Brightening up a denim skirt

We all have denim skirts that we love, right?

Well, I loved this one but I wanted to brighten it up a little, to give it a new look. 

So I added some satin ribbon to the bottom.  The handkerchief hem seemed to go on forever and I was surprised at the quantity of ribbon it took!

I really like the way it turned out and am much more inclined to wear it now.

Ok, back to curtain making...LOL!

The story of a journal cover

One of the things I love most about using preloved fabric is that behind it there is always a fabulous story waiting to be told.

So when a friend asked me to make a journal cover for her of course I said yes! 

You see, she had lost a substantial amount of weight by following a plan designed specifically to address sugar sensitivity.  She entrusted me with her much loved skirt (by now far too large) and suggested I might like to make a journal cover from that.  Well, yes please!   

 It had the cutest little sunflowers strewn across it.

After 4 different prototypes I was ready to have a go at making the real thing.  And this is the resulting cover.  The journal fits perfectly!

It had ribbon ties to prevent it from falling open at an inopportune moment and inner flaps to hold the journal snugly in place.

The green polka dot interior picked out the green leaves and stems of the sunflowers.

And of course, every time my friend now comes to write in her journal she is reminded, not only of her beautiful skirt, but also of how healthy she is now and just how far she has come.

I love it when that happens!

Roll-up pencil case

I loved the idea of a roll-up pencil case so set about making one.

First, take one sheet of A4 paper and draw round it on a piece of fabric (curtain fabric is ideal)...
then round off the corners...
that's about as technical as the pattern making got.

I quilted the lining fabric (a skirt lining) and added a partition for several pencils.  To do that I inserted a pencil into the lining and using a zipper foot just sewed nice and close alongside it.  At least I know they fit!

I finished it off with shop-bought (gasp!) bias binding around the edges.

And added a piece of matching ribbon to the back to tie it up with. 

I also learned how to prevent ribbon ends from fraying by melting them! 

One completed roll-up pencil case:

Girl's bag made from pockets

Daughter#1 had a shirt with pockets - but she didn't like the pockets so I took them off.

Then I thought it would be fun to sew them together and make a small bag.  I added a ribbon handle, bow and a popper. 

Daughter#1 is happy and daughter#2 has a new bag!

Pencil case

I was so fed up of ferretting around in my bag for a pen or three so decided to make a pencil case of my own - kids don't get to have ALL the fun!

I did mean to put piping around the ends but got so carried away that I forgot - ah well, maybe next time!

Note to self - do not insert zip too well as you can't then find the zip to undo the pencil case.  Soooo, I added some ribbon to the zip so that it's easy to find :)