Small pouch with flap

I do like making small gifts for my friends particularly when they have a special birthday. I really like this Lynette Anderson embroidery design which uses simple stitches to great effect and the little blue bird is delightful.

I have lined the pouch with blue fleecy fabric and my friend is using it for her reading specs.

The method for making up the pouch is very simple and I made another some time ago which I use for my rotary cutter.

This one is lined in cotton fabric and I like the way that it closes with the flap tucked under a ribbon loop.

And here is a bit of a tutorial for making a similar pouch. All the measurements can be changed to suit your own requirements.

You will need:-

Pouch fabric front – 4" x 7"

Pouch fabric back and flap – 4" x 10½"

Lining fleece fabric – 3¾” x 16½” (make this a little longer if you’re not using fleece)

Wadding – 2 pieces slightly larger than the pouch fabric pieces.

A piece of ribbon ¼“ longer than the width of the pouch fabric pieces.

I have made my back from two pieces of fabric so that the apples are always up the right way when the flap is closed - how's about that for forward planning?!!

The fabric pieces are laid on the wadding and quilted, then excess wadding is trimmed off and ¼“ of the top front edge is turned in and pressed.

The ribbon ends are sewn onto the sides of the front approx 1” down from the top edge.

Lay the pouch front and back  right sides together matching up the short bottom edges.

Sew these together along the sides and bottom keeping the top edge of the front still folded.

Fold the fleecy lining fabric right sides together to make a pouch just a tiny bit shorter than the outer fabric one. There is no need to fold the top edge of the front unless you're not using fleece for the lining.

Check the size of the flaps and adjust as necessary so that the lining flap is a tiny bit shorter than the pouch fabric flap.

Put the two flaps right sides together and sew around. 

Trim across the corners for less bulk and turn the right way out. Turn the outer of the pouch right ways out also, and slip the lining inside.

Top stitch across the top front edge of the pouch by hand through the lining and the outer fabric and top stitch around the flap.

This is a link to a page of printer friendly instructions with line drawings.

So much quicker to make than write about I assure you!!
Happy Sewing - Anita x

Sue Watters at Flowerpatch

I was so looking forward to the March meeting of Flowerpatch Quilters with Sue Watters giving a Quilt Talk, having seen some of Sue's quilts at the exhibition by Shipton Quilters at Cowslip Workshops in the autumn. The evening did not disappoint! 

Sue brought along as many of her quilts as she could fit into the car and as each was unfolded and displayed they were greeted by the members with smiles, murmurs of approval and even gasps of delight. It was so lovely to be able to inspect each one up close and to ask questions of the maker. Many had been beautifully longarm quilted by Sandy Chandler, amongst others, as Sue much prefers piecing to quilting.

These are some pics of sections of Sue's quilts that I took on the evening.
Most of the fabrics that she uses are subdued in tone

and these two are beautifully delicate in their colouring

As is this one - can you see the way that the fabric has been cut to make the interesting border strip?

This was a prominent feature in Sue's quilts as you can see in this pic

and this is the applique centre of the quilt above

again such careful and thoughtful use of pattern in the fabric with fussy cut petals and centres, etc.

We all really liked the cotton reels / spools - a great design for all those scraps. Each block is just 3" square.

Thank you Sue for a thought provoking and inspiring evening. We will all be looking at fabric through enlightened eyes.

The next meeting is on Thurs 14th April when we will be making a small fabric picture of a harbour. Please bring along your sewing kit (to include a needle and tacking thread, pins and scissors) and also some small scraps of fabric.

And a reminder about the exhibitions at Cowslip Workshops this Easter - not to be missed

 - Anita x

Making Donuts!!

Well! I never thought that I would ever be doing Hexagons and English Paper Piecing, but Karen H of Faeries and Fibres has me hooked. I always like to have some hand sewing on the go to keep me awake in the evenings when the TV is on and this fits the bill perfectly!
These are some "donuts" that I have made.

The sides of the paper hexagons I used are 1" making each hexagon 2" across. You can print off some templates with this link to Love Patchwork and Quilting.
I have fussy cut the hexagon fabric to make the patterns and this one is even more exciting as the design is foundation pieced onto the paper hexagon before the six are sewn together.

I have loads more to make for the chair throw that I hope they will become (and a big decision about the centres), but I think I've worked out how I will put them together. I have added small diamonds to the edges turning them into BIG hexagons

And they will fit together like this - hopefully you can see the three diamonds that make the hexagons where the donuts join.

I have had this edging piece of Moda fabric for ages and decided it would be perfect for some fussy cutting

But how to position my paper hexagon templates? My cardboard window template and two small mirrors taped together along an edge came to the rescue and gave me an idea of what they would look like when sewn together, but only an idea as just 5 hexagons appear in the mirrors!

So much choice!!

You can link to Karen H's fantastic tutorials here and a big thank you to Christine for the heads up about "Faeries and Fibres" blog.

Happy Stitching - Anita