Lola pouch
Showing posts with label Lola pouch. Show all posts
Lola pouch ~ collaboration
My sewjo seems to take a wander every now and again. Like anything, occasionally the motivation eludes you. Sometimes you have to ride it out and wait for inspiration to spur you into action. Oftentimes I will start with a smaller make, a pouch or cushion to incite my creativity and make a finished project for that sense of achievement.
I was thrilled to be asked to join Judith Hollies for her #justjudecollaborates over on instagram. Along with Judith, myself, Svetlana Sotak, Stuart Hillard and Kerry Foster will be making each other patterns to create finished projects throughout July. You are welcome to follow along each week and make with us! You can find out details about which patterns we are making on Judith's post here. Follow along on instagram for the details and reveals each week.
Our first project was the Lola pouch by Svetlana Sotak. Her shop SotakCo on Etsy is full of gorgeous bag and pouch patterns. I have followed her blog for a long time and have made a couple of her patterns, the Lola pouch is one of my favourites - you can see other versions of the pouch that I have made here.
I excitedly got to picking out fabrics from my stash, knowing this pouch was going to be gifted to my friend Michelle I wanted to chose fabrics she would like as well as picking a combination I was happy about. It's always a factor for most makers I assume but texture has become something I focus on more and more. Rather than use all quilting cottons I wanted to give each part a slightly different feel.
Lola pouch ~ swap
Honestly swaps make me a bit nervous, what if the recipient judges my sewing or worse doesn't like what I've made for them. There have been occasions where I haven't taken part in swaps because of time constraints but then I feel left out. Knowing I could focus on one small make, I jumped in to join the pouch swap for the Purple Stitches Sewcial Retreat which was this past weekend.
Despite the worries, it's actually made easy when you join a swap as very often you are asked what you like / dislike and you are given those responses for your partner. It is lovely to swap handmade and I like to create something for a specific person - partly because I enjoy the challenge of picking out fabrics, sort of like a stylist!
As an aside, helping people chose fabrics was one of my favourite parts about working in a quilt shop. It's interesting not choosing what you might pick but what you think that person would like. When making this pouch it was a bit of both, in a swap it is nice for the make to have a little bit of your style in it too.
two favourite pouch patterns
I've been sewing a lot of small makes recently and I want to share two brilliant pouch patterns that are easy to sew, useful and great as gifts!
First is the Lola Zipper Pouch by Svetlana Sotak. I have made these before and it's such a clever design with well written instructions. I picked a fun Riley Blake glasses print for one and did a double sided version with Gramercy by Leah Duncan and a bird print (no idea what it is sorry!). I used metallic canvas by Cotton + Steel for the bottom and the gorgeous Petite Plus, Black and White by Cotton + Steel for the binding on both.
These makes were sent out to friends as happy mail this week!
The next pouch pattern is a new one by Laura, from an Instagram mini tutorial she did for the See It All Pouch. So fun and quick to make! These could get seriously addictive!!
Sewing with vinyl can be tricky but I had no problems making these. If you find your vinyl sticks to your machine foot then try using a piece of tissue paper between the plate and the vinyl and/or the vinyl and the foot, it tears out easily.
Another tip is if you have creases in the vinyl, very carefully hold your iron over the crease (not on it) and give it a burst of steam.
I like that you can see everything in these pouches. The tops are a little floppy compared to the vinyl so next time I think I will add some interfacing between the fabric. Check out #sewitallpouch to see all the gorgeous versions of this pattern.
It's also fun playing with zip colours and I love how these pop!
And in personal news, I'm so thrilled to finally have my braces off!! You can see my big grin in my new profile picture :)
Tomorrow is my Nan's 98th birthday and me and the kids are going out for lunch with her and my Dad, should be another good day!tradition ~ le challenge ~ dresden lola pouch
I picked some of my very favourite fabrics (most of which are scraps from my green tea and sweet beans quilt) and then realised I had no clue what I was doing. Luckily I had an Easy Dresden ruler (that I won from Lisa in 2012, about time I used it!!) and found this tutorial for using it, really easy!
I got to work, with little help from my lovely assistant - she reminds me of a flower fairy in this picture!
Then I made a circle to appliqué in the centre, I basically use this method - although I do a running stitch around the edge of the circle to baste it slightly before putting the foil on. It also helps hold the seam in place while you appliqué.
Then I had to do something with it! So I made a bag using the Lola pouch pattern by Svetlana. This is such a well written pattern with clear instructions and I adore being able to have a binding on a zip bag, it gives it such a gorgeous finish. She has directions for two sizes of the Lola pouch in the pattern, although my dresden was too big and not wanting to cut it off I just made the bag 4" taller. It's pretty big but all the better to fill with stationery ;) I will definitely sew more of these and am itching to make a matching small version!
Excuse the stray thread in the picture above and the fact I haven't rinsed off the blue pen from my embroidery below! This is making and blogging with three kids around ;) Actually it was the kids watching Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium that inspired me to add this quote from the film. An excellent quote and nice reminder. I really enjoyed the film too!
I used Joy Mesh, Gossamer by Sharon Holland for the main fabric; 50wt Aurifil #2375 for the appliqué and quilting as it perfectly picks out a hint of pink; and the accent fabric / binding is Make Patches Shabby, Maker by AGF Studio. I used one strand of black embroidery thread for the quote and 12wt Aurifil #2214 for a bit of hand quilting on the centre circle. A pale green zip for a little pop of colour and I like that it adds to the retro feel.
I could not love my large Lola pouch more! I enjoyed making a traditional quilt block and creating something new with it.
Head over to Le Challenge to see what other people made based on the theme 'tradition'. If you have a finished project (all types of crafts welcome) that fits the theme and was made in the last month, come and link up for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop!
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