Here is the last Cork I Spy pouch I made at Retreat. The lining fabric is one of my favorites and I just had a bit of it left. I had just enough for the large lining piece.
In general for the three pouches, I found the cork to be easy to sew, but not easy to turn. If (when?) I use cork again on an I Spy pouch, I will definitely round the corners. I think it will make the project much easier to turn.
All that being said, I thought the corners looked fine when I finally did get the pouch turned. I gave these to some work colleagues and they loved them.
This 2-in-1 Case is for my Mom for Mother’s Day. I cut this out at Sew Day, I think, and made it at the Retreat.
I forgot to put the foam inside. I did adhere fusible batting, so it has some structure, but it floopier than the others I have made.
I really had trouble with the snaps. I used the Snapsetter and found out that it has to be on a hard surface. The folding table that made my Retreat workstation was not stable enough so I had to redo the top cap twice. I think the bottom part may come off if she isn’t careful, so I’ll have to warn her.
Mom’s 2-in-1-Case – inside
I think she could probably use this for non-sewing stuff in a tote bag or in her purse. I am sure she will think of some way to use it.
I got her a bigger and better gift also, which makes me not so worried about the snap.
In all of these cork I Spy projects, I used 12 inch zippers even though the pattern calls for shorter zippers. It is much easier to cut down a longer zipper after the zipper is installed.
I really like highlighting some good fabrics in the window of the pouch.
I also bought this fabric at the Granary on my birthday. I wasn’t planning on buying pillowcase fabric that day, but I saw it there and got inspired. Strike while the iron is hot, right?
May the Fourth Be With You pillowcases
I thought it would be a better choice than some kind of Veteran’s Day fabric. I suppose I could have chosen Cinco de Mayo themed fabric. Lots of choices there. I have an image in my mind of pillowcases covered in avocados!
Both will be home soon so these are the last for these boys. I’ll have to send them a care package occasionally next year.
I bought some cork from Sew Hungry Hippie to make the YM a pouch. A lot of cork arrived, though I didn’t think I bought that much.
Cork I Spy – large #1
I had to make some gifts so I decided to use the cork. I cut the lining before I left on Retreat, but did everything else at the Retreat. I could have made more complicated pouches, but I needed to get these done. This one has a super cheerful lining.
Yes! Another Hackney. I still think I will get sick of this pattern, but I am not sick of it yet and I still want to try to make the finished product better.
This is another version of the large size. I still haven’t tried the small or medium yet, though now that I have cut out a small bag, it is time.
Amanda’s Hackney – top
She loves animals, but I didn’t have any animal fabric that I thought would suit, so I used the coneflowers. I wasn’t sure about the yellow zipper, but it makes the bag look really cheerful. The zipper is more of a sunshine, or orangey-yellow than a neon yellow and that helps a lot.
Amanda’s Hackney -handle
The zipper came out a little better this time. I used the washaway doublestick tape** for putting in the zipper on this one. I think I just have to use that tape each time.
On a note about tape, Sew Sweetness has the new ByAnnie washaway double stick tape. I bought some to try out, so stay tuned for a comment (maybe a review??) about that brand.
I had to add a handle. I think that is de rigeur now. It makes the bag more useful.
Amanda’s Hackney – lining
Amanda’s Hackney – lining
I made the inside cover a little different this time and I think I will like that option best. I used doublefold elastic to make tool or pen holders. I talked a little about how I sewed the tool holders to maximize the space available for storage in a previous post.
All in all, I am pleased with this one and hope Amanda likes it, too.
**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.
I have made good progress on this bag and am in the last stages of putting it together. I am amazed since I really didn’t think I would have time to work on it when I last talked about it.
Amethyst Bag – happy accident
First, this ‘fussy cutting’ came out pretty well. I didn’t really fussy cut it, I just took the opportunity to put it together in a way that looked like I had fussy cut. It’s a happy accident.
You can also see how this bag is starting to shape up. I have the front cover and inside pocket assembled and the gusset installed.
So far, the bag goes together in a fairly straightforward manner. The prep of all the various parts is making the assembly go relatively quickly.
I know this should come as no surprise, but I am always surprised. Perhaps I have come to terms with making handles and sewing bits and bobs together before the actual bag assembly? Who knows.
