Scrappy Pouch

Thanks so much to all of you who sent sweet anniversary wishes to me in response to yesterday's post. My husband spoiled me royally tonight with dinner out at a local steakhouse -- this after he and my dad teased me all week that our surprise destination was going to be thirty-nine cent tacos at Del Taco. It was incredible just to have a meal all to ourselves without having to pick crayons off the floor or take anyone to the restroom. Heavenly...

This will be a week of Christmas sewing, and I'm enjoying the chance to work on some projects that have been on my mental to-do list for so long. Today's project is a quilted pouch that I made for a friend using some favorite scraps. I love making pouches like these because you can finish them in an hour or two, yet they are still such a personal, useful gift.

The patchwork center is surrounded by gray linen, which serves as the backing as well, and the bag is lined with a lime green and navy Denyse Schmidt print. The material used for the strap is from Denyse's new line Fancy Free which I found at Joann's a few weeks back after seeing it on 1/4" mark for the first time -- I love the vintage look of this print. Do visit Chase's blog if you get the chance, by the way. It's chock full of lovely pictures and projects -- I never come away without new inspiration.

When I sorted the scraps for this bag, I set aside a second batch of scraps for another project which should be finished tomorrow. The great thing about having so many things to finish, of course, is that it gives me so many things to share!

Linking up with the Let's Get Acquainted Monday Link-up and Fabric Tuesday.

Seven Years

My husband is the man of a thousand hobbies. History, astronomy, photography, languages, geography, knitting, pasta and bread making (from scratch), and of course, his beloved gardening -- just to name a few. A few weeks back, we had a telescope visit our home for a few nights, and my husband asked if I could sew together some sort of bean bag to stabilize it. I grabbed a large scrap of Ruby Star Records and stitched as fast as I could to have it done in time for that night's viewing extravaganza.

While this isn't the prettiest thing I ever made, I figure that it's good for you to see the random projects too. This bag is approximately eight inches in diameter and has three straps along its sides which end in velcro loops. If I had it to do over again, I would have made those straps at least twice as wide, but as I said, I was in a hurry. The loops hung on each leg of the tripod to balance the telescope in the middle. While it didn't make a massive difference in the viewing quality, it did help a bit. Once the telescope had departed, the bean bag immediately found a new position as a camera stabilizer for my husband's fancy camera. If it ever gets bored with that job, my youngest is more than happy to use it as a balance beam, which is where I rescued it from this afternoon.

Speaking of my husband, tomorrow marks seven years since we walked down the aisle together as man and wife after meeting just over a year before that on eharmony -- yes, we're one of those success stories. I cannot tell you how grateful I am that God brought this man into my life. He's not perfect, but he is exactly the right man for me, bringing balance and perspective when I need it most.

Take a conversation we had one evening a few weeks ago.

I came into our room and collapsed on the bed before moaning, "I just realized today that I'm going to be thirty-five this year. Thirty-five!" I covered my face with my hands. "That's only five years away from forty. What happened??"

My husband just looked at me with raised eyebrows. "You wanna know what happened?" He paused dramatically and then said with a huge smile, "You didn't die!"

I stared at him blankly for a moment, and then laughed as he kept going, "This should be cause for celebration! You should be fist pumping right now and saying, 'Take that, Untimely Death!'"

Cause for celebration indeed. Thanks for the best seven years of my life, sweetheart. Happy Anniversary. :)

The Fabric Love

It was great to hear about everyone's favorite new fabric lines this week as I read your Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway comments. Among the top answers were Simply Color, Notting Hill, Salt Water, and Architextures, though there were plenty more to choose from. In fact I was so carried away by the fabric love that I found myself clicking the order button at Westwood Acres while I was up late the other night. When I saw this fat eighth bundle in Amanda's shop, I just could not resist. Any guilt I may have felt about indulging disappeared completely when I saw this stack arrive on my doorstep this afternoon.

Is this gorgeous or what? I think Architextures is one of the most original lines I've seen all year. The texture and color in these prints are absolutely sublime. I can't wait to make something with this fabric...

