Here are the various gifts I have made for my mom. I have added the ones I made last year.
Revisiting Gifts for Mom
Tag: Gifts
Gift Post: Couch Hackney
This is the bag that I made for Friend Julie for Christmas.
I finished this quickly back in October, which was fortunate, because I didn’t have much sewing time in October and November and December quickly became busy. When I was ready to sew, I surprisingly, found all the pieces already cut out. I don’t remember cutting them all out, but I must have at some point. 😉 It was like magic and reminded me that the prep for bags takes the longest time in terms of making the bag.
This bag matches the Mini-Maker Case I made for Friend Julie back when the mini Oliso came out. That was during the pandemic as I remember opening our gifts for each other in a parking lot! LOL!
This is one of the best Hackneys that I have made. It stands up very well. I filled it with almost all of the Christmas gifts I bought for her. It is amazing how much it holds.
I am not sure this is exactly the right color zipper, but it goes pretty well with the bag, overall. I don’t think the regular purple zipper available would match any better.
The interior is a completely different purple, actually more of a lavender.
In this version of the Hackney, I put a glitter vinyl pocket. It will be good for flat items, but does not stretch at all, like the mesh pocket and, thus, I think items might slip out. I hope not, but I thought of that later.
I am still working on making sure I put a label in each bag that I make. I was able to add two to this one.
My goal is to always put one of my AQ labels inside. I am also, every now and again, adding one of the labels that Julie gave me as part of the 2022 Advent calendar. I really like those labels. That was a great gift.
As I said, I am pleased with how this bag came out and the more I look at it, the more I want to make a Hackney for myself.
Gift Post: Book Carrier/Cover
I made this book cover for my mom for Christmas. I wanted to enter the Sew Sweetness challenge for the month, which used this pattern. I didn’t think I would ever make it as I don’t normally carry books around. Then I talked to my Mom about her book club and all the pieces came together in my mind. It seemed like a good opportunity to make sure she can take her Bible to book club (Bible study??) in a chic and personalized manner.
The Goldenrod Book Cover is one of the patterns that make up Minikins Season 4.
The idea is that you slip the cover of the book into each of the slip pockets and then zip the cover up. The handle is on the top (see above), which allows the owner to carry it. I thought it would be good to put a shoulder strap on it, but didn’t have the time to work out that change, so left it for another day.
Some of the construction is similar to the Hackney pattern– the gusset and the piece under the handle that connects the ends of the gusset. I am sure it makes sense in terms of pattern writing, but I appreciate it as I feel like I am gathering a bunch of skills that can be interchanged between patterns.
I used a piece of cork (?) I bought from Sew Hungry Hippie. They don’t have the exact color any more, so I am not linking to the product. It is called cork microfiber backing. I had some trouble with skipped stitches while sewing it. I tried different needles and rethreading. Nothing worked so I have reached out to the team at Sew Hungry Hippie to see if they have any suggestions. Writing to them made me think that I had not tried different thread. As you know, I mostly use Aurifil and have a lot of colors. Of course, I have other thread, but not in the array of colors.
It is important that I figure out how to use this material since I want to use it for the Rockstar bag. I’ll need more of it for that pattern and don’t want to fight with it the entire time.
Mom seemed to like it and I hope she will be able to use it. She really liked the rainbow zipper.
All the Gifts
Haha! I am off work for a week. While I don’t get paid, I am excited to have some time off. The YM is home, so we are doing a lot.
I will post more about these projects, but I wanted to show you all the gifts I made for Christmas and December birthdays. It doesn’t look like a lot, but I have been busy.
I feel like I sewed more than are shown here, but I can’t find them if I did.
Gift: Sue’s Kit Supply Tote
This is the Kit Supply Tote I made for Sue. As I said in the previous post about Carrie’s version, this one has a color wheel on the front.
Sue was the first one to open her gifts. Since the bags were the same and the small gifts were the same, it might have ruined the surprise for Carrie. They were both very good about it.
One of the things I like about this bag is the way the bottom comes together. I can’t use vinyl or pleather for the bottom, because the side pieces become the bottom, but the bottom comes together so nicely.
This means the stitching looks good. I didn’t match the design of the fabric as I wanted to make sure the paint chips and color wheel were prominently displayed on the sides where people could actually see them.
I am thrilled that the corner came out so well. I am going to try some Odicoat on the bottom of mine to protect it. I told them I would let them know how it went. I plan to paint it on theirs if it works out. If it ruin my Kit Supply Tote, I can always make another one.
Carrie and Sue both liked the turquoise handles. I was afraid they would be too glittery for them.
I made a couple of fabric gift bags to put them in so they looked a bit festive. I forgot to take a photo.
