my little geese satchel had a baby ...

and holy moly is she ever cute!!!

I couldn't help myself.  I just had to make her.

Funny story.  When I finished making it, the first thing I did was show it to my 12 year old, thinking she would be as excited about it as I was.  Her response ... mmmm ... not what I expected.  She just looked at me and said, in her best oh-so-unimpressed-12-year-old-style, "But what good is it?  What does it do?  What's the point of it?"  (Bless her sweet little heart, right?  Don't worry, I didn't ground her or anything.)

I know you - dear reader - get that making things is more often about the making, and not its function (although when the two meet, it's a bonus).  But she got me thinking.  Hmmm.  I wonder if I could use this teeny tiny little 3" x 4" x 1/2" purse for something.  So I went back to my sewing room and found the perfect thing ... my business cards!  BAM!  I marched back down the stairs and triumphantly displayed to said child that my newest creation had a purpose in life.  :)

We laughed.  And I think she was impressed after all.

I hope your initial thoughts are maybe just a little more enthusiastic, and that it makes you smile.

I'm particularly pleased with the embroidery stitches that simulate the lace I used on the mama version.  And in case you're wondering, the geese are 1/2" tall and 5/8" wide.  Eeeep! :)

PS:  Yes I painted my nails red for this photo shoot.  LOL!

well, i really meant to tidy up my sewing room yesterday ...

But I made the mistake of starting with organizing my ribbon box, where I found these wee spools of pretty ribbon that I bought maybe ... 4 or 5 years ago?  They were a total impulse buy at Joann's when we were holidaying in Palm Springs.  I felt a little guilty that I hadn't made anything with them yet.

Next thing I knew, I was overcome with an undeniable urge to made amends ... so I whipped up this quick little zakka zippered pouch.  (Finished size is about 4 1/2" x 4 3/4".)

Over my years (ok, decades) of crafting, I've learned the hard way that MOST craft ribbon does not react well to an iron.  I've ruined many things that way.  SO.  I was very smart this time and tested the ribbon first.  No melting.  That's good.  But that's not the only problem.  Ribbon can also shrink.  So I cut a 6" piece of each one and subjected them to prolonged ironing.  WITH steam.  They all shrank - some more than others.  One piece shrunk by 3/4 of an inch. 

After pre-shrinking the ribbons, I backed them with fusible web to baste them in place.  Then I stitched them on linen with matching thread. By the way, is there an English word to describe this feeling I had that goes something like ... "I am so crazy happy to find perfectly matching thread for all five ribbon colours because I reeeeeeally don't want to go to the store on a Sunday afternoon because I'm still in my pjs?"  If there is, that's how I felt.  (I had the same feeling, although not quite as intense, when I found a zipper in my zipper bin that perfectly matched the linen.  It was a good crafting day, for sure.)

A little more subtle stitching on the back.

And I thought the ribbons looked sort of rainbowy so I picked a sunshine yellow Liberty Lawn for the lining.

And then ... you know ... a bow.  Why not!  Just a bias cut scrap.  I love how the frayed edge contrasts with the tailored ribbon. 

Ok.  So now I have a pretty new pouch ... but my sewing room is still messy.  In my defence, I vacuumed and emptied the garbage.  And yes, the ribbon box is tidy too.  That's something, right?

new pattern - little geese satchel

Whew was THIS pattern ever "in development" for a looong time.  Like, embarrassingly long.  Remember Lori Holt's Quilty Fun blog hop?  In December?  (Of 2013?!)  Well, I made these 32 red and white flying geese. 

Super fun to make and super  cute to look at.  But then ... what to do, what to do.  Hmmm.  Haven't got a clue.

For a while.

Then I finally got a clue.  I'd been wanting to design a bag with a cute little patchwork design along sides for quite a while.  These 2" geese turned out to be just the thing.  Funny how inspiration and opportunity can spark creativity.  :)  I love it when this happens.

I don't know how to explain just how much I love this sweet little satchel.  I made it 9" x 12" - the perfect size to hold standard paper.  It's not all big and sloppy, but rather neat and tidy - great for library books, class notes, a lunch date with a girlfriend, sewing projects (I'm currently keeping a cross-stitch project in mine, with pattern, linen, floss, scissors & needles. 

The shorter handles are so nice to just grab and go - no long, noodley straps to fish around for.  The little rolled section in the middle is a nice detail, but it doesn't take long to do and it just feels so good in your hand.  And you can hang it on a knob or bedpost or the back of a chair without it dragging on the ground.

Of course I snuck in a little bit of lace (totally optional).

There are no zippers, flaps, buttons or snaps to fuss with either.  No hardware at all.  And the inside seams are finished off with binding. 

To make the geese, I included both my favourite piecing method, as well as foundation paper piecing templates if you prefer.

I hope you like it.  The pattern is only available as a PDF at the moment.  You can find it here.  My patterns always have LOTS AND LOTS of step-by-step photos - this one has 42.  My goal is your success so I make my patterns as detailed as I can - as if I was right beside you, showing you how to do everything.  The photos are in colour too, so even if you only have a B/W printer, you can see the pictures in colour on your screen when you view the PDF.

PS:  Thank you to my almost 14 year old daughter who graciously agreed to model the satchel.  She's taller than me now.  She loves that.  Me?  It's taking some getting used to. ;)

happy mother's day!

I wish my life was as serene as these dreamy hydrangeas look!  I hardly have time to come up for air these days.  Hope all you mothers are having a lovely day. :)

xo k