But you're waiting to see a winner here, I know. Out of 478 entries, the winner is Kristen who has a lovely blog at Milo and Molly. Do stop by and visit her if you haven't already -- there is some beautiful inspiration to be found in those pages!

My thanks to all of you who stopped by to gush over fabric lines and also to those of you who were kind enough to become followers. I love having the chance to chat and share with you every week. You absolutely make my day.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Go Faster (& Bigger) Box Bag

I had so much fun making my Go Faster Bag for the Happy Little Pouch Hop, that I decided to try a little experiment and make another one with just a few changes. This one is larger -- thirteen inches long instead of eight and a half -- with all of the pieces quilted before they were sewn together.

I used one and a half inch hexagons for this one instead of the tiny half inch pieces that I put together for my first bag, and since I placed them side by side, I didn't need as many. I also made the loop large enough so that I can carry the pouch as a wristlet if needed.

I absolutely adore the fabrics I used on this version. It's also one of my favorite color schemes, and I love using linen on anything. I snuck in an "H" on the side so that everyone will know who this bag belongs to...

The inside of the bag is all Summersville for both the lining and binding. I would probably add another layer of canvas or interfacing along with the batting if I were to do this again -- it's sturdy but there's a bit more give in this version since the pieces are larger.

This was a fun little project to play with over the weekend, and now I'm happy to have another bag for storing sewing projects on the go. A good thing, too, since I took another look at my project list today. I have a few Christmas presents that need finishing, and I'm excited to work on a few special items for the little reading area I just put together for my girls yesterday. I'll have more details on it all later on this week.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday.

Giveaway Day: December 2012 Edition

1. Zakka Sewing Kit Inside, 2. Focus Mini Quilt, 3. Nursery Versery Apron in Use, 4. Retro Library Case, 5. Sushi Lunch Mat 1, 6. Chicopee Bag, 7. Vintage Holiday, 8. Windowpanes Pillow, 9. Modernista Mini, 10. Memory Draped, 11. Weekender 1, 12. The Simple Life Pillow, 13. x & + Potholder, 14. Memory Pillow, 15. Taking Flight, 16. Perspective

It's hard to believe that Giveaway Day has come around again, courtesy of the fine folks at Sew, Mama, Sew. My name is Heidi, and I've been blogging here at Fabric Mutt for almost exactly a year.  In the mosaic above, you can see the sorts of projects you'll find here from week to week. I'd love to have you come back for a visit some time, but I know that today there are other pressing matters at hand, namely free stuff. So let's get on with it!

I put together a small stack of fabric for today's giveaway (forgive the picture quality: it's been raining here all weekend, and this was the best I could do). There are eight ten-inch squares of some of my favorite retro style prints along with a charm pack of Kate Spain's Joy. I even cut a piece out of my new Ruby Star Sparkle Happy Dishes print which just came in the mail this week. That's love, people...

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment answering this question: Which new fabric collection would you like to find in your stocking on Christmas morning? Personally, I have my eye on Type by Julia Rothman, Les Amis by Patty Sloniger, Architextures by Carol Friedlander, and Tsuru by Rashida Coleman-Hale. Yes, I know how hard it is to pick just one, so feel free to list as many as you like.

The giveaway will run through Friday, December 7th, at 5pm, and it's open to everyone worldwide. Please be sure to leave your email address in your comment if you are a no-reply blogger so that I can contact you if you win.

I'm looking forward to heading over to giveaway headquarters this morning to get in on the fun myself. It's always wonderful to sit down with a cup of tea and spend an hour or two visiting new blogs and, yes, drooling over all the goodies.

Enjoy!

***This giveaway is now closed. Kristen at Milo & Molly is our winner. Thanks to all of you who entered!!

Happy Little Pouch Hop

1. House Pouch Front, 2. Monster Math Pouch in Use, 3. Cowgirl Pouch, 4. Zakka Orchard Path Pouch, 5. Zakka Linen Pouch, 6. Makeup Bag

When Elaine asked if I was interested in participating in the Happy Little Pouch Hop, I was thrilled to jump on board. While I had tried different pouches in the past as you can see above, I had not yet made a box bag, and this was a marvelous excuse to try the darling version from Tacha Bruecher's incredible book Hexa-Go-Go. If you've not picked up a copy of this gorgeous piece of eye candy, you will definitely want to click on that link and buy one immediately. The projects are stunning, creative, and yet somehow still incredibly doable. The Go Faster Box Bag jumped out at me on my first reading, and I was so excited to finally get the chance to give it a whirl.

