Mud, Pies and Pins

Last week I promised that I would share with you the projects I had made using the QAYG Liberty flowers that I had designed for my guest tutorial over on Very Berry Handmade. Here is the first of these projects.

I am ashamed to say that ever since I started a Liberty EPP project this summer I have been carting my work around in a couple of ziploc bags. I am making a series of butterflies that I eventually intend to use on a quilt and it is very much an on-the-go project that travels around with me and is worked on when I get the chance. I love this project but I am very fed up of plastic bags and so last week I decided it was time for me to make a little sewing folder that I can use instead.

Beacuse this folder was made with my Liberty EPP project in mind I thought that it was only fitting I incorporated some Liberty fabrics into the decor on the outside so what could be better than one of the QAYG flowers. I used Timeless Treasures Fabric’s Sketch in smoke as my main cover fabric and chose the larger green flower for this project. The back cover was left plain and quilted with simple vertical lines but instead of quilting the front I simply stitched a stem and leaves for the flower in dark green so that the flower remained the main highlight.

After that I quickly decided that Polka Dot Stitches in Gray was the perfect fabric for the lining of the folder. I chose to use orange as an accent colour on the inside, purely because the only suitable zip I had for the zippered pocket I had planned was orange. The pocket in question has a clear vinyl front to make the contents clearly visible. I initally made it too wide and thanks to a slip of the scissors as I was trimming the first side of the vinyl down to size I ended up having to insert it off centre.

To add a little more orange I used a nice dark orange felt for the needle book and a lighter orange button to which I can attach the little buttonholed fob I made for my foldable scissors.

There are more pockets on either side of the folder. A divided pocket above the zippered pocket is perfect for storing small itmes such as a measuring tape and stitch unpicker, glue stick or other items I might need, and is also the perfect size for storing finished hexies.

Below the needle book is a larger pocket that will easily store larger fabric scraps, a charm pack or even an embroidery hoop depending on my needs.

Now my needlework is finally travelling in style and I am so glad to have finally ditched the awful plastic bags.

Hope to see you here again on Wednesday when I’ll share with you the second of the three projects I made using my QAYG Liberty flowers.