Fabric Swap

 I've grown fond of Instagram in the last couple of years. Once I figured out how to make it work for me.

 I get posts from the immediate family that has also discovered IG, but mainly my 'friends' are other sewing peoples and, of course, my airplane peoples. My feed on IG is all about the 94% awesome inspiring photos from people who have left the politics and other stuff you should not say in polite company - at home.

Sewing inspiration, airplane inspiration and nature inspiration. IG is now one of the first things I look at in the morning after I complete my online business chores.

My facebook feed, on the other hand,  is cluttered with friends, family, old high school friends, very interesting people and the other "interesting" people.

It became a chore to read FB during election time. Facebook didn't give me too  much joy - until I discovered sewing groups. Since I comment and look at these sewing photos often, my facebook is now 65% sewing posts.

In one of my FB sewing groups, a query was sent out. One of the gals, in Alaska, home to very few fabric stores, proposed a trade. My ears perked up as I had fallen into sewing lust over this print of Sled Dogs on batik in a turquoise colorway:

You might guess that this Iditarod print was only available in Alaska.

My trading partner wanted these religious fabrics she had seen made up into a wallet from one of the other purse groups we both belong too. I found them at HobbyLobby and we quickly fixed our trade. My sled dogs for an equal $amount in the prints below.

As with all trades, adding something extra is de rigueur. I made Alaska Girl a coin purse featuring a map fabric that just happened to show both Alaska and Oregon with a backing of cork. I don't believe she has sewn with cork yet so I included a scrap as well. And I won't tell you how many yards of the map fabric happened to fall into my cart to get free shipping.

The front is vinyl to be able to see what coins you have. The back is green (sea foam) cork which gives this coin purse stability. Completed with a lace zip.

Sweet trade!


I also like IG because it offers a 2-for-1 deal of being able to post a photo on IG and at the same time post to FB.

I already received my swap with an included coordinating fat quarter of fabric to my sled dog mushers. Awesome possum.

Portland Timber Sewing

 Dear daughter is working in Alaska this winter. She's got a sweet deal baking at a ski resort with employee housing, discounted  yoga and skiing, sauna, & fun. Way more fun than I am having at my work.

Anyway, last winter, she was traversing Central America countries for five months (Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua). I couldn't send her anything as the mail is so unreliable to those countries. We made a video of us opening her stocking but it wasn't the same.

This year, I sewed her a 'disposable' stocking out of the Canby Herald and filled it will all the usual stocking stuffers I have FIVE days before the actual day. (Can you say scramble?)

 DD is the ONLY Portland Timbers (soccer) Fan in Anchorage and on my recent foray into Fabric Depot, I found some team fabric. I made her two cosmetic zippy bags with clear vinyl fronts for whatever.
 
I am actually making three sets - I have two other people who need these as well. I finished two large and one medium earlier today and I'll finish the binding on the other three (one large and two medium) on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Maybe tonight.

I had to run to the stores for the aforementioned extra stocking stuffers so maybe my scramble break will get my accurate sewing mojo back

I dislike making multiples for precisely the reasons I experienced today.
I had some bad wonder under (double sided adhesive fabric) that would not release on the second side. I had to re-cut and toss that stuff in the garbage and find my other bolt. Top-stitching problems. The machine gagging on the binding I was top-stitching which necessitated opening up the bed of the machine to unwind it  and retrieve it.

All problems associated with being tired and Christmas sewing deadlines.

I prevailed and I just need to top stitch the binding on the other two sets to make them gift-worthy.

Tomorrow is my last 12-hr workday (1 hr lunch)

For these zip pouches, I hand cut (fussy cut) the logo part from the fabric, used Wonder Under to iron on the patch and then did a tight zigzag around it. My base fabric was a dark green batik that offset the neon bright yellow background of the Timber's fabric very well.

The back side is that yellow Timbers fabric and is also bonded to the dark green with Wonder Under.  --  Ha! just noticed I forgot to take a photo of the backsides. Well - no light now.

  Clear vinyl in front and zippers from my stash at the top. Then bound with grosgrain ribbon (did not like the curves) and some black 1/4" double bias tape I also had in stash (which did like the curves!)

Everything is packed into a medium flat rate box. It usually takes three days to get to where she is. Here's hoping Santa does his part.


