Birthdays '09.

Several birthday gifts were crafted in spring / summer of '09. I quite characteristically didn't get pics of everything before wrapping and sending, so this is just a sample. :)

The zipper pouch is actually one I kept - made another at the same time for Kristin and stuck some jewelry inside - a bracelet that I didn't get photographed. Her birthday was in March - the big 4-0. ;-)

The fabric used for the pouch shown is Joel Dewberry. I bought a zipper pouch at Renegade Brooklyn with Danielle last summer and discovered a much simpler way to sew the pouch without sewing the lining by hand - much too slow for me. It completely simplifies the process and creates a 5-minute zipper pouch! Awesome. I just used a rotary cutter / mat to cut four pieces of fabric at once - two for the outside and two for the lining, then ironed under a hem one side side of each piece (to be the top). Next, sew the lining pieces to the underside of the zipper. Then, sew the outer pieces to the topside of the zipper. Last, align all four fabric pieces so that the outer ones have right sides together and the lining pieces have their right sides facing out so you can see them. Sew all the way around and through both sides of the zipper, trim fabric and zipper pieces, flip right side out, and Voila - finito!

This wallet is from Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing. I know I talk about this book a lot, but sheesh, it's such a good book with great projects. The instructions are not always the most clear, but there's a flickr group where notes, tips, errata, etc. are shared and discussed - can't beat that. So, the wallet was really fun to make and fairly simple - just a lot of steps. The flickr group is really a must with most of the projects in this book - in the case of this wallet, people pointed out that the dimensions should be adjusted slightly to properly fit your ID and/or plastic. I also kept checking this dimension while positioning the pockets and testing the folds.

I found some sew-on snaps in the sewing machine cabinet I recently acquired from my grandmother and gave it my best shot, but I attached the snap after the rest of the wallet was finished and it should really be incorporated at an earlier step to make the sewing easier and the snap more solidly attached. I was afraid that lining up the snap pieces would be frustrating, so opted to add it last. Next time I will think more about how to add it to the raw fabric pieces early on. This wallet was for Jenny's birthday in June. Included was a necklace that I was really proud of, but again forgot to take a pic.

These coasters were a super cute project I saw on the Purl Bee blog - creations of the Purl Soho creative people. Danielle and I visited their stores while in NYC for Renegade and it was so incredible to see them in person. There's a fabric store with a yarn store next door. The colors and displays are amazing to see.

The coaster pattern was for knit and crochet, but I only made the crochet pattern because I liked them better and have been loving crochet lately. The tops are a simple pattern that naturally roll up on the edges, but they need to be blocked before attaching to the fabric bottoms. That's what this picture is showing - I just pinned down the tops in the desired shape and sprayed them with a water & tea tree oil solution.

For the bottoms, you can use little pretty fabric scraps. I mix-matched different fabrics with the different colored tops. Each bottom has two fabric scraps, since one will show on the very bottom and one will show through a bit through the crocheted

top. Arrange fabric pieces with right sides together, sew around the edge leaving an opening, trim if necessary, and flip right side out through the opening you left. Easy-peasy. Then, iron and pin to the crocheted top piece. For these coasters, I used a sewing machine for this part going around a small circle in the center, then going around another circle close to the outer edge. This was tres difficult pour moi. Next time, I would definitely use embroidery thread to attach the tops to the bottoms, but however you have luck and enjoy the process more, go for it. I tend to lean toward the machine, when possible, because I guess I'll admit that I don't so much like hand sewing, but I don't mind it when it's the best method and sometimes even enjoy the relaxing and mobile aspect of hand sewing - you can take it anywhere. Anyway, these turned out perfectly fine for me, but were a touch sloppy because I wasn't that impressive with my machine circles. :) Oh! and these coasters were for our lovely friend, Sara, who had a big 4-0 party in DC last August. We were so very happy to be there with her to celebrate.