Heartfelt Haven Pouch

Hmm… I seem to be getting further behind, rather than catching up. In other words, I’m doing more sewing than blogging. Well, here’s a quick one… another Christmas gift. (Shhh… I know it’s already June!)

This is the Heartfelt Haven Pouch by ChrisW Designs. It was fairly quick and easy to make, and the best part is that it was a free pattern! Who doesn’t love free?!

It’s a rather unique pouch in that it actually has three pockets under one zipper!

You’ll probably recognize the fabric I used for the exterior, which is barkcloth that Jess designed a few years ago. I still love that barkcloth texture!

That’s it for this post! You’re welcome. ;)

The Sunny Saver

Back in November, I did another pattern test for Linds Handmade Designs. (Yes, she’s a very prolific pattern writer!) She designed it as a case for those large sunglasses that don’t fit in just a regular glasses case, thus the name “Sunny Saver”. 

This was a pretty quick and easy project to sew. I made my tester version out of waxed canvas for the exterior…

… and some coordinating flannel for the interior. The flannel is soft and will protect sunglasses from getting scratched. It kinda reminds one of a mini sleeping bag though, doesn’t it? Ha!

I always love the look of a nice straight zipper install!

After my tester case, I made another one for Jess because she’d mentioned long ago that she needed a case for her sunglasses. Hers of course had to be (reddish) orange, so I used up a scrap of some vinyl I had left from a number of other projects. She chose the pink zipper and the matching lining fabric. She said the pouch works great for her glasses!

It could also serve a lot of other purposes, one of which might be storage for sewing tools.

Then I had to make one more, just because they were so quick and fun to make! I love this one, which went to Courtney for Christmas.

I added a tiny pocket on the inside to hold a gift voucher from a favorite online jewelry shop.

So there you have it. Three Sunny Saver pouches!

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if I made more of them. They’re just fun to make, useful for so many things, and they’re great scrapbusters! BTW, it’s an inexpensive pattern yet includes Linds’ usual tutorial video and SVG files for cutting machines! It’s a great bargain!

Rae Dual Zip Crossbody bag

Wellllll… I seem to be farther behind than I thought I was. Would you believe I made this bag last June?! BUT, the reason I didn’t show you right after I completed it (not procrastination this time) was that it had to remain a secret. Until OCTOBER! It was a pattern test for Linds Handmade Designs, and it was for her first-ever pattern for the Bag of the Month Club, which was pretty exciting! If you’re not familiar with the BOMC, it’s a subscription where there are three (sometimes four) different designers’ patterns released monthly, one at a time. You buy them all at a discounted price, not knowing what they are until the month they’re released to subscribers, and they can only be gotten through the subscription (until they’re released 3 months after their subscription month). Linds was the last designer in that subscription, so her pattern was for the month of October, but it still had to be completed and approved before the subscription started in August. I was excited to be able to test and get to know ahead of time what one of the BOMC patterns was! 

Here’s my tester version of Linds’ Rae Dual Zip Crossbody bag:

The pattern was a bit of a challenge, thus not listed as a beginner pattern. The most challenging part for me was sewing the curves on the outer front and back, because there was some thickness there. But the pattern had lots of tips for getting it right, and it was totally doable.

The fabric I used for the exterior was one of Jess’s barkcloth designs from a few years ago. In my usual fashion, I had to do some fussy cutting and print matching. It nearly blew my mind thinking how to get it just right, but I was successful!

Underneath that flap on the front of the bag is a hidden zipper pocket.

The bag is divided into two compartments, each with its own zipper. It also kind of blows my mind wondering how Linds figured out how to design such a bag, much less write a pattern explaining how to make it! My mind sure doesn’t work like hers does! Ha!

Inside one of the compartments is another zippered pocket. (I remembered to add my label - yay!) The inner seams are bound, but not to be feared… they’re done in a very easy, no-fail way, and they turn out looking great!

This is a very nice size bag, and I love it! 

Here are just a few progress photos I took along the way.

Yep, it was work putting it together, but so worth it!

That subscription is over and the pattern is now released for anyone to buy, so if you’re an experienced sewer or even an adventurous beginner and want to give it a try, you can purchase it here. The pattern includes a very helpful video tutorial, SVG files, and even projector files.

Hopefully I’ll be back soon, because I have some Christmas sewing and another pattern test to show you!

P.S. If you have a little one to buy an Easter gift for, or just want something cute to decorate for Easter with yourself, Courtney has some adorable chicks listed in her Etsy shop now!

Crafting with Courtney - NEWS!

Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve done a “Crafting with Courtney” post! Like ten years?!?! How can that be??? She was just a baby when I started this blog, and now she’s 18 and a high school senior, and that blows my mind!

Even though I haven’t posted about her crafts lately, she’s still been busy. She has been crocheting for several years. I’ve been the lucky recipient of some of the things she’s made, one for each of the last three Christmases. I got this adorable caterpillar first:

The next year I got a sea turtle:

This past Christmas I received a panda:

I love them all! They snuggle together on my bed every day.

The “NEWS” part of this post is that Courtney has opened an Etsy shop to sell her crocheted creations! 

It’s called ByCourtneyCrochets, and you can check it out here. I think her little animals are all so adorable - I’d like one of each! She’s working on more, building up her inventory; now she just needs buyers. They’d make awfully nice gifts, so if you know someone who’d love one (or like me would just like one for yourself), how about grabbing one of these handmade cuties? 

Courtney is a very talented entrepreneur, and I’m so proud of her! Please help spread the word about her little shop! You can also follow her on Instagram - @bycourtneycrochets.

And I am a great procrastinator (okay, you already knew that)! I’m rather behind on posting my latest sewing makes. They’re on Instagram, and I will probably eventually stop blogging and just stick with that, but for now… I’ll keep hangin’ in here and hopefully catch up. Soon. Hopefully.