some hardware tucked into a piece of light ripstop. I made an interior pocket with the mesh, edged with some scrap ribbon in the stash, and a label tag from that scrap of light ripstop, and otherwise followed the directions as given. 

It should work out okay. 

A finished quilt, plus bonus from scraps

Hello, everyone.  There has been all kinds of activity around the home place. Particularly there has been sewing.

The baby quilt, draped over the sofa. (Nobody else was available to hold it up.)

Y'all might recognize the color scheme here.

This is the Quiltsmart Midi bag. The squares finish at 2 inches, the pattern comes printed onto fusible interfacing which makes the corner matching easier. I followed the directions to add a pocket, but I'm not excited for it, as the fold a pocket into one lining piece methods they use leaves one with a pocket on a 45 degree angle. (Oh well, I have now tried that idea out.) If I make another I'll either skip the pocket or use a more sensibly aligned method to put one in.

A new finish

Hello, everyone.  This is a little interruption to the road trip posts. I have finished a new pouch.

Front

Back

There's always a place to embroider something!

And a small pocket inside.

This will probably be a Christmas gift for a young lady. It's not really long enough for a pencil bag, but it can hold a small snack, lunch money, or a small stuffed doll or creature. Or hair goodies.

Fabrics from stash, though the lining is from a new fat-eighth that was picked up just-because at Missouri Star's Birthday Bash during the road trip. 

Beads also from stash, and the zipper too. 

The second Leaf-Butterfly bag

Hello,  everyone.  Today's post is another little bag.

As before, all parts are from stash. Linen blend for the exterior, quilting cotton for the lining and strap. I made the strap adjustable, so a person can put it on the shoulder or tighten the strap to carry in the hand. It has boxed bottom corners.

Thanks to the lessons learned from Christine's Home Affairs, I measured and marked the boxes after getting the side seams figured out so they lined up correctly.  Mostly. And came out straight in the end.

It's fun to do a small project as a break from something larger, like a quilt. It gives a sense of accomplishment. 

Another little pouch completed

Hello, everyone.  I've been studying various videos on crafting, and learning a lot. Today I have completed another small pouch.

The fabric is a scrap from a pillow that was made a while back. (Red and gold is just a pretty combination all around.) The lining is quilting cotton,  also from the stash, as are the zipper and the beads.

It stands up on a flat surface. 

The flowers are acrylic beads from Fire Mountain Gems combined with some of the red perles from DSIL's favorite bead shop. The sparkly sprinkles are 2-cut Delicas, also from Fire Mountain Gems.

Another project is done

Hello, everyone.  It's completion season in the sewing room. Yesterday finished a gift, today finished a pouch that will probably be a gift as well.

The first time I made boxed corners by myself. 

The butterfly is an included design in my Janome embroidery machine. 

The fabrics are from stash...I think this finishes the blue print binding strips that were made for the butterfly quilt a while back. Cotton, of course. The zipper is also from stash.