The Lone Starburst Pouch

Now that Rebecca has (finally) received the pouch I made for her for our mini-swap, I (finally) get to share it! This was obviously a very long time in the making...I actually started with this... 

 

...a Fancy Folded Star.  I love how it was turning out, but it was just too bulky to make into a pouch.  I had to come up with a new plan so I searched for something with a similar textured kind of look...enter The Lone Starburst! I found the tutorial at Six White Horses for this block.  I felt like it still had the same feel to it as the folded star, but much more appropriate to use in a pouch.  I wound up shrinking the pattern by 50% which made the paper piecing quite tricky, but it was fun to put together.  Luckily we had a little sun this weekend so I was able to sneak in some decent pictures.

I finished it off with some hand stitching around the star, I think it gives it a nice textured look. 

Check out my zipper tabs! Not perfect, but getting better...I still can't quite get them totally squared off.  Any suggestions? 

Finishing the back is something that I floundered on for a while and is probably why it took me so long to finish...I didn't want to overwhelm the pouch with another patchwork something-or-other on the back, but I didn't want it to be plain either, so I did some more hand stitching in an angled pattern to give just a little bit of interest. 

I finished the whole thing off with a matching key fob...I have recently become obsessed with these and want to make them with any excuse I can find so of course she had to have one...

I had a lot of fun making this, I was pretty nervous at first to try to come up with something that Rebecca would appreciate (and to make it good since she is so talented!), and in the end I really like how this turned out.  It was definitely out of my comfort zone a little bit what with all the hand stitching, but I think I'm improving! Maybe soon I will break away from just the straight quilting lines and try some other embroidery ;-)

I am linking up with Katie at There and Back for The Handmade Parade this week.  Always a good place to go see what some other people are up to for some hand stitching inspiration!!

Happy as a hipster llama...

I just completed my first swaps, and couldn't be more happy with what I got in return! Firstly, I had my mini swap with Rebecca...She made me a mini-quilt, and holy cow llama did she out-do herself!! When she first posted that she had gotten this llama fabric, I told her how much I LOVED it and she decided to incorporate it into my mini, and she did such an awesome job. I am in awe of not only her sewing skills, but her design skills as well! (Prepare for picture overload, because I am that much in love with this mini)

I've decided to name him Ferdinand...I had a few names in mind and this one was recommended by Rebecca as well, after sitting with him for a little while, I definitely think it fits. 

Um...so I apologize for the terribly out of focus picture...but here's Ferdinand in his new home

 

Hipster Ferdinand and his hipster hats....

The backing is very pretty also, I love the design the quilting made on the back.  

To top off this already awesome package, she also sent me some pretty fabric to make something for my soon-to-be-born baby girl, how sweet was that?  Can't wait to come up with something for her :-) If you want to read about her design process, check out her blog about it here. 

I also received my gift from the Modern She Made Swap, my first "official" swap.  I received this amazing bag from Karen at Sew Well Maide, how lucky am I?! She totally nailed my tastes and did such a great job on the bag. It seriously looks so professionally made, and she designed the pattern herself!! I had expressed that I wanted a tote bag to carry my embroidery stuff, and this bag totally fits the bill.

I LOVE the fabric choices she made for this, totally me!! 

And check out all these great extras she threw in...a cute little matching needle book, some embroidery thread and an Amy Butler charm pack...can I just tell you how I've always wanted to get my hands on some Amy Butler fabric because I think it's so pretty, but have never been able to bring myself to do it?  It's like she read my mind!

Here it is already loaded with some stuff...check out all the room in there! That's a 12 inch hoop and it looks small in there compared to how roomy the bag is.  There are lots of great pockets and dividers also, it's very well thought out.  

Once Rebecca has received her pouch I will share that (I'm a slacker and got it out a little late...), I had my doubts in the process of making it, but really like how it turned out.

Now, a question for all you wise quilty-types....do you pre-wash pre-cuts like you would normal yardage?? I have this charm pack now, and also a jelly roll I bought a while back, and I'm afraid to wash them and ruin them! So any advice would be much appreciated :-)

Tropical Storms = Sewing Time

This weekend was perfect sewing time...not only did I have a three day weekend, with hubby being gone one of those days, but it rained pretty much the ENTIRE day Monday thanks to Tropical Storm Beryl...it was fantastic.  We desperately need the rain around here, and it was a great excuse to sit around in my yoga pants all day sewing my lil fingers off.