I would not classify this project as a quick finish -- for me that has to be something that I can make in two hours or less. This was something that I worked on here and there for just over a week. Hexagons are my favorite project to do at night after the kids are in bed, when my husband and I are relaxing with a good movie. The hexagons for this bag are only a half inch across.  Being that tiny, they were a bit more fiddly to work with, so I took my time about it. While Tacha shows a wonderful variety of fussy cut pieces for her example in the book, I decided to use just one Japanese print I had on hand for half of my hexagons, and a red and white polk-a-dot print for the rest.

Once the hexagons were sewn together and then hand appliqued to the sides of the bag, the rest came together fairly quickly. I had a wonderful time picking the fabrics for the bag, using favorite prints by Joel Dewberry, Denyse Schmidt, and Bonnie & Camille. I used fusible batting on the exterior pieces and interfacing on the zipper panels.

The inside of the bag is a Michael Miller Retro Bunting print that I've had around for a long time. Sewing the lining around the edge of the zipper gave me flashbacks to my recent Weekender Bag experience, but it was a lot easier working with a project that was so much smaller. This little bag is only eight and a half inches long.

I am perfectly delighted with how this bag turned out. It's sweet and sturdy, a wonderful size for small sewing projects, make-up, school supplies, or any other little extras you want to carry around with you. In fact, I had so much fun with this one that I immediately started working on a larger version of the bag which has quilted sides. I should have pictures for you in the next day or two.

My thanks to Emily & Elaine for putting together this wonderful blog hop. Be sure to visit Holly at Bijou Lovely today along with all of the other stops below:

Monday 11/26: Emily from Mommy's Naptime and Elaine from Dashasel Sews

Tuesday, 11/27: Courtney from Mon Petit Lyons and Lucy from Charm About You

Wednesday, 11/28: Hollie from Undercover Crafter and Katie from Katie's Korner

Thursday, 11/29: Lindsay from Lindsay Sews and Michelle from I Like Orange

Friday, 11/30: Sara from Sew Sweetness, Cindy from Adventures of the Singing Quilter, and Jennifer from Ellison Lane Quilts

Monday, 12/3: Holly from Bijou Lovely and Heidi from Fabric Mutt

Tuedsay, 12/4: Elizabeth from Don't Call Me Bets and Emily from Mle BB

Wednesday, 12/5: Shruti from 13 Woodhouse Road and Liz from Dandelion Daydreams

Thursday, 12/6: Beth from Plum and June and Kaelin from The Plaid Scottie

Friday, 12/7: Emily from Mommy's Naptime and Elaine from Dashasel Sews

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Linking up to the Let's Get Acquainted Monday Link-up and Sew Modern Monday. 

Lovely November

1. Memory Pillow, 2. Memory Draped, 3. Weekender 1,
4. MSM Round 2 Finished, 5. The Simple Life Pillow, 6. x & + Potholder

November was a wonderful month for sewing. It really was.

One year ago this month, I made my first quilt. I can hardly believe it's been a whole year. I feel like I have finally figured out how to slow down and enjoy my sewing. The projects this month were such a pleasure to sew. My Memory quilt and pillow at the top were a wonderful culmination of twelve months of scraps. Lori and I had a blast hosting The Long Weekend, and I finally got to experience all the joys and agonies of the fabled Weekender bag. I wrapped up my Modern She Made swap project, and even got to finish a few fun projects in the last week of the month.

The Christmas decorations are up, the calendar is getting full, and I haven't started my gift shopping yet. It's a little overwhelming, but I'm determined to enjoy December this year. These times are too precious to just cross them off a list and move on.

Wishing you a little peace in the middle of the bustle this month!

Linking up to Fresh Sewing Day at Lily's Quilts.