Stitched Sewing Organisers

Sometimes, even when I know I won't have time for it, I fancy jumping on a bandwagon, don't you?

You may have seen the Sew Along for Aneela Hoey's Stitched Sewing Organisers book hosted on IG by @tuppencehapennyquilts.  Well, with the book sitting on my shelf I was itching to join in for the first week and tackle the Handy Fold-Up Pouches.

It felt good to be following the crowd as I picked some fabric and set to stitching.

The unusual, but genius, construction of these little pouches gave me a flashback to making pouches at one of Just Jude's classes years ago.  I think it was these cute tissue pockets that used the same clever method.

I made two of the larger ones and two of the tiny ones.  These first two are made with a sweet fat quarter I picked up in Kirkby Lonsdale this summer and a giant polka dot from my stash.

These two were gifted to a friend and made from really pretty fabrics, Chatsworth, I think.  My pics don't do justice to the beautiful buttery yellow colour of the tiny one.  It's too orangey here.

 Four pretty little pouches for knick knacks!

I always knew that I wouldn't join in with all of the Sew Along weeks and after a rule clarification at the end of the first week saying that all of the makes entered into the Sew Along itself must be exactly as per the materials and instructions in Aneela's lovely book, I'm not sure any more of my makes will qualify.  That's ok, it's just that I want to use whatever interfacings I have around (and will take the risk that it might not turn out as well as if I'd used Aneela's recommended brand and type) and maybe even quilt something here and there where the original instructions don't.

So, here's my version of the Fold-Up Sewing Folio.  Instead of the fusible wadding in the pattern, which I don't have, I have quilted wadding to the red cover fabric to help stabilise it. For me, this deviation worked well.  It's quite an involved pattern, and I must confess there were times I wished that there were photos of the steps included, but actually with careful reading and steady progress it all came together very nicely.

I used some Bonnie & Camille scraps for the contrasts inside against the Essex linen to make all the pockets, trims and pincushion.  Since the lining wasn't actually attached to the cover fabric anywhere except all around the edges, I found it a little bit baggy.  So I quilted over the fold lines which the pattern does include to delineate the three sections of the pouch.  Quilting them through the lining and cover section has really helped, especially now that there are a few little tools and accessories in the centre section pockets.

My outer fabric is another Bonnie & Camille print (surprise, surprise). It makes me happy!  All in all this was a fun Friday evening (or two) make.

Not sure how many more of the projects I'll manage, especially given my current WIPs list.  Though I would really like to try the triple pouch, so never say never!!


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