I have too many hobbies and not enough time to indulge them all. Usually, I knit or crochet or read, and the rest (writing, sewing) just kind of fall by the wayside. I had a three-day weekend, so I figured I could get a bit of sewing done.

I finally made a box bag! I used a combination of these two tutorials. Everything was easy until I got to the boxing of the corners–it took me way, way, WAY too long to figure it out, but I finally did. yay!

The fabric (both exterior and lining) are from Hancock Fabrics. Once I figured out the concept, making a second bag was a snap:

I love this fabric. I found it on Etsy, and at Hancock Fabrics I found a matching lining that’s kind of perfect for it:

I’ll probably keep knitting notions or maybe a small WIP in it. I’m sure I’ll make more of these since I took so much time learning the concept, haha. Next, I made a tote bag:

…which I love! This is the tutorial I used. Again, the main fabric is from Etsy and the lining is just a plain cotton in a coordinating color. Best of all, it holds lots of books:

I was able to fit six mass market paperbacks in here, with room to spare. This would be good to take book shopping with me–reusable, no plastic bags, etc. I’d like to make this bag again, but possibly in a larger size to use as a knitting tote.

I’m working on building up a small fabric stash, and hopefully I can juggle work/knitting/crochet/reading and make more time for sewing. I’m starting my final semester of school on February 1st, so I’m not sure how much free time I’ll have…but I’ll try!

I made a pouch! With a zipper. I am quite proud. There’s only one small mistake (which, if you stare hard enough, you can probably find), so this is pretty good for me. Normally when I sew something there are at least 5 mistakes, haha…but I am really happy with this one.

Right now my knitting notions are inside, and this pouch will go inside my knitting bag. I plan to make many more of these pouches!

I used twelve22‘s tutorial – very well-written – and fabric by Michael Miller in Carnival Bloom (exterior) and Dumb Dot (interior).

Finished dimensions: 8.5″ L x 5.5″ H.

As if the 52 in 52 challenge wasn’t enough…now I’ve set out to be super crafty in 2009.

Happy new year!

This weekend is my last one before I have to go back to work (boo). So I spent most of the weekend sewing:

I made a new checkbook cover. Normally I put my checkbook in my wallet, but I got a new wallet recently that won’t fit my checkbook. I found some fat quarters at Joann and used the Prettier Checkbook Tutorial and mediumweight interfacing to give it some structure.

If I made another, I would make the cover wider. As you can probably see, it just barely spans the width of my checks. Fortunately they don’t stick out, but I cut it pretty close with this one. Overall, though, I think it looks pretty good for my first checkbook cover, and now I have something pretty to toss in my purse next to my wallet.

Next I made a cover for my reading journal. I like Moleskine plain notebooks because they are unlined–unlined journals are my favorite, I feel more free writing in those, I guess but the black covers are so plain. So I made this:

Tada, book cover! The Notebook Cover Tutorial is pretty straightforward. Fabric is from Hancock Fabrics–a couple fat quarters–with mediumweight interfacing in the cover only (not the pockets; I figured the interfacing would make the pockets slightly too bulky, and since I didn’t include a closure, I wanted to lessen the inside bulk).

The inside pockets are a nice touch, and I can even fit one of my flat pens in there, which is convenient. If I make another, I’ll give myself a bit more seam allowance. This one had about 1/4" but I think 1/2" would have been better. This cover is really snug–I didn’t account for the elastic strap on the back of the book, so it took some wrangling to get the cover on completely. Once on, though, it fits like a glove.

Christmas at my parents’ house went ok. I gave my sister and mom the gifts I made–sister got a Double Cable Scarf, since I promised her a cabley scarf about a year and a half ago…I sewed my mom a table runner:

She likes it a lot, and so did my sister–I might make her one next. I gave my other sister a gift card because she didn’t really ask for a specific gift; also, she is moving to Florida this weekend, so I didn’t think she would have much need for a knit hat or scarf.

Earlier this week, I sewed some curtains for my office/yarn room:

They look much better than the curtains that were originally in there (left by the previous homeowners), and they also match my fabric tiles on the opposite wall. The fabric is by Joel Dewberry and the print is Tossed Flowers.

I did a bit more sewing today–made a checkbook cover, which overall I’m happy with, but in which I see all the flaws and mistakes. It kind of drives me crazy. Being crafty and a perfectionist is not a good combination–I obsess over the slightest things! Anyway, pic of the cover coming soon. I also want to sew a cover for my Moleskine journal…I am pretty intrigued with sewing right now!