Zakka-Style Amy-Style - i heart bright linen!

hey! remember how excited i was about buying Rashida Coleman-Hale's book Zakka Style at the Sewing Show? cause Lindsey at LRStitched and Amy at Sukie: Don't you know who i am? were coordinating a sew-along?

yeah, i haven't been keeping up with that, what with the bee blocks i've been catching up on.

until this week!



this is week 5 of the sew-along, and Kerry of Very Kerry Berry made up a super cute version of the 5th project in the book, the patchwork pencil case.


i sewed up one pencil case on monday, the day that Kerry posted hers, and i even took pictures right away!



i used recycled blue linen for my case, from a pant suit set i thrifted a few months ago. when i bought it, the lady was all impressed about the deal i was getting for the brand that it was... i don't think she was that happy when i told her i was going to cut it up and make a quilt out of it!



for the patchwork accents, i used two polka dot prints that i picked up in abbotsford the day of the FVMQG sew-in.



and i lined it with grey kona. do you like my background? ha! that's the leopard print towel i use to pad my ironing board. adding a towel makes a HUGE difference in how smooth my fabric ends up. it's like magic!

and did you notice the pens in my pencil case? the Pilot FriXion pens? have you tried them? what do you think?


but back to the pencil case itself!

so i made one, i took pictures of it right away, but then i didn't post it... because i COULDN'T STOP MAKING THEM!



is this not slightly excessive?


i started out making one for a dear friend, using leftover shirting fabrics.



(do you like my photoshop attempt to show the inside and the outside in the same photo? i haven't quite mastered the magic wand, as you can slightly see on the side of the upright case, but it still looks pretty good to me!)


after i made that one, i thought i'd make for his partner, who's also become a dear friend. i always think of pink when i think of her, and i had this fabulous fuchsia linen. i paired it up with purple polka dots, and decided that i might as well make two, if i was making one!



but then i started thinking about how their home is decorated in more natural colours, if still vibrant, and even though *I* always think of bright pink, that might be more about her personality than her style. and i also had this lovely rusty orange linen...

so i made two of these, with a bit of a sunrise colour combo.



i didn't sew a strap for these ones, i used a strap off of the shirt that i was recycling for the linen. i redid the topstitching to match, and then used several yummy sketchy prints for the patchwork and the lining.



that would be enough pencil cases for anyone, but then i thought of the My Precious QAL, and what's more precious in my world than Melody Miller fabric? so i made a set of Ruby Star Spring pencil cases too!



i made these ones a bit longer, because i saw that some folks were using them to hold their rotary cutters. when i tried that with the cases i'd already made, i didn't think they were quite tall enough. i couldn't quite make up my mind how long i wanted the flap to be, so these two are just an eensy bit different from each other.

i lined them in a great lime green linen that i bought as yardage. i kinda want to do a full quilt with it! i made my closure band using the selvedge, which made me start thinking about all the fun pencil cases that i could make using selvedges... but no! i must stop the obsession!


however! i did discover a few tricks, in case you wanted to make your own!

tip #1 - the instructions tell you to trim your patchwork band before you topstitch it, but i'd topstitch before you trim. that way, if your machine is cranky for the first few stitches (which many machines will be, since it's 4 layers of fabric), you'll trim off the wonky stitches.

tip #2 - you might not want to trim the band at all, if you dislike the slight gathering on the flaps on my pencil cases. or, i think it would be super cute if you widened the end of the flap, creating even more gathering through the band!

tip #3 - if you're using recycled linen, or really, any fabric with a looser weave, i'd suggest stay stitching the section where you leave the opening for turning. that is, sew a line in the seam allowance of the opening to prevent it from stretching as you turn the case right side out.

tip #4 - even with staystitching, i still think moving the opening from the base of the flap to the side of it makes it easier to get a smooth line. you can make it larger, if you want, which will lessen the stress on the opening as you're turning it.

tip #5 - if you move the opening to the side of the flap, you'll need to either handstitch it closed or else topstitch more than just the bottom of the flap. i chose to topstitch my entire flap, even on the first few cases when i was still turning it through the bottom, just because i think it looks better. plus, if you start and stop on the back, your backstitching isn't as obvious. bonus!

of course, you could just follow the instructions in the book, cause they're pretty darn good too!





oooorrrrrr.... if you perhaps didn't want to make your own, and you'd rather have one of mine.... leave me a comment! which ones are your favourites? i'll draw a name at 11:59PST next Sunday, May 13th, and i'll send you your choice of case. (except the shirting one, it's already reserved, but you knew that)


think of it as a bonus for reading all the way to the bottom!


what should i do with the rest of them? i'm thinking that a few of these might end up as guild doorprizes - they'd be fun, wouldn't they? i'll save your favourite for you, don't worry!

