Sewing again

You may have noticed there hasn't been very much sewing going on here this year. I want to change that this summer because I have a very, very busy autumn planned. So if I'm going to fit in some sewing it'll have to be over the summer. On Tuesday, a friend came around and we spent the day sewing. We set up our sewing machines on our dining room table.

I wanted to make the Bucket Basket Tote by Very Shannon which is a free pattern but it looked like a slightly more difficult pattern, especially as we wanted to chat while we were sewing so I settled for a simple Kindle pouch instead. I used this free Notebook Pouch tutorial but I made it smaller to fit my Kindle. I used fusible fleece on both the outer and lining fabric to make it nice and cushioned. I mainly use my Kindle when we travel and on the beach on holidays so I wanted something light that wouldn't instantly look like a tech gadget if someone rummaged through my bag on the beach.

The fabric I used for the lining is the same as the outer fabric but the background colour is blue. I also used an invisible magnetic snap instead of velcro. It's not as strong as a proper magnetic snap which I think I'll use if I make this again. I'm happy with the result though and it fits my Kindle perfectly.

Afterwards I decided to make a little bag. I already had material cut out for a Japanese Knot Bag. I made a small one a few months ago and wanted to try a larger one.

I used some Liberty fat quarters for both the outer and lining. I messed up the handles a bit because I mis-read the instructions but otherwise I'm happy. Although I could do with shortening the shorter handle a bit.

Below is the first Japanese Knot bag I made in Liberty fabric earlier this year and the new larger version. The larger one will easily fit a shawl project. The small one I mainly use when teaching to carry my yarn on my wrist when I'm walking around the class demonstrating various things. I used this tutorial for the large bag which was much clearer than the tutorial I used for the first bag I made.

I left my sewing machine and equipment on the dining room table with the intention of cutting out the fabric for the Bucket Basket Tote but I still haven't had time to do it. Hopefully this weekend....