Amethyst in progress -inside out
In this photo, you can really see the dimension of the bag. The picture shows the exterior top and the exterior gusset. The top is pushed down and not the way it will end up when finished. It was like that for top stitching.
The elastic I bought that came the other day looks really good with the Tula fabric.
I used a blue zipper instead of green, because I only had one 40″ zipper and that was it. I think it looks pretty good, though a green would have been better.
Amethyst – inside front cover + gusset
The other side of the piece in the photo (right, above) looks better than I expected. It is the inside front cover. I thought it would be a bit wonky, but it isn’t. Hooray!
The vinyl isn’t difficult to work with, but it does add layers. Thickness can be difficult to work with.
I put in a new needle and held my breath. Everything was fine.
I am waiting on a parachute buckle to finish. I didn’t want to use a black one, so I got one off Etsy and I think it is coming from Siberia or somewhere. That wasn’t my intention, but sometimes I miss the location from where things ship. 🙁
I tend to make Carrie and Sue the same pouches with slight differences. They are good friends and I think that they were great students.
Color Wheel Hackney – Sue – interior
So, as I made a Hackney for Carrie, so I made a Hackney for Sue. In this case, the exterior fabric is the same, but cut a little different and the interior fabric, zippers and other detail parts are different. I made the interiors different, but still relating to being creative. I am excited about the interior. I also fussy cut it and am pleased with the fussy cutting. It is super fun.
Color Wheel Hackney – end (Sue)
This one also has a handle. As I said before, they are useful.
I wasn’t sure if I liked the way the handle and front panel interacted – the way the fabric motifs overlapped and interfered with each other, but I think fussy cutting the top draws the viewer’s attention to that space and you don’t see the mashup of motifs where the handle is attached.
The front of the front panel (which is a gusset) looks really good, I think. That little piece of color wheel is appealing.
Color Wheel Hackney – Sue
As I said with Carrie’s Hackney, Sue’s also goes with her Boxy Clear Pouch. You know I love to make sets of bags.
A long time ago, I promised Alison a bag to give away as a prize at the retreat. I thought I would finish the Brocade Peony Ultimate Carry All Bag and give that to her, but I ended up not doing that.
Amethyst Case – process – top
Finally, I decided to make an Amethyst Project Bag. This is a bag you can put pieces of a project into and keep them all together. It isn’t huge, so you can’t put yards and yards of fabric in there, but templates, most rulers and cut pieces would fit very well.
It is not a Minikins project, but it is a Sew Sweetness pattern.
Cutting bags at Sew Day
This is one of the projects I talked about cutting out at Sew Day. It is pretty amazing, to me, at least, that a project can move from a pile of cut pieces to something that is starting to look like a bag in a few hours.
Amethyst Case – in process – bottom
I haven’t finished. In fact, I have only made a start. I hope that I will have enough time to finish it before the retreat. Yes, I waited until the last minute, but I have had deadline after deadline I have been trying to meet. I know they are self imposed deadlines, but they are still deadlines for bags I wanted to give as gifts.
The bag is not exactly square. It is 14.5 x 13.5 x 3.5 (depth). I could only orient those giant peonies in two ways. I chose the other main panel for the top because one of the peonies was close to the center.
Amethyst Case – in process – inside pocket
I wanted to make a bag that would be appealing to the guild members. I hope this Tula Pink fabric appeals to many of them. I had planned to put some piping around the edge, but decided I needed to make one first before I started really messing around with the design.
Speaking of messing around with the design, I did make this inside front pocket instead of the short mesh pocket and the two pouches called for in the pattern. I like to see what is in my pockets. I am not sure this came out 100% perfectly, but I think it will work. I used the directions for the pages from the A Place for Everything v.2 bag as guidelines for this pocket.
I normally like to make the bag at least once first, but I don’t have the time.
I finished my most recent class with my fabulous students, Sue and Carrie. I had planned to make them each a Hackney for Christmas with this great Carrie Bloomston fabric, but moved the gifts up to be ready for our end of class lunch last Sunday.
Color Wheel Hackney – Carrie
One of the reasons I chose this fabric is that it matches another pouch, the Boxy Clear Pouch, I made for them. the fabric is fun and cheerful despite the dark background. Because I can’t stop teaching, I also wanted a reminder to them to use their color wheel. 😉 Finally, this is great fabric. Doesn’t it look like an explosion of color?
