CHARM ABOUT YOU

This is one of my very favourite things I have ever made. It was a not a quick make but it was definitely worth the time and thought put into it because it is so functional and since I sew everyday and am travelling a fair bit, it will get used a lot. If you are short on time, jump to the end to watch a little video tour of my bag.

I actually finished it a couple of weeks ago but am finally getting round to blogging about it, and in a way that's better since I've actually been using it - just yesterday I finished off a little extra addition, which is one of my favourite bits because I use a lot of thread! 

So on to the bag...

I made the Everything In Its Place Bag (also called A Place for Everything if you buy the pattern from By Annie). 

The pattern is part of a class called Sew Sturdy Travel Organisers by Annie Unrein on Craftsy. I bought the class specifically for this pattern but it also includes a Hanging Cosmetics Bag, which would be useful too - I might get round to doing that at some point!

Before I actually started I did have a good look at all the lovely versions on instagram, Lisa inspired me - she's made a few of them, and this blog post by Bloomin' Workshop was really helpful. I paid attention and made nearly all of the changes.

The Everything In Its Place Bag is a great bag for keeping all your sewing supplies (or whatever!), for travelling with and to take to classes. Mine is currently filled with English Paper Piecing supplies, along with my general sewing kit.

The bag is made up of two removable 'pages', which each have one side of vinyl pockets. The pattern includes a few different options/sizes of pockets but this combination worked best for me. It's worth looking at what you would want to put in the pockets before you make them to determine the best configuration! I used holographic glitter vinyl for the pockets, which is beautifully shimmery and cute. I also chose to bind the top of the vinyl pockets (a la Bloomin' Workshop) and leave the top of the zip as is because I like all the pink.

When you construct the pages, part of the stitching from the pockets can be seen on the reverse side. I didn't like seeing the lines of thread so (where I didn't add a mesh pocket on the back) I decided to appliqué some selvedges to cover them. I also added a little hand stitching because in for a penny...

My most used sewing make has been the Portfolio Sewing Case by Kerry Green, you can get the free tutorial here and see my version here. It was her design that inspired me to add this very useful spool holder. It means I have easy access to my most used threads and also keeps them secure when I'm sewing on the train or out and about.

This removable thread holder was made by creating a base with two 2 x 11.5" pieces of fabric, one 2 x 11.5" foam interfacing (Pellon SF101 / soft and stable). Fuse the interfacing to the back of one of the fabric pieces, place the other piece on top (right sides of the fabric together), sew using 1/4" around all the edges leaving a gap in one of the longer sides for turning. Turn though, press and either hand stitch the opening closed or top stitch on machine. 

Then stitch one (or two if you prefer) length of loop tape (approx 11") to the back of the base. You are stitching through all the layers but those stitches will mostly be covered on the right side by the spools.

For the straps holding the spools I used the same measurements and instructions as Kerry's tutorial for holding two spools and made a 1 x 4.5" strip for the single spool. I stitched across the longer one in the centre to attach it to the base, and the shorter one at one end, making sure to stitch over it a few times to secure. The spacing between the ends of the strips was 3.25" - so mark 3.25" between the stitch line to secure the strap and where the press stud will be. That was what worked for my spools of Aurifil. This might need to be adjusted for different spools.

Use tiny sew in press studs to finish - it's important to make sure they are small enough to pass through your spools! 

I am thoroughly enjoying using this bag - I can take the inner page (which has the essentials and block I'm currently working on) out of the bag and fit it in my (still rather large) handbag if I don't want to carry the whole thing. Everything is in one place. When I'm at home it sits on the side table by the sofa. 

I added my initials and some stars (just because) to the bottom of the bag - to learn how, click here.



The tassel I made is the icing on the cake for me. I actually bought one to attach to the bag a while ago (before I even made it!!), then my youngest girl got hold of it and broke it into pieces. I made a new tassel, re sewed all the shells and beads together, made new pom poms and threw in a scissor charm and a sewing machine charm. It is even more me than the original one!

This bag makes me happy. It is me on a good day. It is my inner child. It is sparkly, pink, geeky, cute and original. It isn't perfect and yes I could have just bought a bag, and a much cheaper bag, but I very much doubt I would love it this much.

Pattern Class: 

Sew Sturdy Travel Organisers by Annie Unrein

Fabric used:

Main Outer - Brushstrokes by Holly DeGroot for Cloud 9 Fabrics

Lining -  I Heart Bees, Mustang by Melody Miller for Cotton + Steel

Inner pockets - Hexagon/spring/small by ivieclothco; Sleepy Eyes, Blush Background by kimsa; Square Grid - Mint by kimsa and Black white and mint mask by pencilmein. All from Spoonflower (which now also ships from Germany!), printed on Kona cotton.

Binding - Essex Yarn Dyed Metallic in Black by Robert Kaufman
Mesh and Zips are ByAnnie from Sew Hot UK

linking up: finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts

My snail is loving life, it has its glad rags on and is heading into town for a night out! With flecks of metallic in its shell and a dusting of glitter on its body, this snail is ready to boogie!

