Fiddling Around

At the Lincoln Square Holiday Market two weeks ago several shoppers commented that the zippered pouch I made to hold pencils or markers would serve nicely for knitting needles if it were longer. I now have a pro-type design for such a pouch. The outside is a cotton canvas, and its extra thickness and weight should hold a pouch shape well, especially stabilized for even more rigidity. I don't knit myself, so a casual survey of those who do knit suggested a common length for knitting needles--14 inches. This pouch will hold 14 inch knitting needles, a small pair of scissors, stitch counters and likely a pencil to mark your place in a cute sweater pattern.

Dressing the Turkey

Since I don't cook with much confidence, dressing the turkey refers to a simple dress I made for K. She is the perfect age for fun prints; this one is flowers in fall colors on a soft corduroy. K is also the perfect age for striking a bargain. In this case, she would let me take her picture if she could act silly in it. What a turkey!

To Market Again

I'm booked for this Saturday's Lincoln Square Holiday Market. Bags and pouches are finished and arranged. Since this summer and the last market I attended I've:

-changed the clutch purse closure from a loop and button to a magnetic snap

-added zippered pouches with silk-screened words on them ("mad money", "gadgets", "misc.")

-devised a zippered pencil pouch

Otherwise, it's more of the same. I know my smaller pouches fit gift cards for holiday gift giving. I know, having been a teacher myself, that fabric pouches would make a welcome teacher gift. I've been to the Holiday Market to double-check that no one else is making small fabric items. I'm set. Maybe I'll see you there.

Bag for G

My friend G requested a messenger bag in black canvas with a Japanese floral lid. It was a good exercise on two fronts. I have now scoped out the best in-town source for colored canvas fabric, and new supply sources are always interesting. I also devised a new method for neatly attaching binding. A little strip of steam-a-seam tape along the back side of the binding tacks the piece in place, so even when I sew it from the front side of the purse lid, I don't miss catching any binding. Try it!

I Love Scooter Fabric

I broke down and bought the only color combination I was missing in my stash of Japanese linen scooter fabric. Technically, it's not the most expensive fabric I own, but it's close. I have no particular plan for the fabric, but something will present itself. Until then, I'm enjoying it as quirky possibility. Whoever designed this fabric has my number; they could only better their design success by printing the fabric in more color combinations.

Smaller Messenger

I find I enjoy making the same thing over and over. Sometimes I like the soothing, repetitive assembly-line nature of working through many of the same item. Other times I get a kick out of considering how to improve the efficiency of the steps to make something. I made another messenger bag, but this time it is smaller. The 12 by 12 1/2 inch bag still has a magnetic snap closure and an interior zippered pocket. I pieced a 2 inch-wide strip of fabric into the back panel so there's something to see "on the wrong side". There's still plenty of room to showcase a pretty piece of fabric on the lid. Maybe next time I'll use strips of fabric on the purse lid.