Bunnies and blossoms pouch

I decided to take part in one Christmas swap this year, but wanted something a bit easier than last year. The #simpleandsweetchristmaspouchswap was perfect!

The guidelines were one pouch made to your partners preferences, with a nice size limit (maximum size 15”x12”, minimum 8”x6”). The parcel could also include 1 or 2 Christmassy extras. I was given Naomi as my swap partner aka @naomic08 on Instagram. I was very happy to be making for her, since she had made a wonderful cotton and steel swap parcel for me... see this here. 

Firstly, I decided I would make one of my snappy zip pouches but would enlarge it a little. My final pouch measurements were 10 1/2”x 9 3/4”. I couldn’t decide what fabrics to choose, so I gathered a few options and posted about it on Instagram. I had been eager to use these cute bunnies and blossoms fabrics for a while and was thrilled when Naomi commented she liked them too.  

 

I went for a patchwork panel, to include plenty of the fabrics with a few cute fussy cuts too. Simple straight line quilting, 1/2” apart worked out well too. I used the strawberries for the main pouch lining and the pink lace check for the flap and zip pocket lining. I decided not to quilt the flap and am pleased I didn’t now.

I found the sweet little strawberry bead in my jewellery supplies and made a cute zip pull charm with it. I love the way this pouch looks and hopefully Naomi does too!

My pattern is available on Etsy here, if you fancy making your own version of this pouch.

 

This was also one of my finish-a-long projects. See more of my list here, and visit their blog for more details about the challenge. 

Mx

My Christmas stocking

For a few years I have seen a Christmas stocking sew along on instagram. It is hosted my @sunnydaysupply and all the stockings they feature are fabulous... I just had to make my own!

I was going to join in last year, I even started, the plan for my patchwork soon changed though and that patchwork turned into a cushion that was gifted to a friend.

Fast forward to this year and although I had too many projects already, I started my stocking again. This time I wanted to try something different and just have some fun sewing. I decided I would use the scraps I had left from cutting out a quilt. It is some heather Ross sugarplum fabrics, with cute mice! I then chose to patchwork using the quilt as you go method. I have seen it lots on instagram but not found the right project to actually try it... til now.

It was so much fun to just add pieces and quilt, although I did consider fabric placement a little. I did end up with a white patch on one side, but I still think it looks ok especially since its only the one side. I wasn't planning to do both sides, but I was enjoying sewing and had scraps left, so I figured why not?

I finished quilting both sides of my stocking and trimmed to the same size. I cut out the matching check lining, which was a big  piece left over from the same quilt.

Once I had sewn it all together, I still felt like it was missing something. I decided I'd add a pom pom trim... I have kept buying them without a project and they seemed like the perfect finishing touch for this. As it was my first time sewing pom poms, I went for a simple straight top stitch in the middle of the band. I did have to change to a zipper foot on my machine to get past the pom poms. Part of me wishes I had taken the time to hand stitch them in place, however, I think it looks neat enough to be happy as they are.

This was a lot of first times and I am so pleased with how it has come together.

If you want to see more great stocking inspiration, visit the #sunnystockingsal on instagram.

Mx

a two colour twist ....

I made this 2 colour variation of the basic boxed bag (step by step tutorial here). You must first decide what proportions of each fabric you would like, as you can create a 50/50 split or just have a little of the second fabric showing as I have here. The main thing to remember is to add 1/4" seam allowance to each piece to allow for the joining of the fabric. For example, a finished size of 10" with a 70/30 split would require 1 x 7 1/4" piece and 1 x 3 1/4" piece for each side. The fabrics should be joined using a 1/4" seam allowance before the pattern pieces are cut to shape and assembled. The other thing to be aware of when creating a two colour piece is to make sure the joins between the fabrics line up at the seams when sewing the front and back together. The two colour version is therefore slightly more advanced than a single colour bag, but provides opportunity to play with mixing different coloured and patterned fabrics.

Mx

tweet tweet...

I thought I'd share some more of my hand stitched felt key rings with you. I found a template on pintrest and printed it out. I then used this to cut the felt pieces to make the birds. Each one has two pieces for the body and two wings, I used a different shade of the coloured felt for the wings and chose embroidery floss to match. I laid the pieces out with a wing on each body piece making sure they were facing the opposite way so they would come together to make a bird. I then secured the wings with blanket stitch on the blue one and backstitch on the others. I added French knots in black thread to create eyes. I then stitched the two body pieces together using blanket stitch. Once part way round, I added stuffing to give the birds some shape and secured a loop of ribbon to attach the key ring and completed the stitching to close the gap. These were nice easy shapes to cut and sew, so they would be perfect for beginners !

 

Mx 

alex the elephant!!



inside



 

I used the alex pattern from the debbie shore bags galore cd-rom. i used some elephant and matching spot canvas fabric. I added a pop of colour by using red fabric lining and webbing for the handles.

this project was quite easy to make and only required a straight stitch, which makes this perfect for a beginner. i chose to add the magnetic clasp and a inside zip pocket shown on the pattern. To keep it simple you could leave these out.

 

I hope you like my new make...

 

Mx

hoot!!

i hand-stitched this cute owl key ring from some felt. to make a pattern i used the SU! owl punch to cut a piece of paper. i photocopied this to enlarge to the size i wanted. (i think that keyrings need to be big enough to be able to sew and stuff but not too large for general use.) i cut all my pattern pieces out in felt and used some embroidery thread/floss to attach the appliqued elements. when i was happy with my design i attached a loop of ribbon to the back piece of felt. i blanket stitched the 2 pieces together, leaving a small gap to be able to stuff it. (a nice padded effect is good, but do not over stuff). once stuffed, finish the blanket stitching to close up the gap and add your keyring to the ribbon loop.

more felt projects coming soon...
 

Mx