Birthday Giveaway!!!

hey! guess what yesterday was? my birthday!


do you give yourself presents for your own birthday? i usually treat myself to something, though more often than not, i end up getting cash from family anyway, so i can justify the treat.

this year i bought myself a cute vintage kitchen table. formica, of course, with a nice wide chrome band. it's still in my car, due to the plumbing issues/kitchen renovation that has yet to start, but i'm very excited! i started eyeing it as soon as i saw it, but it was more than i could justifiably spend on a table, especially when i already have a table, ugly though it may be. my patience was rewarded by a 50% off sale, and i snapped it up! it came back from manitoba with me, disasembled in the back of my car, and sofie seemed to enjoy perching on it during the trip home.

i also gave myself the gift of time - though it hasn't happened yet. my current bag is the one i made in the summer or 09, when handmade nation premiered in vancouver. i've replaced the straps twice now, and it's hanging together by threads.

i've been hoarding my ruby star rising stash to make a bag out of, and i finally decided to try using a pattern, rather than make it up myself. i purchased the noodlehead 241 pattern, which i'm sure you seen around the interwebs, it's ridiculously popular, and i enlarged it, because the original is much too small for all of my crap. of course, i haven't gotten to it yet - so that's my present to myself. i'm setting aside all of the things that i'm super behind on, and i'm going to sew just for myself for a few hours - after xmas, of course!


that's all very interesting, but i'm sure you're wondering "what about my present?" you're not? that's very nice of you! however, i did promise you a giveaway, didn't i?

i meant to get this posted yesterday, on my actual birthday, but i decided to sew up something else to include, and time got away from me. i sewed and relaxed for most of the day, then continued a tradition started last year and went into the city. i stopped by spool of thread and hung out with henry for little bit (still no kona medium grey though, it's backordered. so sad!), and then went to one of my favourite places, rhizome cafe, for dinner with some of my favourite people. my family came, along with treasured friends who i count as family, and it was a really wonderful evening.

and then i went home and sewed up some of the new fabric that i got at spool of thread, just for you!



so here's the giveaway!



you're eyeing the books, aren't you? i don't blame you at all, i was so excited when i found them!


there are three japanese quilting books. they vary in complexity, and are numbered 1-3. the first has simpler projects and the basics of patchwork, the second includes a bit about handquilting, and the third includes more detailed projects, such as hexies and blocks with y-seams. they all have super cute projects in them, and pattern templates printed in the back.


now, the books aren't in english, obviously. they have tons of illustrations, and the measurements for everything are included, so i'm sure you'll be able to figure them out. however, the measurements are in metric, and i know a lot the folks who follow this blog are american, so i'm including a little teddy bear measuring tape that's in centimetres. cute, huh?


i wanted to make something for the giveaway as well, so i went with something useful.


are you surprised? i'm kind of on a coaster kick! i'm still working for a tutorial for the xmas ones, by the way. if it's not up tomorrow, it'll be up right after christmas.


these coasters are a bit different, because i didn't do the appliqued hexies on the front, but i stuck with the hexie shape. i used some of my precious ruby star spring (are you seeing a pattern? i love melody miller's designs!), buzz, in the tomato vine colourway.


the back is part of the same fabric, and i purposely didn't make them all identical, i cut them from various parts of the print, just for variety.


and what did i pick up at spool of thread?


fun, isn't it? i was tempted by this print when it came in, but i wasn't sure what i'd use it for. the scale was perfect for this project, so i finally had an excuse to buy some. it's called love flowers, from the house & home collection by benartex.


i made a little flex frame change purse out of it, topped with black kona, and a matching blue kona for the lining.


i was so excited when i found the flex frame/internal spring frames, i had to use one for the giveway!


and what's a giveaway without sweets? i'm including some canadian chocolate too. i know that some of these can be bought in the states, but trust me, they don't taste the same. i always feel bad for you americans and your chocolate! if the winner is canadian or british, this isn't super exciting, i know, but i'm sure you'll still enjoy it.


so!! giveaway guidelines!!

- leave a comment on this post to enter. tell me something! what birthday traditions do you have? do you get stressed about your age, nervous when you hit the big ones? have you sewn anything for yourself lately? have you ever used a flex frame, or any other kind of frame for purses? have you seen any cool tutorials lately? share a link? are you a fan of melody miller's designs? are you as excited about ruby star shining as i am? typewriters!!!!

- leave another comment if you're a follower, old or new!

- and leave another comment if you link to the giveaway on your blog, on twitter, facebook, etc.

- giveaway ends December 30th 31st at midnight, PST. that gives you all a bit of time after the holidays to get caught up on your blog reading. (i'm extending it cause i forgot how many days there were in December!)


have fun!




oh! wanna see my table? here's a peek, from when it was in my grandma's garage -

i love it!