mini sew together bag

Last night, completely on a whim, I made myself a mini Sew Together Bag. I keep my epp supplies in the one I made a while back so I knew a smaller version would be a great addition to my ever growing collections of pouches I use daily.

I followed this tutorial and measurement chart to cut out all the pattern pieces (just so you know you still need the original pattern to be able to figure all the measurements out). I also read through Quilt Barn's sew together bag sew along as I worked on my pouch. Her in progress photos are super clear and a great supplement to the original pattern. They saved me lots of head scratching moments for sure :).

Ages ago, when I made my first Sew Together Bag I used interfacing as directed, but the pouch turned out too floppy for my liking. So, with my second one, I used tons of fusible fleece. In fact, I used a little too much of it which made for an extra stiff and thick pouch.

I think I finally got it right this time. I fused SF101 interfacing to all pattern pieces, and added a duck canvas layer to main panel. Worked like a charm. The finished pouch is neither too floppy not too stiff, it's just perfect.

 Oh, I love this pouch so much. I love its shape, and simple fabrics I used, and that striped binding, of course. And a metal zipper, I'm really obsessed with metal zippers these days :).

And, just for comparison, here are my two pouches. Top one is the original size with three pockets, bottom one is a smaller size with two pockets. 

Thanks for stopping by everyone. Svetlana

bowls and more

You guys, I simply can't stop!

My enjoyment of making clothesline baskets has reached on obsession level. I've already made bowls, plates, buckets, even a tote bag but I'm still not finished (and I'm not even talking about countless trips to hardware stores to buy more clothesline as I seem to run out constantly :)).

I've been so inspired and completely smitten with Doug Johnston's beautiful work. Amazing, isn't it? Who knew you could do so much with just simple clothesline and thread ?!?!

I was a little stumped at first as to how I wanted to finish my bowls as there's always that one pesky raw end of rope where sewing stops. I think covering it with leather and contrasting thread does the work very nicely.

I've always been a huge admirer of simple white pottery pieces and seeing all these projects from afar reminds me of just that :). Plus, I love how I can add some color and pattern by using different thread. Lots of thread!!! These things eat up thread like crazy.

Can you believe I found use for most of these makes already? Well, the fact that our kitties like them helps a lot, since they each get a bowl of their own :). Or do they?

Kiki still has to learn not everything she sees is automatically hers :). Silly kitten.

I think I'll just go and make a new bowl for Lola. And while I'm at it I might make one or two just for the fun of it :).

Talk to you soon. Svetlana

new pdf patterns

Hello friends, 

I'm super happy to introduce two new patterns to you today.

First is this super sweet triangular Little Pyramid Pouch. It's fully lined and comes in two sizes:

small - 4.5" wide x  4" tall x 5" deep on the bottom

large - 6.5" wide x 6" tall x 7" deep on the bottom.

I love its adorable shape and I'm especially glad that after many, many tries I finally figured out how to make it fully lined, no raw edges or even binding needed :) Small size uses a 4" zipper and is perfect for a coin pouch.

Larger pouch uses a 6" zipper and it's just the right size to keep some hand sewing supplies in. Or, as my oldest daughter says, it can function as a rich person's coin pouch :).

♥ ♥ ♥

Foldover Pouch is my second pattern for today. Again, it comes in two super handy sizes:

small - 3.5" tall x 5.5" wide when closed

large - 4.75" tall x 7.5" wide when closed.

They can both be very easily made into a wristlet (just follow this simple tutorial on how to make a wrist strap for your pouch).

I love both of these pouches and I'm definitely planning on making more as I think they will make great quick birthday presents for many of my kids' friends.

Both of these instant download patterns are available for purchase either individually at $7.00 each, or you can buy both of these patterns at once for a special bundle price of $11.00 (just make sure you chose the correct option before you check out) by clicking on the links below or by going to my etsy shop.

buy this pattern       buy this pattern      buy these patterns

Happy sewing! Svetlana

rope bowl

I came across a tutorial on how to make rope basket/ bowl on Pinterest this morning. You know what came next, right? 

I got in the car and headed to nearest hardware store to buy some cotton clothes line. Thankfully the first store I went to had the rope so before long I was setting up my old Janome sewing machine (since my trusty Juki is a straight stitch only machine) and I got to work.

I was a little wary about the whole process at first but oh-my-goodness!!! This was so much fun!

And super quick, too. 

Plus, it makes a great kitty bed. 

Funny how Kiki doesn't care a bit about her real kitty bed (which my son finds most useful for his own plays) but she'll happily stay in this rope basket :).

And, speaking of Kiki, our two months old kitten, this is what she did to my lightbox this morning. Seriously!!! As cute as she is, sometimes we feel we brought a Gremlin home :). Let's hope she'll calm down soon.

Off I go. More baskets to be made.

Wishing you all a super lovely weekend. Svetlana

pincushions

Yesterday was yet another one of those horribly gloomy, rainy, and gray days. So I decided since we couldn't go outside, I might as well sew and make myself some new pincushions. Nothing fancy, mind you, I was going mostly a utilitarian route (with the exception of kitty embroidery and a little bit of hand quilting). :)

They were quick to make and in no time at all I had these three new pincuhions. I like how simple they are, and sturdy. So wonderfully sturdy!!!

