One Fat Quarter Wallet

A few months ago I participated in a round robin doll project. Often in these types of swapping or sharing projects you'll get more than a doll in the bargain. I've found that most doll makers are very generous and there is frequently swapping of stash items and trims and notions.

I received this delightful novelty print fat quarter from one of my swap partners and I've been trying to come up with a project to use it. It's all about shopping ladies.. "sale", "bargains" are included in the motif as well as hats and shoes and purses, and a portrait of a cat - just because.

I found a free pattern for a fabric wallet here:
http://sewing.about.com/od/bagstotespurseproject/ss/clothwallet.htm

Although the materials list does not say how much fabric is needed, I was able to make the entire wallet with it's zippered coin purse and credit card holders and multiple layers from just the one fat quarter. I was even able to "fussy cut" a little.

I managed to get "Bargains" right across the outside and "Sale" on the closure tab.

Kitty is on the zipper coin purse.  I'm rather tickled with how well this came out.  It's a handy little lightweight wallet.  If you decide to make one for yourself I offer this advise: Make sure you have a heavyweight needle in your sewing machine and use lightweight fabric - in the end you'll be sewing through 8 layers of fabric plus interfacing and batting.

Armband for MP3 player

I tried another free pattern at "About.com"

http://sewing.about.com/od/bagstotespurseproject/ss/zuneholderarm.htm

I made some modifications to the armband part, and the result is "okay" in that it serves the purpose, but I think I'm going to try to tweak it a bit more. I'll post again if I come up with a better design.

Meanwhile - I'm going to make a wallet today using this other free About pattern:

http://sewing.about.com/od/bagstotespurseproject/ss/clothwallet.htm

St.Patty's Feast

It was a cook-a-thon at the Kinkor household. I made the tradional Irish-American corned beef and cabbage meal and Irish Soda Bread too. As if that wasn't enough, I made an Irish dessert recipe; Apple Shortbread Pie.

I guess I must be a foodie. I take more pictures of food than anything. Well - what can I say?

These are enough veggies for 4 or 5 meals for two, but it's one of those "cook once eat several times" things.

Some of the leftovers will find their way into a nice hash.

Another New Bag

I just finished a new handbag. This one was made using a free tutorial you can find here

http://sewtakeahike.typepad.com/sewtakeahike/2007/09/green-wool-br-2.html

I have two suggestions to improve upon the blogger's directions. One is to make the pattern pieces for the shell, band, and handles according to her directions, but for the lining the sizing is off. You'll end up with a bag with insides much narrower at the bottom than the shell is. So what I did was I cut out the main shell sections, made the pleats and stitched them in place. I then traced around the pleated shell onto freezer paper to make the pattern for the lining. This makes the inside of your bag the same size and shape as the outside - only without pleats. The second suggestion is to be sure to do all your shell embellishments before you join to the lining instead of waiting until the end.

For my bag I repurposed an old pair of Ken's jeans for the shell and used scraps from my stash for the lining. I used a button and loop for the closure instead of a magnetic closure - mostly because I didn't want to spend $5.