Double Zipper Pencil Case

Interior fabric.

 Turned inside out. Almost reversible.
Actually, I like this quilted fabric as an inside too. Still have more of it...

Still turned inside-out.

A close-up of the gusset.
Very easy to add but not gonna work for a coin pocket in a wallet.
It's attached only in the side seams. Keeps items from falling out...

Sundays sewing had a little hiccup - see following.

Christine Welsh

Yesterday at 5:51am · Edited

Silly Sausage Sunday! DO share with us your most silliest sewing, completely goofy mistake you have ever done, in the comments below! wink emoticon I'll pick my favourite story about this time tomorrow and that silly sausage will WIN a pattern of choice from my shop!

Chris W is a purse designer from Australia and she posted the above Sunday morning.
My response that afternoon was:
Katydid Green OMG I regret reading this post this morning. Going outside now for a time-out.
 

 It should not look like this.

My time-out:
I did go outside. In our windstorm, branches and pine cones flailed out of the trees which we picked up between small rain showers. I have missed the rain. It has been four months since we've seen any rain here.
Then I came inside and did my juicing chore. Now I am all set up with my green juice for the week.

  I flipped channels on the tv and found a OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting) Simon & Garfunkle pledge concert. Ripping out stitches to Simon & Garfunkle - well I can't recommend it enough. Old favorites to sing along to.

It went very pleasantly and I did some other hand-stitching as well until the concert was over.


Now it looks like the bag I won this last week.

I used some Japanese quilted fabric as my outer fabric. My lining is also from Japan. The red & skinny black stripe is stash as is the skinny black piping. I also used a double zip because it works very well for this bag.

This bag is just over 8" in length and about 4" high.  This is very cute and the inside finishes are similar to my son's ditty bag albeit a little smaller overall than his bag. This pattern is on my to-do list with oil cloth and a slightly bigger profile.

Pattern is here:Zipper Pencil Case with side gussets

Red Letter Winner

 I'm having a pleasant weekend.

I won a blog giveaway recently from Red Letter Quilts.
I'm new to reading Heidi's blog and she had a giveaway to celebrate blogging 200 posts!
And I won.
 

 Such a nice little bag filled to the gills with happy fabric. Heidi asked my preferences and of course I replied, "airplanes and aqua/turquoise colors".

 Included was a lot of fabric, several with sewing themes, a key fob and she found a fun airplane fabric.

Sweet.
Muchos Gracias!

 

Look at that gusset up there. I need to make this bag and then maybe the one-sided gusset in a coin pocket will make more sense. This is a sturdy bag with piping that stands up on it's own.
 

Happy Day.

And it has been. I have my time off work and it's free time. We were planning to fly our Stearman to a much anticipated airshow in Madras, Oregon. Due to forest fires, interesting TFRs (temporary flight rules), rain forecast, and possible high winds -- we changed our plans.

On a snarky/funny/weird note, letting the union handle my time off battle was wise. Very wise.  Missy union told supervisor off to the point where supervisor talked to me on Wednesday afternoon in a chatty/perky manner about how she never intended me to think my leave was cancelled, and la-dee-dah, the world is pretty nice.   Smart me just looks at her and says nothing. {Bet'cha you can't tell what I was thinking though???}

Dear daughter is coming home from Ketchikan this weekend so I will get to spend time with her before I go back to work.

This morning, Creative Girl and I took in several garage sales with successful results.
She bought like a gazillion chairs for her shop. I found some more sewing stuff: patterns and fabric.



RunningwithRocket is at 740 posts published over 7 years.  I should have a giveaway someday soon. I'll have to mull over what to give away.

Fair Premiums

 Another successful fair year here in Canbyland.
This foxy pieced pillow earned Class Champion. Woot!

 I made this Monopoly table topper many years ago and decided it was time to move it on. You can buy it here in my etsy shop. This was my successful effort at making a square from obviously printed off-grain and off-kilter fabric from Joann's. I had to do some strange manipulations to get the three fabrics to behave. I also made the tassels on the four corners.

 This airplane tote won a blue ribbon

 As did this Bella Wallet

 My chickie hotpad won second in the potholder class.

 All seven of the items I entered.
I won ribbons on five.

 So much fun. They are all listed in my etsy shop, RunningWithNeedles. When I sell these handmade items, I include the fair ribbon.  A little touch of fun-ness.


So - work stuff: Getting my time off - thanks to the union. Supervisor is still wanting to argue it, but seriously - so not my problem.