Gift: Carrie’s Kit Supply Tote
This the Kit Supply Tote I made for Carrie. It looks the same as the one for Sue, mostly because I used the same fabric for both of them. I highlighted the paint chips on this one and the color wheel on Sue’s.
We had a holiday lunch yesterday, which was super fun. I was hopping about the week before, because I could barely contain my excitement in giving these totes to them. I basically thrust the gift bags into their hands as soon as we sat down at the restaurant and made them open them. They seemed excited as well.
I put a few small gifts in side just because I don’t like to give empty bags.
The insides are the same on both. I designed the pockets differently from the pattern as I wanted to put two layers of pockets for added storage. On Carrie’s tote, I separated the pockets more. Both have vinyl pockets on top of the fabric pocket. The vinyl pocket is edged with some turquoise doublefold elastic.
Carrie was super excited that this bag matched her Hackney bag. 😉
Gift Post: Purple Project Bag
I am in the thick of the gift giving season. The YM’s birthday was on the 30th. Friend Julie’s birthday was on the 1st and Christmas is right around the corner. Yes, I am holding on to my hat!
I finished the project bag for Julie back in November, but as with a lot of gifts, I couldn’t show it until now. I did put in a 26 Projects post, but didn’t make a big deal out of it.
I made Julie one of these before. This is a little different. It is the Jumbo size, which just looks large to me. It is, however, larger than the large.
The quilted construction of this is the same as the Ultimate project bag, so next time I’ll just quilt a certain size of fabric sandwich and move on. The directions for that part of the project were long and somewhat tedious. I know they have to plan for any type of bag maker and Annie thorough, for sure.
Julie received her package after some drama at the post office, which is a relief. I thought for awhile that she wouldn’t get it. She also wrote about it on her blog and said some very sweet things. I was very pleased hear how she is using the smaller version I made her last year (??).
Swap Pincushion
I decided to participate in the BAM swap, which was a pincushion swap. I was a little overwhelmed with life, so I just sewed my old standby pincushion, the Clippy Pincushion. The pattern is from Love of Patchwork and Quilting, issue 39. The pattern is also available digitally in the Apple and Google Play stores. I used this pattern to make the Clippy Pockets in the UCAB, which I find to be very useful. It isn’t rocket science, so I am sure you can make something similar without the pattern.
I did supersize this one a little bit. I wanted to make it slightly larger to accommodate the cool selvedges from which I made the back.
At first I machine sewed the stuffing hole closed, but then I unstitched and hand sewed it closed. I think it looks better hand stitched.
SIL #2 chose my pincushion.
Finished: 2-in-1 Case #4
Hooray, I finished the 2-in-1 Case (#4)!
I am pleased with how it looks. I like the fussy cutting of the flower fabric (I bought that flower fabric at the Quilt Loft). It is sweet looking, though not modern at all.
I am a sucker for striped binding. I think it works. I think black and white would have been classic, but too much of a contrast with the flowers.
The magnetic snap is gold. I am not sure why I had a gold one. I don’t usually buy gold, but the brand was one carried by Joann, so maybe I bought it there on ‘spec?
I was able to line up the stripes pretty well on the snap tab. Honestly, it was a happy accident. 😉
The inside looks pretty good as well, though the contrast between the outside (sweet and flowery) and the inside (modern) is very obvious. At least the user can’t see the flowers when the case is open.
I am looking forward to seeing the last two. The photo below shows the ones I have so far.
Joelle made the red version. Cyndi contributed the blue example in the center and mine is on the right. They look so different!
2-in-1 Case Continues
I continued to work on the 2-in-1 Case (#4) and have decided that making at least two of each bag is the best way to go. This one is so much easier than the others. Still, I am taking my time.
I forgot that I thought I should use a longer zipper than the one the pattern calls for and broke a needle.
The pattern calls for 8″ zippers. Inevitably one or other of the stops gets in the way and I break a needle. ERGH!! I wrote myself a note to use a 10″ zipper or continuous zipper tape. It doesn’t matter if the stops get cut off as the binding acts like a stop anyway.
Besides breaking a needle, the case is coming together.
I changed zipper colors right before I sewed them to the vinyl. The ones I chose match the light green in the fabric pretty well. I was going to use a brighter green, but like these better.
I followed the seam allowance directions, but the section with the vinyl and the zippers was still too big. I could have ripped it out and done one part over, but decided just to center the section with the vinyl and cut off the extra. Maybe lame, but it will look fine.
The binding is on and I will hand sew it to the back.
Almost there!
A New 2-in-1 Case
I decided that 2-in-1 Cases would be great to use for the gifts going to the guild officers. I am, once again, in charge of organizing that effort. I think it is important to thank the officers, but I seem to be one of the few who wants to organize the effort. Sue and Carrie are helping, which is great. they are sensible friends who offer excellent advice.