This block is from the Garden Snails Quilt Pattern by Pen + Paper Patterns and I'm joining Angie, Gnome Angel and friends for #snailday Sunday as part of the Snail Paced Slow-Along Sew-Along!

The pattern includes this bonus foundation paper pieced block and I couldn't resist that swirly shell. I enjoyed a root through my scrap bag and ended up picking out some bright greens and fuchsias mixed with black and a little bit of coral. I absolutely had to use that Brownstones, Gramercy by Leah Duncan print for the background and it pairs so beautifully with the Essex Yarn Dyed Metallic I used for the body.

This is such a fun pattern and there are lots of fabulous snails popping up each Sunday on Instagram, check out #gardensnailsquilt for more inspiration! You can join in with the slow paced sew-along any time, all the details can be found here at Gnome Angel.

Purchase the Garden Snails Quilt Pattern and create your own unique snails, there are lot of cool possibilities for quilting with this one too. What fabrics would you chose? 

This week I finished a fun make, perfect for a quick gift or to hold small treasures! It would be handy for keeping a few make up bits in too because it's made of laminated fabric and vinyl. 

The free pattern is Peek A Pouch by Laura Zuckerkuss, which she let me pattern test for her. Laura provides excellent step by step instructions and tips for working with these fabrics. The tutorial really makes it so easy!

I happened to have scraps of this gorgeous Loulouthi laminated fabric by Anna Maria Horner, that someone (so sorry I have forgotten who?!) sent me - possibly in a swap or giveaway. I literally had the perfect amount for this project, I had to be careful when cutting! I also didn't want to lose the lovely pink and yellow flowers completely because they are my favourite part of the print, so I put them on the back. 

I am full of cold at the moment and feeling a bit sorry for myself. Hopefully I can have a quiet weekend of hibernation and get some sewing done! Tonight I am finishing the quilting on my rose star quilt - I feel a little sad that it's nearly done because it's been such a long work in progress, at the same time I can't wait to take those basting stitches out and get it bound. I will be posting pics on instagram over the weekend, as well as hosting the Saturday Night Craft Along from 6pm, so make sure you come and follow me over there!

What are your weekend plans? Does anyone else feel like hibernating?!

linking up:

at The Quilt Journal this week
and finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts

There is no formula for how I work and I like it that way. Quilting is my passion and 'my time' so it is very liberating to explore my creativity freely. Of course I want things to be good but how I get there, the process, can be changeable.

When I starting quilting I stuck to patterns and fabric combinations that met the 'rules' of colour theory, general advice I got from blog and articles, and the inspiration of seeing other peoples quilts. I soon realised that lots of white space or sticking to one fabric collection wasn't me and I like odd colour combinations and fabrics that probably 'shouldn't' go together. So I mixed things up, chopped up some quilt tops, added or changed patterns to make them work for me and my aesthetic. Often it is fabric that speaks to me the most, or a cool pattern that I just have to make. From there I am now comfortable deciding on how to make it my own and the ways I can adapt it. 

Hexie Tiles  - pattern from 627handworks on craftsy

My creative process is full of contradictions though, because as sure as I am about how I want something to look, I nearly always doubt myself, wonder if it's good enough, and sometimes that sucks some of the joy out of the process of making. That is why I'm so interested in joining Collette of Poppy and Poochie for her mini series 'How to Grow Your Creativity'. She is exploring different aspects of creativity and how we can nurture it. You can link up blog posts or social media pictures on her blog - there are prizes too! This week is 'creative process', to read Collette's post and link up click here.

Glitter and shine and confetti! Fabric and vinyl and zip! That's what Laura's new pattern is made of. The Glitter It All Pouch is so good. One of those makes where you smile through the whole process. It is so fun and the clear instructions make it simple and quick to put together.

It just so happened that my friend Jayne had kindly given a LOAD of craft supplies to me for the kids (and totally helped my sanity over the summer!). Amongst the goodies was this cool letter confetti:

I mixed in some fine holographic glitter for extra sparkle and I had the perfect print to go with it, probably now unavailable as it is a couple of years old, Practice your Handwriting in Manilla Apple, School Days by American Jane.

I probably went a little overboard with the glitter, it would be more transparent has I used less but then I did shake it up to take these photos, the glitter freely moves around. I can't stop shaking it!

These would be such great gifts for kids, teens or any one that likes sparkle! You can get so many different types of glitter and confetti - you can find stars, hearts, flowers, smiley faces, Christmas, Easter, numbers, unicorns... the list goes on (and that was just a quick Google for metallic confetti!).

You don't even to have to buy confetti or glitter, remember the joy of emptying a hole punch? If you have any shiny card or even just different colours (it doesn't have to sparkle!), you could hole punch to your hearts content and use those shapes. Get creative and play!