We are probably not going to Madras this weekend. Not only do we have forest fires (smoke) to contend with but there is another long-range forecast for rain - which may or may not happen. {{no rain in over four months except for piddly drops here and there that evaporated before they hit the ground}

I'm fine with this. I got to go flying last week and it really lightened my load. I am so zen in my head right now.

Oh - yes! I won $16 in fair premiums this year. Double WOOT!

Opal Creek

A couple of weeks ago, when my sis was visiting, we hiked up to the waterslides on Opal Creek.
These are natural waterslides carved out of years of water running through the steep ravines that make up the watershed of the creek. 

The water is clear and gorgeous, set among old growth fir trees that were put into federal  protection mode in 1996. The fir trees tower above you, shading you as you walk a gravel road in an almost 8-mile easy hike. Not too much change in elevation.

When we pulled up to the parking area, it was obvious, this is a popular spot to the locals who know.  Once we entered the walking trail, it was also obvious that there are many shallow spots along this creek to play. 

Nature has rounded off the rock bed under the creek and snow melts have created shallow pools, deeper pools, and of course, the waterslides.
Even though the water was low in August, there was still enough water to propel you down.
The most crowded area was the trail.

Each of my videos are only 3 - 8 seconds. Fun to watch. Wish you had been here with us.























A really nice video by our Grant McOmie tells you more.

A lumber company back in depression years tried to log some of the old growth but went bankrupt when two of their trucks fell off the road. The road up has been much improved since then. It easy to appreciate the steep ravines as you drive up.

I think I saw also that this creek is one of the few undammed creeks in Oregon and there are native cutthroat running up to the sawmill pool (two miles in on the trail). We saw lots of little fingerlings up at the waterslide as well as some larger fish.

Coming back out, (our feet recall the gravel trail well), we watched a young man and his girlfriend do a 30' high dive off a rock protruding over a deep pool. Somersault and everything. Beautiful day.

Almost forgot the stills:

 

High diving pool from atop big rock

See it from this bridge.  Nice trail.

Mine shaft

Miners

Big as a house tree roots

Jawbone Flats. yes.

Another waterslide blocked by washed down trees.

This pool is the one in above photo. Another deep pool to dive into from center right.

Opal Creek

Want To Go Flying?

My husband called me at work to ask me if I would like to go flying.
Instantly, all the work crap faded away.
I hustled my butt through the next 45 minutes. Skipped my break I was due too.

 This is the bend in the Willamette River where Canbyland sits. Unfortunately, we have wildfires making the skies all hazy. I tried for a photo of Mt. Hood. It has very little snow pack left but it totally disappeared into the horizon haze.

The rivers are all low, nothing interesting with contrast except these photos. Those wires connect the two wings to the fuselage, a.k.a. flying wires.

At work, we still have someone on vacation, and the other remains off work because of a car accident. Myself and the remaining clerk have been seriously overworked these last two weeks with limited help from other offices. The bosses continue to disregard all good management practices. Since February, all the weeks have been filled with overtime. Not to mention being the poster child this spring for daring to take three days off sick after I got back from Japan.

Is it stressful? Unbelievably so. I cannot make this stuff up.

My little time off which resulted in 12 weeks of postal drama is still not done, although I seem to be on a back burner. I was all set to quit and find another job when I got into yet more trouble (that I actually could not get into trouble for) and the union was called in and Missy Union talked some sense into me. I have less than three years before I can 'retire'. If I stick it out, I take all my vacation and sick leave (it's easier to work sick than take sick leave) and other benefits with me. We all know how fast 2 1/2 years speeds by.

I asked for next weekend off for the Madras Air Show back in June. The supervisor never gives our request for leave slips back but it is understood if you don't get it back unapproved within 24 hours it is assumed to be approved. Today? I have a note in my cash drawer that my leave has been rescinded (because the car accident coworker is still out on leave).

Like the supervisor sits ten feet from me. 

A note?

 I'm pretty sure I will win this - I am calling my union rep tomorrow and let her do the battle.

So.. ...long 13 hours days with weird lunch breaks (depending on the day) for last two weeks, leave for next weekend rescinded and the hubby called, "Do you want to go flying tonight?"

All mushy thoughts right now.

Colleen's Retro Velcro Wallet

My cousin, 18 times removed*, wanted a pink velcro wallet.

She was tired of trying to find her wallet at the bottom of her bag. I told her I would make one for her. About a year ago.