In the past I have made large bags and then had people make small gifts to fill the bags. I didn’t have time for that this year, so I am gathering cash and gift cards. I needed something to hold cards and gifts and the 2-in-1 cases are the thing. They are useful for sewing supplies, but also the right size for cards and gift cards. I am gathering quite a hoard, so I hope they are large enough.
This strategy also means I do not have to cajole people into making large bags or small gift items. I was prepared to make all of these 2-in-1 cases, but a few people volunteered. I was very grateful for the others efforts. I am making one, as you see.
I had to take a break for some seam ripping on the Kit Supply Tote and do some handwork on the other bags I worked on over the weekend. That meant I was able to start sewing this bag. I cut it out at Sew Day earlier this month. It is going together much more quickly than the first ones.
One of the things I did was try a magnetic snap, which is recommended in the pattern. These are different than the other snaps, installed with a Snap Setter, that I used before.
Except for being quite large, I think the magnetic snap came out pretty well. The instructions in the book for installing it were a little vague, but I used some pliers to bend the arms of the snap down. That worked for me.
Finished: Disco Double Zip Pouch
I finished the Disco Double Zip Pouch, so I have another gift, not wrapped but, otherwise, ready for the holidays. It’s a nice firm pouch so my fix for the Frankenfoam worked well.
The pouch itself is quite large and with the extra Decor Bond, it is not very squishable. It would fit well into a Chubby Charmer to organize all the things someone needs to take somewhere.
If I were to make this pouch again, I might add some interior zipper pockets. I am not sure how useful they would be, but there is enough space and I think you can never have too many pockets. It would also be good to add some pen holders. As the pattern is written, you just toss things into the pouch. It would fit my Leuchtturm notebook, but then what? I just don’t know how I would use this pouch.
The handle is very useful, I think. One of the reasons I added a handle to the Hackney was that it made the bag more usable. I am glad the pattern included a handle for this pouch. The weird thing is that the zippers are behind the handle. I might add some zipper pulls.
This pouch is great if you want to fussy cut some special fabric, or use an embroidery design. The large size has a great space for a specific motif. Frankly, I am not sure how I would use this pouch, but I am glad I made it.
Another Hackney in the Wild
I took this picture soon after I gave the Hackneys to my mom. She is really great when I give her gifts. She puts them to use right away, which is very gratifying. On our trip to Portland, she had at least 3 of the Paint Tube bags with her.
This is the small Hackney. I am not sure what she was using for her pens and pencils before I gave her this Hackney. She liked being able to see them all. I am continually amazed to see how much these Hackneys hold.
BAM Door Prizes Again
Carrie is having fun making door prize collections.
This one has a picnic theme, which I think is very clever. She is using some contributions from other team members, such as an interesting pouch that Tim made. The basket is from Amazon**, but there free patterns* for rope baskets, too. They are a good project for using up fabric scraps.
*N.B. I haven’t tried this pattern so your mileage may vary.
**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
Starting Disco Double Zip
I spent some time over last weekend cutting out a Disco Double Zip Pouch. This is another pattern from Sara Lawson’s Minikins. In this case, it is from Season 2. Yes, you have to buy the whole set. The individual patterns are not sold separately.
I haven’t made this pattern before and I am not sure what inspired me. I made the recipient a Hackney pouch already, so that pattern was out. This one came to my attention and here I am! It is always good to try out a new pattern, though I do tend to get comfortable making several of the same pattern over and over.
So far, I am still at the prep stage. All the pieces are cut and most of the lining has ShapeFlex applied. I am sewing the exterior pieces to the foam at the moment, then I can start preparing the zippers.
One problem I had was with the Frankenfoam (see the glossary). Once I cut the pieces required, I felt the larger, exterior pieces weren’t stiff enough. I added some DecorBond** to the exterior pieces to make it a bit stiffer. Stay tuned to see how that works out.
Another thing about the Minikins is that I have only made one project from Season 2. Season 2 includes the DayTrip Cell Phone Wallet and was the whol reason I bought that group of patterns. I do REALLY want to make that project; I just haven’t yet. I have to admit that I am kind of scared to do so. People talk about the horrors of turning the project. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t make it. I spent some time screenshotting various versions off IG to get inspired and might be ready to work on it. Perhaps I can cut it out and go from there.
The other idea I had from Season 2 is to enlarge the Sewing Stand. Sara has a tutorial for this. I keep looking at the image and thinking that it looks larger than the one I made. Then I realized I could enlarge the pattern. It wouldn’t impact cutting it out as most of the pattern pieces are squares and rectangles. I didn’t buy templates for it and I don’t even think they are available.
Obviously, Season 2 isn’t dead in the water. I just need to get inspired and I have a little bit.
**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.