Color Wheel Hackney – end (Carrie)
This Hackney is like all the others. I have added a handle to this one and think that is a standard addition I will make to all the others I make. Having a handle is useful. I am not sure why Sara didn’t include one in the original directions. Perhaps the pattern is intended to go into a suitcase or something? Regardless, I think a handle is useful.
Color Wheel Hackney – interior (Carrie)
I am particularly pleased with the fussy cutting I did on the inside bottom. Don’t those pencils look great? I measured very carefully to get the whole pencil on the bottom and am thrilled with how successful I was.
I am still not 100% happy with the mesh pocket. I think it is useful, that is not in dispute, but the construction doesn’t appeal. The zipper tabs end up being too thick. I made a vinyl pocket on the Sugar Skull Hackney. I think it came out ok, but I wasn’t concerned about the final topstitching. My next test will be making pencil loops on the top. I’ll see how those come out.
Color Wheel Hackney – filled interior (Carrie)
I have put a few things in the bag including some Adagio tea.
As mentioned, I sewed all the remaining pillowcases at once when I made the Valentine’s Day pillowcases. I didn’t want to miss sending them out after the Valentine’s Day pillowcase debacle.
I bought this fabric at the Granary on my birthday. It isn’t exactly Easter-ish, but I thought it would be better for college boys. I didn’t want the pillowcases to be too girly.
Easter pillowcase 2023
I have to say that I am getting a little short of fabrics for cuffs. I have a few more nieces and nephews going to college in the next few years, so I guess I have time to stock up.
The boys seem to appreciate getting something in the mail. I am not sure how they feel about pillowcases exactly.
SueS asked me to make scissor cozies, as mentioned. I forgot to post about Maria’s. I made one for her before. I didn’t have the same fabric, so I picked out some coordinating fabric, so the two would go together.
Maria’s Scissor Cozy #2 – interior
I am really pleased with the interior of this one. It came together very well and the stripes look nice.
I closed the bottom with a machine stitch. The handstitching looks better, but I didn’t want to spend the time
I started another 2-in-1 Case almost immediately after finishing the first one. As mentioned, this is an easy bag and I wanted to get it right. This one looks a lot better and is more functional.
I was pleased with the fuchsia binding. I thought it was a less distracting choice than the black and white, though I do like a good black and white stripe.
I made certain to the get the closure in the right place. I used a slight different process to sew it on. I put the female half of the snap in then, before sewing the tab to the back, I snapped it together. This helped me align the tab with the female part of the snap on the front. Then I pinned the tab to the back and sewed it down. Somehow the measurements in the pattern didn’t work for me.
2-in-1 Case #2- open – in process
I used the same fabric for the inside as I did in #1. It’s a nice bright white. I am pretty sure I bought it with Amanda when we were out shopping in Portland one time.
I used longer zippers as well- 9 inch instead of 8inch, as the pattern suggests. I had to be careful not to hit the metal parts, but the zipper was fully enclosed in the tabs and the binding, which looks better. I will probably use a longer zipper next time and cut off the excess. It seems like a waste, but then I won’t have to worry about that metal zipper end. Hitting with a needle is no picnic.
Almost done then I send it off to be wrapped for the guild door prize.
This project started off so well and wasn’t difficult. There was one crucial line missing from the directions that threw me off.
That line was “Remember, this needs to open like a book”.
It is perfectly usable. It would work very well for someone who was left handed. As you can see the opening is on the left. If the directions had said “Remember, this needs to open like a book”, I think I would have been able to better picture the directions in my mind. Instead there were a lot of words describing flipping the exterior in different ways, which was confusing.
2-in-1 Case #1 interior
Also, I used a snap instead of the magnetic clasp called for, which I know had an effect.
I also added a piece of foam in addition to the fusible batting. I like the heft. I might try two layers of fusible batting next time. Yes, there will be a next time. I think this is a useful pouch/booklet, but also not difficult, so it is a good item for a door prize.
Despite the problems, I found this a fairly easy project. It also gave me practice in using my Snap Setter. I always wonder what my DH thinks I am doing when he hears me pounding away. I am always amazed that the tool doesn’t break.
