Encore Clutch

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I'd completed another pattern test. The pattern was released today (well, yesterday in Australia)! It's another wonderfully written pattern by Erin (Erickson) Gilbey of Dog Under My Desk. It's full of very detailed instructions and many photos to demonstrate the how-to's, as her patterns always are. It's called the Encore Clutch, and it can be purchased here (at a special release price until Aug. 20th).

Here is my tester version:

The pattern includes templates for three sizes, and I chose to make the smallest one, because I'd had an idea of using this ribbon (designed by Jess for Renaissance Ribbons) which is only 5/8" wide, so I thought proportionally the small size would work the best. I think it was a good choice. The pattern includes instructions for adding piping or faux piping on the center panel.

The smallest wristlet only has room for a slip pocket for credit cards or whatever, whereas the larger two each have three card slots with a slip pocket behind them for dollar bills, receipts, etc.

The back side is just the background fabric, which in my case is linen.

It's about 6½ inches wide when finished. You can tell by my hand just how small it is.

I think its smallness makes it extra-adorable! It still can hold plenty, though, as all three sizes have pleats in the front and back that give it extra room.

It's a great scrap-buster for small pieces of fabric. All three sizes are fat quarter friendly, and you could make any kind of combination with that panel on the front. It was very fun to make, and it goes together very quickly. It's so fun, in fact, that I just may have made an encore Encore Wristlet (which I haven't gotten photos of yet) to try out making the card slots. Erin came up with a terrific technique for making them, and her instructions are so clear that you just couldn't fail making them 'just right'.

Check out Erin's blog post here for many photos of her Encore Wristlets plus more details about the pattern, and also for how to get even more of a discount if you decide to buy it! ;)

Geranium Top #2

Finally! After a postponement from last spring to this past July, Jess's Spring Quartet fabric for Cloud9 Fabrics has been released for sale! I just had to make another top from the Geranium Dress pattern (see the first one here) because I think the pink Bartlet babywale corduroy is just perfect for that (and because we just happen to have a new grandniece that I could sew it for). Here it is:

It's again the 6-12 month size, so unfortunately the tiny model cannot wear it yet and pose for you. The good news is that I got to use my new KAMsnaps pliers to put in the snaps on the back - yay!

This corduroy is very fine and soft, not heavy at all, so I think it'd be just fine for summer wear in case you happen to have a baby you want to sew for right away... or if you want to make something for yourself. Check out the Cloud9 page for inspiration. It's even been made into a quilt, which I think would be so soft and luxurious! Mmmm!

Two subjects for the price of one

I decided to cover two subjects today, because I seem to be getting a backlog of sewing stuff that I haven't blogged about yet. Can you imagine that? Ha!

Without further ado, here's subject #1:

Yeah, I've made several of these Pixie Baskets before, which you can see here and here. I made them using the tutorial you can find here. This one also is trimmed with ribbon designed by Jess for Renaissance Ribbons. I had decided after sewing my Honeycomb Basket (read about it here), that I needed something to hold the spools of thread and bobbins I'm using while working on a project that involves several colors of thread. So here it is, and I've been finding it to be one of the most useful things I've sewn. I love it!

Subject #2 isn't actually a sewing project, but it will be useful for some of them. I bought a KAMsnaps pliers and 300 snaps in many colors. I kept hearing good things about the snap setters, so I decided to try out the pliers. (They also make a table press, but I don't use enough snaps to make it worth the cost.) I've had a different type of snap setter for many years, but it's only good for metal snaps, and I like all the color options with the plastic ones. So now I can do whichever type I want.

Here's a closer look at the pliers.

I love it! It's so easy to use, and the snaps go in nice and tight.

Although you can buy them directly from the KAMsnaps site, I bought mine from Amazon. There are a number of options available, with different quantities of snaps. I also bought this case to store them in. It doesn't have quite enough sections, but if I mix two very different colors in a section, I should be able to easily find the parts I need. So far I've left them in their little bags, though.

If you've followed my blog for years, you may recognize the fabric below. It's from Jess's first line of fabrics. I'd made a bunch of these business card envelopes to sell in her Etsy shop, and when she closed the shop, I had a few unfinished ones that I never got around to adding the snaps to. I thought they'd be good to practice on with the new snap setter.

It worked like a charm!

Soon I'll show you a new project that I put snaps on!

Also, I just finished up a pattern test, and when the pattern gets released, I'll show you that.

Last but definitely not least, Courtney also finished up her fabulous sewing projects for the fair. It's less than 3 weeks away, so I'll be able to show you then! I can't wait - you'll love them! (And one of them has snaps on it, too!)

Something different

This is not a sewing post. How 'bout that? I just happened to see something that I thought was so interesting that I just had to show you.

Last night I saw several of what looked like young baltimore orioles trying to get grape jelly from my feeder. Some did well, but there was one that couldn't seem to figure out how to get to the jelly in the feeder. A bit later, one of the parents came, sat on the feeder, and fed that baby the jelly! I was amazed, as I'd never seen that happen before. I wasn't quick enough to catch them on camera, but this morning it happened again, and this time I got it! So cool!

Now I'm wondering just how those babies knew to come to the feeder in the first place. Did the parents bring them earlier, or is it instinctual that they just know to go to something orange???

Geranium top

Here's a little bit of sewing I finished about 3 weeks ago but couldn't show you until now because it was for a gift, and I didn't want to take the chance of ruining the surprise. It's a Geranium top, made from the Geranium Dress pattern by Rae Hoekstra of Made by Rae.

The fabric is babywale corduroy from Jess's Spring Quartet line designed for Cloud9 Fabrics. I'm happy to say that these corduroys are finally scheduled to be released THIS MONTH!

The back of the top has three pearl-like snaps for closure (although the pearl-ness doesn't show up in the photo).

The top was a gift for Jess's friend's baby. Unfortunately, it's a size 6-12 months, and the baby is only 3 months or so, so she couldn't model it for us. :) But here are a couple more photos that Jess took before she sent it to her friend.

She put these cute leggings with it as part of the gift.

The pattern was easy to sew (although you'd have thought I was a sewing novice, because I made every conceivable mistake in the process and ended up giving my seam ripper a workout - I forgot how to sew after our Cincinnati trip, I guess ;-Þ), and I certainly recommend it. Plus now there is an Expansion Pack you can purchase so that you can add a collar, a zipper, long sleeves and/or a number of other things to change up the look of the dress - awesome!

I have a number of other sewing projects in the works. Plus Courtney has one of her 4-H projects finished, but I won't be showing you until closer to county fair time next month. Sorry about that, but it will have to wait until after the "fashion review" (there's a clue for you). I can tell you this much, she did a fabulous job on it! I am so proud of her!