A Devon Pouch

I'm not a perfectionist, not really. I did tear the zipper out of the first pouch I made for the Sewtopia Swap, twice, but I'm not a perfectionist. And yes, if you were reading closely, you caught that "first" I put in front of pouch. Which strongly implies there is, in face, a second. And if you caught that, you would be right, but it doesn't make me a perfectionist, it really doesn't.

The thing is, I was just really questioning the pouch I made. It wasn't my best work. I didn't like it. I tried, and I thought I was making good choices, but it just didn't work. First, I accidentally cut the embroidered panel too narrow, so I had to make the pouch more narrow than intended. Well, the actual first was the fact that I chose the wrong color thread for the dark linen I embroidered. But, instead of redoing it at the time, like an intelligent person, I persevered. I reasoned that sometimes things don't seem like they're going to turn out until you're done and then they're fine! I reasoned that it was a gift for a random person I don't even know and it was very possible they would LOVE it. I reasoned that if I made a matching chapstick key fob, and filled the pouch with extras, it would make up for the deficiencies I saw in the pouch.

But all the reasoning I could muster couldn't change the fact that I did not like the pouch I had made and I felt badly giving something I did not like in a swap. 

So, I made a new one.

Pouches really don't take all that long, I probably spent more time talking myself out of making another one than I did actually making another one. 

I tried to do better work on this one. I added tabs to the zippers on the top. I used good fabric (even though it was all scraps). I did all the right things. 

And I love how it turned out. If you did a blind swap right, you shouldn't want to give away what you make, and that's exactly how I feel right now. 

I have to keep telling myself, I can make another one. I can make another one 

I used the Devon Pouch pattern by Sotak Handmade and it went much better than the pyramid pouches. I used a Rifle Paper Co print for the focal fabric on the front, a natural linen for the exterior, and blossom fabric from Riley Blake in green for the interior. I have more of all of it, so I really can make another one if I feel so inclined. 

I'm so glad I went ahead and did it.

And now, I'm starting work on my Super Secret Swap project. 

Spoiler: I decided to make MYSELF a super secret swap project 😂

I was going to sign up, because I want to fully participate in Sewtopia. BUT, I decided that instead, I'd just make exactly what I wanted for myself. So I'm making a Sandhill Sling and I'm using the good fabric, including a floral canvas by Rifle Paper Co for the focal print on the front and a cute stamp print from the Bon Voyage line by Rifle Paper for the interior. It's going to be GREAT. And I'm going to buy myself the treats I would want as extras and take them for myself. Yes, it's fun to get surprises picked especially for you. But I wasn't sure if I'd be up to it enough when sign ups happened, and I didn't dare sign up. Of course, I'm doing loads better now, but I didn't want to risk disappointing someone else. Plus, when I looked through past hashtags, people have gone NUTS on their packages and I didn't want to spend $50+ on extras alone. 

So, I'm making a swap package for myself. :) I think it's brilliant. 

I'm in the first prep stage and I always remember at times like this how much I hate interfacing. It's my least favorite part of sewing bags. But, it gives good structure, sigh. Hopefully I'll have a finished bag to show off before too long!

Mid-February Already?!

I don't have any big quilts to post but I have finished a few things, and I'm expecting a couple quilts back from the quilter soon. I have one at my custom quilter's, and she texted a week ago that she was getting started on mine, which is exciting! And I have one at my regular quilter, that is waiting in line for an edge-to-edge. I also have a finished top that I need to decide what to do with; do I want custom quilting, or just a regular panto? Decisions...

Other things I've been working on are pouches for Sewtopia and belated teacher Christmas gifts, which I'm helping my girls sew and which are not done, yet. They are now cut out and pinned, but getting girls to sew when they don't want to is hard. 

I am really excited for Sewtopia, even though I'm going alone...I keep crossing my fingers my friend will get a ticket, but so far she hasn't had any luck on the waitlist. :( I want to participate in the Sewtopia Swap, and I thought it would also be nice to make little pouches for my tablemates, since I don't know anyone...so I've got those done. 

This is the pouch I made for the anonymous swap. It didn't turn out as great as I'd hoped; I used the zipper I had that I thought matched the best among my stash, but it's too light, and the fabric I embroidered on is too dark for the thread I chose. I did use a cool Tula print for the lining, the same one I used to make a chapstick key fob. I hope it's good enough even though it didn't turn out like I'd hoped; I'm finding I'm having a hard time judging because it's different than my expectations.

And these are the pouches I made for my tablemates. I tried the large one first, because I wasn't sure how large it would really be, but it was too big, in my opinion, so I made three of the smaller ones. It's a tricky pattern; I used Sotak Handmade's pattern, and I don't know if I'm doing it wrong or what, but I end up with fabric that isn't completely stitched down. It's basically enclosed, and I guess as long as you don't wash it, it'd probably be fine, but I handstitched it closed because you could also see the stitch lines for the other side through the gap it left. Shrug. It's not my favorite pattern, I'm pretty disappointed, actually. But it's okay. I got them made, and I think they're cute! The fabrics all came from scraps, so score!

We had sewing night last weekend, and I also got a bunch cut out for my Candlelight quilt, so I'm looking forward to starting to sew that. 

Fabric Friday Week 43: February 16

I'm still figuring out my next quilt and one that I've been toying with is another Candlelight quilt, designed by April Ronsenthal, but in color. She emphasizes the value gradient and that it's important to the look of the quilt, but I kind of want to try a color gradient instead. The pattern assumes you're using single cuts, and I don't have any cuts large enough for the fabric requirements, so I pulled out several pieces that are close in color to each other. I'm not sure if this will work or not, I printed out a coloring page for the pattern so I can try it out with colored pencils first. We'll see,,,I've cut it out, and I hope it turns out as pretty as I think it will!