I bought the supplies awhile back at RCT Fabrics.

Her hubby just got a permanent job and they are moving from relatively close by to much further away. This was the kick in the butt I was waiting for.

***Her mom is my mom's niece which makes me and her 'cousins'.

 I made the pattern myself after searching fruitlessly on the internet. I did find some inspiration.
The angled pockets are from this tute.

However, she didn't have a closure. Decisions about velcro or magnetic snaps had to be made. She did have a hint of making everything bigger and trimming later and this worked with my outer and inner fabrics stretching a bit.

Her card pockets all had the same depth. She had three and I thought why make separate pockets if they are in the same stack....

Velcro (trimmed narrow) on right edge before grosgrain ribbon

 A couple of months ago, I made duck tape wallets for my nephews. It's basically the same system.
You make an outer piece.
And an inner piece. You make sections of card pockets, slip pockets, etc. Then you use bias tape/grosgrain ribbon to secure them together.
You have to decide what you want to include before moving onto the next step.

I wanted a gusseted coin pocket but could not find out how to add a gusset to the left hand side under the zipper pull without pulling out my hair and making ugly sewing decisions. I made a simple inset zipper pocket instead.

If anybody has seen instructions for a side gusseted coin pocket, let me know. They are almost always in RTW wallets. I'll need to buy one to disassemble....

 

 Top part is inside. Bottom is outside of outer. I placed an ID pocket on the middle outside section as well as a hidden pocket (because I could). My thinking was not having to open the wallet to show ID and a CC could be placed behind that as well for purchases while out and about but not needing to flash everyone with the wallet contents.


To apply my grosgrain ribbon, I used my new (back-to-school) glue stick and smeared that on the grosgrain. Then I used my wonder clips to help hold as glue set and I sewed.

My second inspiration was this tri-fold wallet post on CraftPassion.
It wasn't quite what I was looking for but it did have a zippered compartment plus the same measurements as above which helped cement mine at 9.75" wide by 4.5" high. The inner part is 4.25" high..

 The outer is a non-fraying thicker then Ripstop fabric. My inner - do you know how difficult it was to find PINK? - is a gridded taffeta that I love but it frays like crazy.

 My third inspiration was this wallet on etsy. I loved the super zigzag stitching.
It looks very manly - balancing out all the pink.

Giant money pocket. Will fit all bills. maybe even an i-phone. lol

I still wanted to break up all that PINK and found this dragonfly. He ended up a little to the right but I was getting kinda silly in the sewing room by then. I'm happy she's flying this wallet.



Last few notes::
I did add some sf-101 interfacing to the taffeta. With a press cloth. Almost melted it in one place.

I had some 1/4" dark pink double fold bias tape I used up for the individual sections of pockets. I didn't have any pink that was wider so used my black grosgrain which is an awesome finish for fraying fabrics. It's also a little tougher on the edges than bias tape which would wear through faster.

 I don't know why I added the elastic cord loop except it was in the sack of materials so I must have had another inspiration somewhere. Not sure what you would hook on there but it does look awesome so maybe it's just 'the look' I was after.

Four hidden slip pockets. One under both card sections. Another under the coin section and a final one under the ID pocket. One can never have enough pockets.


We'll see if Colleen can use this or not. No pressure. It was fun to make.


forgot to mention:::colleen is the only gal in her household.

Twelve Hour Days

Last night, after a long day at work, I came home to find hubby doing his biennial checkride in the plane. To keep your pilot's license current, one must perform several activities: Medical check up, touch and go's, annual maintenance on the plane.

I grabbed some potato chips and zuniga's salsa, turned on the misters, and sat outside on the patio to watch him practice his take-offs and landings (touch and go).

My poor hanging baskets are back on flower after some serious chemical spraying for cutworms.  They do love the misters, as do I.
I have discovered that not only will the misters cool off the patio to 'comfortable' on a hot day, they also keep away the yellow jackets and flies as we eat.

No sewing here. One of my co-workers is off getting her daughter married and another had a car accident which has created even more hours for my paycheck. She was mostly shook up but has taken the rest of the week off and we aren't sure about next week.

I was able to see (mostly by accident) the Perseid meteor showers as I headed off to work in the dark.

I have a couple of posts planned about what I did while my sis was visiting. The videos finished uploading today and now I just need to do some cutting and pasting into a blog post with maybe some words. Too tired tonight, so I will skip a few days over and leave you with my very pleasant evening last night.