Zippy Little Pouches for Across The Pond Sew Along

Thirty days hath September...

and half of them are past already!

Time to get busy on this month's theme for 

the Across The Pond Sew Along!

The Patchsmith's choice

for September was Key-Ring Pouches.

Amanda, The Patchsmith gave some suggestions

for making super-cute and functional

key-ring pouches using free tutorials from Erin

of Dog Under My Desk blog.

Little did Amanda know that I had already

made a few of these cute little

Earbud Pouches, using Erin's free pattern!

 I gave away two of them, without taking photos,

but here's the one I kept for myself.

It's very small, but I can actually even fit a jumpdrive

and an SD card in there, too.

It matches my Aviary 2 set of bags and pouches

that I made for myself last year.

The tote bag was made from my own PDF pattern

for the Anita Vacation Tote Bag.

I clipped my earbud pouch onto my tablet cover,

which was made using my own PDF pattern

for a Linen Pocket Ereader Cover.

{I used a coordinating print instead of linen this time, and I added a skinny strap.}

These earbud pouches are fun to make

and would be great gifts for teens, too!

I had a bit of free time today for sewing,

and in about an hour, I had already completed

my first Easy Zippy Pouch,

also from the Dog Under My Desk blog.

Amanda's version was tiny and sweet,

just large enough for some essentials like some

cash and a credit card.

Amanda's key-ring pouch...just adorable inside and out!

I decided to super-size my pouch...

so I can hold my cell phone, some money,

and maybe even a few more small items.

{My finished pouch measures 5" x 6 1/2".}

I chose two prints from Denyse Schmidt's fabric made for JoAnn.

The colors are really soft and pretty...gray and turquoise,

with just a touch of navy blue.

I don't usually quilt the fabrics for my bags and pouches,

but as the tutorial recommended,

I stitched some free-form zigzags...

and I am really pleased with the finished effect!

For such a simple tutorial,

the details make it look impressive!

A bright turquoise zipper really adds some zing.

I used a tiny lobster clasp instead of a plain D-ring,

and I can clip my keys on and off easily to this pouch.

It's so important to make little pouches pretty on the inside.

I really love the texture that the quilting adds!

{There's my little label, properly positioned.  Believe me when I say, that took a lot of thought!}

I'm going to make more of these cute little pouches

as soon as possible.

It will be fun to go through my zipper stash

and use some of the show-offs I've been saving!

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Mug Rug Swap - Part 2 - From Amy to Amanda

If you're a regular reader, 

you will have already seen my first post about

the little mug rug swap

I've had with Amanda of The Patchsmith!

{Here's the mug rug Amanda created, just for me!}

Now I'd like to share what I sent to Amanda, 

along with a description of the design process.

Once Amanda and I had agreed to swap mug rugs,

I had a brief moment of panic,

as I realized I didn't have any idea what her

personal tastes are.

Amanda was kind enough to take a quiz for me...

20 questions to discover her preferences for colors,

patterns, and themes.

1.      Bold and Bright, or Soft and Sweet?

2.      Black, White, or Black and White?

3.      Whimsical or Practical?

4.      Classic or Modern?

And so on...

So now I had somewhere to begin!

From the quiz, 

it was clear that Amanda has a love for nature and gardens,

flowers and animals.

I pulled out my Botanika fabric 

by Paula Prass for Michael Miller,

and the fussy cutting began.

I used some bright greens...like this one

from Bijoux by Heather Bailey...

and various Black and White prints, to tie it all together.

Here's the final mug rug...called "Unlock Your Dreams".

And the back...more Bijoux by Heather Bailey,

with a little bee from the Botanika print.

{Hello, little Bee.}

I like to use Pellon 987F fusible fleece 

instead of batting,

to get a flat ready-to-quilt mug rug.

For this one I used parallel lines in many directions.

OK...I loved it...but would Amanda?

{Insecurity entered the scene...}

Maybe it was a bit too bright and wild.  

And there wasn't a single FLOWER on the whole mug rug!

Hmmm...on the quiz, there was a question,

"Wild or tame?"

and she answered, "Ooooooooh...BOTH!"

That gave me an idea...make a Tame one, too!

I knew Amanda loves fresh country prints and blue is her favorite color.

This time I started with some pretty blue prints from

Delilah, Darla, and Sugar Hill,

all by Tanya Whelan for Free Spirit.

{Here's a look at Sugar Hill.}

Between those three lines, I used lots of 

florals, polka dots, stripes, and gingham.

And now for the design decisions...

If you check out my blog header, you will see that I've used

one of my mug rugs for the photo.

I love the simple style of this mug rug...a strip of Tumblers,

and lots of modern straight-line quilting in the background areas.

Simple and sweet.

I knew I would have fun re-creating this design for Amanda's mug rug.

This one came together very quickly!

Lots more straight-line quilting again...

And here's the back...

{Or Side #2, if you prefer...}

I'm especially pleased with my machine binding on these two mug rugs!

I've combined what I've seen in several tutorials,

and these projects gave me a chance to practice my own method.

{Would anybody out there like me to post about how I do my machine binding???}

It was time to package up the mug rugs for the mail...
a long trip from Pennsylvania all the way to Southern England!

There was a bit of room in the little box,

so I said goodbye to a little charm pack

of Gypsy Rose by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda.

{I thought these little prints 

would look very sweet in some of Amanda's future projects.}

Now I happen to know that Amanda has a sewing sister,

just as I do!

I thought if one mug rug seemed more suited 
to her sister than to herself,

she could always give it away.

{Well...let's just say Amanda's sister will need to visit her, 

if she ever wants to use one of these mug rugs. :) }

One last thing:

Little did I know that Amanda would receive her package on the day of the Queen's Jubilee!

{How appropriate this little Crown print turned out to be!}

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