Clutch time!

The Pretty Little Pouch Swap, v 5 is underway. It's time to ship out the fruits of our labor.

Here is the clutch/pouch I made for my partner.


This one is about 12" by 8" which makes it a decent enough size to be used as a clutch purse if my partner so desires.

I added lots of pockets both inside and out and a little detachable wristlet strap.  This pouch is just big enough that it could also work as a project bag for a small knitting or embroidery project.  Pretty versatile size I think.

I added some curvy pockets to give it some visual interest.

This whole project was done in a low-volume patchwork style which seems to be the latest trend in the quilt world but seeing as I love color, I had to throw in a dash of red to spice things up a bit.  I hope you like it partner.

Here is another version I made for myself as a test run. 
I added some texture to one of the pocket panels using Texture magic.   I personally thought that this version had a little bit too much going on, so I edited it in the final pouch. 
 This design will be available as a for-purchase pattern in the next couple of months.

 Happy Sewing!

Surfs up!

 
Let's go the beach!

We'll need:
Surf board - check
wet suit - check
Rad car - check, check and check

What is cooler than a fun old fashioned woody?  I love these old cars

Surf board strapped to the top - Oh yeah.

This is an 8x10" mug rug I made for my partner in the Scrappy Mug Rug swap which had a summer theme.

Want to make your own woody?

Here's a link to the pattern pieces.

And a link to the assembly schematic and instructions.


It's another foundation pieced block and could easily be made into a 10" square if you wanted to turn it into a quilt block.

Would look equally good with print or solid fabrics.  

Here's an earlier version that I accidentally made with wooden windows- yeah that's not to brilliant is it?  Oh well, it's on my desk at work - so far no one has noticed.

If you make it yourself, I would recommend glass in the windows - or at least glass colored fabric.

Please post it in the Trilliumdesign flickr group if you do end up making it - I would love to see it!

Happy Sewing!

Adventures in dying

Vats of dye were dotting the lawn this weekend as I embarked upon a long-time goal to dye this fantastic Seed Catalogue print from Holly Holderman's Annie's Farm Stand line of fabric from Lakehouse. It's a white on white print which works perfectly for this dye approach.

I have been wanting to do this ever since I saw Jeni's post here.  Unfortunately, I needed to do it outside since my laundry room sink is teeny (aka non-existant) and there was no way I was tracking dye around my house.  So outside on a sunny day we go.

I used these dyes from Dharma:

Robin's egg blue
Charcoal Gray
Parakeet
Goldfinch
Orange Marmalade
Wasabi
Procion MX dyes - in Midnight Blue and Raspberry

Mixed up according to the directions on the Dharma Trading site - great instructions guys!
The whole process worked perfectly.

This picture shows the unaltered colors.  From the Top down are:
Raspberry
Orange Marmalade
Goldfinch
Wasabi
Robin's Egg Blue
Parakeet
Midnight Blue
Charcoal Gray



 I love the results.
Some of the colors turned out better than others. For example the darker colors really show the white printing much better. The raspberry and midnight blue bled a lot until they finally rinsed clean - way more than the other colors.

My favorite color is Robin's egg (such a clear pretty blue).  The Parakeet makes a lovely shade of aqua.  The Goldfinch turned out way more mustardy than anticipated.  I just used the standard amounts recommended for each of the dyes.  Changing the quantities and the amount of time in the bath would also change the colors. So there is lots of room to play with the colors.
 
It took about 4 hours to get these fabrics dyed in 2 batches but that was partially because I was still figuring everything out.  The 2nd batch actually went much quicker.  Totally worth the effort.  The amount of dye I made was the smallest that directions called for and I could've easily dyed more fabric if I had had it.

Fun stuff. Now to sew with these beauties!

Happy Sewing!