I used to stuff my pincushions with fiberfill which made them nicely shaped and puffy, but super light. Not a good feature for a pincushions since many times it meant I had to use two hands to take my pins out (one to hold the pincushion in place and one to pull the pin out). Seriously, who has time for that ?!?!

This block-y pincushion is my favorite. I used some linen scraps to make it and adhered fusible fleece to the top panel and then hand quilted it to give it a little interest and texture. I filled the pincuhion with rice which makes it heavy and stable. I must try crushed walnut shells next time. I think they will be cheaper than rice, and supposedly they sharpen the pins as well :).

Now, I'll be the first one to admit there's nothing fancy about these pincushions. But they are practical and make my sewing time more efficient and enjoyable. And that's what counts, right?

Happy sewing, friends. Svetlana

epp pluses

Last few days were super rainy and incredibly gray and gloomy. Horrible for having fun outside, but so very perfect for doing some slow and relaxed hand sewing.

Which was great since I really wanted to try out this unique template for making epp-ed pluses posted by Mollie over on her blog Wild Olive a few days back.

I even decided to cut into my precious hand printed Maze and Vale fabric. I so love where this is going. And the little "house" shape is super fun to work with. I think it brings the whole epp thing to a new, quite stylish and modern level.

 I love all these grays and beiges together. And I quite like the addition of black, as well. It was getting a little monotone for my liking so I added this bold black plus and now I like it again :)

And you know what? While I was looking for my epp supplies, I came across this bunch of colorful hexagons I made a while back (some of them are even sewn into flowers already). In all honesty though, I don't see myself using them any time soon so I thought I'd pass them on to someone who'd like to actually use them :).

Leave a comment below (make sure I have a way of contacting you if you win, so leave email address if you're a non-reply blogger) if you're interested in winning these hexagons and flowers and I will choose a winner on Wednesday evening.

Thank you all so much for taking part in this giveaway. Mr. Random chose Cassandra (comment #4) to be the winner. Congratulations!!!

Please note this giveaway is for US addresses only !!!

Talk to you soon. Svetlana

everyday tote {new pdf pattern}

Hello friends, I have a new pdf pattern for Everyday Tote to share with you today.

It's a basic, super useful, and easy to sew tote bag. All you need to make this bag is just half a yard of heavier weight fabric (linen, linen+cotton blend, or home decor fabric as well as denim would work great), and half a yard of medium weight quilting cotton.

It's a beginner friendly pattern. So, in case you wanted to give bag making a try but zippers are scary at the moment, this tote is right for you :).

I wanted this tote to be sturdy, but also easy to fold up to keep in my car or purse without adding much bulk, so I decided to forgo lining and simply finished all raw edges with binding.

I love how it adds that little extra interest and contrast to the tote. Plus, there's one super easy to make inner pocket on the inside. Pockets are always needed and greatly appreciated in my book :). I think this will make really nice library tote for our trips to the library this summer.

Finished size of this tote is 16" wide x 15" tall x 4" deep.

You can purchase pdf pattern to make your own Everyday Tote by clicking directly on the link below, or by going to my Etsy shop.

buy this pattern

Thank you all for stopping by. Svetlana

three things

thing one: I've been restless, trying to find focus and clearer vision of where I'm heading, especially when it comes to sewing, for quite some time now. So this week I re-decorated my sewing room. I always decorate and move furniture around when I'm restless :). I painted my walls and made a new cushion for the bench. I still kind of liked my old patchwork cushion, but I like this simple, quite stylish and peaceful one even more. And the piping wasn't even that hard. I must remember to add piping to my projects more often.

thing two: I sewed very little over the last week (mostly because of thing one above). One thing I managed to finish though, is this market bag from Anna's fantastic new book Handmade Style. I made a few changes to the bag mostly because I didn't have leather handles on hand. I love how big and sturdy this bag is, it will be perfect as an overnight bag for my girls or as a beach bag.

thing three: We got ourselves a proper Halloween kitten from the local shelter. We named her Kiki and she's full of energy, incredibly sweet, and so fearless. She's two months old and bravely stands up to anyone or anything getting in her way. We're all absolutely smitten with this black ball of energy, only our adorable kitty Lola isn't sure what to think right now. Hopefully they'll become good friends soon.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you all are having a very lovely weekend. Svetlana

so random {a finished quilt}

Hello friends, happy Tuesday to you all.

I have a new, totally unplanned, quilt to show you today. 

What do you think? I'm still trying to decide whether I like the sparse randomness of this quilt or not. Thankfully I'm leaning towards liking at this point :).

It's a mix of Steam Punk blocks I made a while back, some log cabin orphan blocks, and low volume prints and solids for the background.

I channeled my inner Leanne and did this dense, slightly uneven straight line quilting. Now, this kind of quilting takes time, and lots of thread (11 bobbins to be precise) but I adore its final look so I'd say it's totally worth it. And fun. And kind of meditative, too :).

 I used bright green (I think it's Kona Lime) fabric for the backing. I love how it adds such a nice contrast to the finished quilt. Plus, it shows off all the stitching so very beautifully ♥♥♥.

The quilt finished at 57" x 60" making it a nice lap sized quilt.

Thanks for reading. Svetlana