Thanks to this marathon sewing, I was able to check a few things off of my list (oh, and rainy days + mailing deadlines = bad pictures, I apologize in advance...):

My package for my partner for Modern She Made Swap is all ready to go! (I even had a small box that I received a few books in from Amazon today that was JUST the right size...score!)

    

In addition to the bag, I also made a little key fob and zippered pouch. I am working on putting together a tutorial for the pouch as well! 

I also completed my blocks for do.Good Stitches. I really liked how these turned out and they were really easy to put together.  The block is called Radiant Ring, and we used the tutorial at Don't Call Me Betsy to make them.

I also got some progress made on a few other items, but having these two things ready to put in the mail tomorrow is a HUGE relief...I was starting to feel the pressure of getting it all done! So big shout out to Beryl for helping make it happen. 

In other exciting news, I just read about the Purse Palooza (I keep wanting to call it "Pursealooza"...doesn't quite have the same ring to it, does it?) that is being held through June at Sew Sweetness.  Now, as you might already know, I'm pretty obsessed with making bags, so this is right up my alley.  I have a baby bag that I'm just getting started on cutting pieces out for, and plans for The Chelsea Bag by Vanessa Christenson, totally perfect timing! I realized while planning these bags that I've never actually made a bag for my self, though I've made plenty of bags as gifts! I think it's high time I make some for myself, don't you??  

I hope you all had a fun, relaxing, productive holiday weekend! 

Swappy time!

Oh hey guys! So nice to see you again...have you been as distracted as me from doing anything BUT entering giveaways this week!? Kind of glad its over now so that I can get back to actual sewing, lol. (I can't only blame SewMamaSew Giveaway Day though...I also just discovered The One Stop Giveaway Shop, where Diane and Rachael find giveaways and post links to them, or if you are holding a giveaway you can fill out a form to be listed...I'm totally addicted...)

Anyway, I did manage to get some work done on my Modern She Made Swap item in between all the entering of giveaways and discovering LOTS of great new blogs, thankfully, cause this puppy's gotta get mailed out next week! I toiled for a while over what to make...the rules called for something with circles. Could be anywhere in the item, but had to include a circle somehow.  As this was my first big swap, I was feeling the pressure of trying to figure out something to make that my partner would enjoy, so it actually took me a few weeks until I felt comfortable enough to post anything to start with...

This is what I started with (without details as to why...because this hasn't been sent yet and my partner could be reading this!! ;-) )

Idea one involved an improv pieced circle supposed to be a tree...

Idea two was for some "port-hole" type things with some fun fussy cutting....

And I went with...

A combination of both!! I like the fussy cutting idea, but the port holes were too much within my comfort zone, and I really wanted to do this swap to push my boundaries a little bit.  I do not have much practice with improv piecing (to be honest the idea of it makes me mildly anxious...) so I decided to go that route.  At first I wasn't sure about it, I almost wound up scrapping the whole thing, but once it transformed more into the "tree" I really started to enjoy it. 

I appliqued it onto a tote bag (yes, I AM obsessed with making bags, so this part certainly wasn't out of my comfort zone...), made with a nice natural looking linen.  Turns out, linen is alot harder to work with that I had anticipated. I had the hardest time squaring it up and getting straight cuts, it kept getting all wonky on me! I love the look it has though so I will definitely be trying some other stuff with it (so ya know, if you have any tips on this stuff, help a sister out!!)

I ended up making the bag reversible, because I love items with multiple functions so it just had to be done...

I love the two sides...the outside is very fun and whimsical to me, while the reversible side is a little more classic and neutral. 

I also decided to add some hand stitching to the tree to add some interest. This was my first time hand stitching, and in true Jess fashion I started with absolutely no plan (ok...I had a plan to start with, but I totally did not stick to it what-so-ever)

I used some chain stitching to give the tree base some texture, and then just some straight lines around the tree in increasing size/distance...it reminds me of a radiating sun and makes me have warm happy feelings about this bag!  I don't think my hand stitching is very accurate, but for a first time I'm pretty satisfied with it. 

I really hope my partner enjoys this, I wound up having a lot of fun creating it! By the end of the weekend I also hope to be able to share my item for my mini-swap with Rebecca (or at least a sneak peak of it anyway...) and, if all goes according to plan, I am also hoping to have a tutorial! (There, I announced it, now I *have* to do it...right?) 

I'm linking up this week with Handmade Parade at There and Back...click the button below to check out some other great handstitching projects!