Our Christmas traditions really start Christmas morning. I start making my Danish puff pastry and then we open our stockings while that is baking.
We all get lottery tickets to scratch off next to the fire.
Then my husband says he will take them to the store to make sure everyone got their prizes. And we all laugh, 'cuz we never see our winnings.
We enjoy our Danish Pastry topped with icing and slivered almonds.
We finish unwrapping our gifts and then it gets busy with two stops for other family celebrations.

What are your traditions or what is your favorite part?
Wishing you a Merry Christmas.


***Update - Christmas Eve. Santa delivered. You rock Santa!

Super Quick Christmas Gifts

 I have a Christmas card and FQ exchange in one of my FB sewing groups. 
The name I was given was someone I hadn't "met" via FB (yet) and it was a little difficult to 'stalk' her.
She likes purple, crochet and she's a reverend. Not much to go by.

 Yesterday, at my mid-day work break, I went to my voodoo-hippie doc and got my christmas acupuncture and then zoomed over to Fabric Depot to take advantage of their 40% off fabric sale.

I found this vivid turquoise and purple "Tree Of Life" by Timeless Treasures for my swap partner and some purple grosgrain ribbon to trim it.

I fell in love with the scissor print and put this on the inside to easily see what's stored.

 Just love this combo and might make another this afternoon after I meet a friend for lunch and bazaar. Although, I have to sew up two pillowcases for my niece for her Christmas gift. I have a care package going out tomorrow and if I could throw those inside, it would be another item checked off my list.

This was a tiny gift for my friend who loves tiny flower vases like I do. I found these at an estate sale Friday! and knew they were perfect for her. Bonus - I was meeting up with her today. I think they call this Just In Time Inventory. lol

The pieces were made in England, marked DENMARK. There was an entire set that was very tempting, but we are both older and better able to resist tchotchkes.

She's a pocket tissue user so a little Tula Pink Rabbit made her a happy friend.

I've posted before about pocket tissue holders - they are less than five minutes to whip up - including the slow fabric selection. You can find tutorials all over.

Wallet Design

 The thing about sewing purses and wallets is eventually, you have enough techniques to design your own.

I have been seeing these wallets with the strap that secures your credit cards all year (on other people) and contemplating how hard it could be to sew one up.

Well, first, you have to identify what you want that wallet to hold:

Credit cards (5 slots) and the strap to secure them - check.
Photo ID vinyl pocket - check.
Cash pocket - mad money - check.
Zippered pocket  - for change and other weird stuff - check.
Key Ring - check.
Small enough to hold in your hand - the essentials. - check!

Some of my inspiration was from these two tutorials that I sewed up on my blog.

Thimbleanna - A Purse Thingy  which I sewed up here, and here.
I liked the back pocket and the zip pocket but it was short on credit card pockets, This is where I made my ID template for my license. Hers was too small - easy to enlarge.


Fabric Mutt - Key Pouch Tutorial.   I didn't sew this one. Her card pockets were constructed in a way that would all be the same depth and I didn't quite get this. I loved the picture of it. It encompassed the 'look' I was after. 
I recently sewed her Malibu Satchel which turned out fantastic.

 The ID pocket was perfect.
I changed the template from the original inspiration to show more of my photo ID and not lop off the address portion. Oregon also puts their ID # at the top. The vinyl is big enough to show  most of the card.

For this one, I did ironing on both the inner and outside and then top-stitched it down.

 The strap is inserted when you sew up the zipper pouch. Secured with a metal snap. The strap also doubles as a more secure way to hold this wallet.

This wallet is made with a typical zipper pouch technique. All I am doing is adding things to the sides before I sew lining to lining, outside to outside and turning it .  There's room to do patchwork or other fun things to decorate it the way you want to.

 I made two.

The second one was made because I had a lot of bulk in my seams. My credit card pockets were the entire width and I narrowed them down by doing a trim tape finish and sewing that down before the zipper seam. This allowed my lining to sit nicer as well because the giant seam was not pushing it out.

And, even though, the wallet is not long enough to insert cash flat, I still wanted to sneak another slip pocket in and did so on the ID side.

 Snuck some dragonfly's inside.

 The second one is not quite an inch longer and today, I'm gonna make a third and see what another half-inch will do.
Plus, I'm not entirely happy with fabric placement on the second. I like the airplane and postage stamp showing from the first wallet....

99% Success

Easy to hold, carries most of the every day running around stuff. Just working on the nit-picky fussy cutting.


One more thing: Small zippered pouches like this with bulky seams seem to created havoc with the zippered ends. I used this Nancy Zieman technique to create fabric ends which neaten up the zipper amazingly. (sorry - forgot to take photo of how nice it looks when turned.)