A New Favorite: Aneela Hoey’s All In One Box Pouch

There’s another birthday for my #birthdayclubhandmade in July, and when I saw the recipient’s inspiration board for the Heather Ross mini swap, which included hexis of a few munki munki prints, just a few photos down my Instagram feed from Aneela Hoey’s new all-in-one box pouch pattern, I knew it was a match made in heaven!

I’m usually good about giving away the things I sew. They’re sewn with a particular person and his or her tastes in mind. This pouch, on the other hand… I had to talk myself into packaging and shipping it. Guess I’ll have to make a second one for myself!

The pattern itself was well-written and easy to follow. I especially liked her method of boxing the corners, where you cut the fabric BEFORE you sew it — that was novel to me!

It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of sewing curved lines OR zippers, so combining the two was a bit of a challenge. (“A curved zipper?! What have I gotten myself into?!!”) But I didn’t even have to rip out the seam. I’d say it’s a project for an enterprising beginner or an intermediate sewer. The only seam I had to rip was the one with the pouch tab at the top. The thick layers caused me to sew a little crooked, and instead of stopping and fixing it right away, I thought I could fudge a little bit. The moral of this story is DON’T DO IT, haha.

I like that there is ample space inside the pouch but also some clear pockets for smaller items you want to be able to find quickly. It’s been a real pain finding my thimble and needle when I take my La Passacaglia quilt with me to a coffee shop. I also like the simple back pockets for storing things as you work. I might keep my mini scissors in the bag when I travel, but it will be nice to have a quick place to tuck it as I spread out my project. I love the pattern, and I think the finished product is a success!

Father’s Day Gift – FREE Pattern

Last year, I posted about a wrench pouch I made for my dad. He travels a lot for work, so I thought it would be a fun way for him to feel closer to family while he’s on the road.

Did you know I made the quilt block pattern available for FREE on Craftsy? You can download a copy here. (You’ll need to sign up for an account, but it’s free to sign up and the pattern is free to download.) You still have a week until Father’s Day this year if you want to make your own to gift to an amazing dad or handyman in your life!

If you want to turn it into a pouch like I did, the pouch pattern is also free and is available here (from NoodleHead).

Pink, pink… YOU STINK! (and the not-so-stinky Swoon)

The subject phrase prompted dear old Mom to prohibit my sister and me from saying the color “pink” for a week. (A quick successor of “Blue, blue… you too!” caused her to proclaim that ALL colors were banned UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE! Oops.)

To be honest, my feelings about the color pink at the time were about the same as my feelings about my younger sister (whom I now love dearly): I loathed them both. And the reasons were the same: over-saturation. I spent all my free time with my sister. And my bedroom, decorated by my mom, was entirely pink and white! I am more of a “can we keep adding more colors until we puke?” kind of person. (Hence, my first attempt at quilting is known as the Ugly Quilt, which used an unrestrained palette.) I have since been sympathetic to the plight of baby girls everywhere–that urge for parents and friends to swath little girls in the color pink, whether for love of the color or simply to avoid having to tell the millionth well-wisher, “My baby is a GIRL. SHE is one month old.”

All that said, I want to like the color pink. I want the freedom to reach for it to balance out other colors in my quilts. I want to be able to incorporate a novelty print that uses pink as its background. So I decided to push myself. Some of our closest friends are expecting a baby girl in a few months. I wanted to see whether I could use the color pink in a quilt I didn’t hate. And I succeeded! The palette is actually pink and blue, but I think it’s still clear that the quilt is for a girl.

The Swoon quilt block pattern by Thimble Blossoms is available here in a variety of sizes. I also have the mini version. It was really simple to sew. I was impressed that even when I wasn’t taking my time, everything seemed to line up just fine! Great pattern.

Since the couple lives in NYC, I also wanted to incorporate the place of the baby’s birth. The backing fabric is Great Gotham by Samarra Khaja and depicts the five boroughs. Isn’t it adorable?! It’s out of print, so snag some if you see it!

One final note: I used the quilting bar on my new Janome machine, plus the Accufeed quilting foot. WHOA. I always wondered how quilters got such perfect rows and even stitching. Yes, it’s possible to replicate these things on a less advanced machine, but it is WAY easier and looks WAY more professional if you have the right tool for the job! I’m still so thankful for my awesome machine. It sews like a dream. AND IT’s NOT PINK, haha.

Tudor: Twice!

I made a Tudor Bag late last year for a birthday gift. It was the first bag I’d sewn, and I enjoyed it so much that I decided to make my mom a Tudor Bag for Mother’s Day. (You can buy the pattern and read the pattern maker’s blog entry about the bag here.)

I did a few things differently with this bag compared with my last bag. First, I installed the optional shoulder strap. It was extra-special for me that the hardware came from a trimmings store in NYC; I knew I would make the bag enough ahead of time that I was able to grab the items on a trip early in the new year. Second, the closure on the front of the bag has a zipper instead of a metal clasp. And third, I added a “bonus pocket” to the back of the bag — with no closure for easy access. (I accidentally aligned the pocket with the bottom of the bag, rather than the top of the purple trim, so it was shorter than I’d planned. Oops!) Fourth, I added purse feet. Fancy! Finally, I redistributed the widths of the interior pockets.

Perhaps the best feature of all? It goes with black! All the girls in my family wear way too much of it.

One final little perk I included was a pink flamingo notebook from Rifle Paper Co. Rifle is one of my favorite companies. When I was in Orlando, Florida, for a work event a few years ago and had two hours to kill before my return flight home, I decided to do something that would give me a sense of the local flavor. I am a nerd who actually looked up local stationers and found that Rifle was in nearby Winter Park, Florida. I figured I’d drive on local roads, check out the area, and buy some gorgeous paper yet besides. I arrived to a decent-sized space that was recently opened. The clerk was friendly but still new enough that she asked my opinion about whether a certain product should go “here” or “there.” I’ve been the biggest fan ever since. So when I was planning a trip to NYC a few weeks ago and saw on Anna’s (the illustrator/owner) Instagram account that she was attending a launch party for her recent collaboration with Le Sportsac, I jumped at the chance to say hello! Isn’t she gorgeous? Friendly, too.

And guess what?! I snagged a sold-out pouch online in advance for my sister since I knew they’d go quickly at the event. I’ve been congratulating myself for about a week now. 🙂