Happy Tuesday! I wanted to share a little bit of what I'm working on right now. I'm mostly working on moving prep and taking care of our toddler, but there has been some sewing too. Not as much as I'd like, but I know that is temporary!


When going through my closet a few weeks ago, I pulled some handmade shirts that I haven't worn in a long time. One was a tunic made from this excellent dot from Habitat by Jay McCarroll. I decided to chop it up for the fabric instead of letting it continue to languish in my closet. Right away I turned it into a drawstring bag! This is the bottom accent from the expansion pattern. I used a scrap of leftover sparkly cotton by Robert Kaufman for the accent, a purple blender for the lining and some cotton twill that I dyed last year for the ties! (In case you missed it: Tie Dye Twill Tape Tutorial) This is an everything size bag. I used my Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern and Expansion Pattern to make it.


Another drawstring bag! I had the fabrics pulled for this one for years! I was cleaning out my WIP storage and found this combination. It was perfect for an afternoon where I didn't have much time, but wanted to sew. I don't work a lot with black fabrics, but I really like how this bag turned out! I love how the black ruler twill tape looks with these prints.



I can't stop making towel bags!! I need to write a dedicated post about working with towels, they're just so much fun. I found this incredible mustard/gold plaid towel at the outlet and knew it would make some great bags. I was able to squeeze two boxy bags, made using my Triplizip Pattern, plus a plain flat pouch. I was so glad that I had some matching zippers on hand.



I've been working on a new quilt for the last month using all striped vintage sheets. Actually, I used scraps leftover from putting together these stripe bundles. I'm hoping to share more when I share the finished quilt soon!


Another project made from a vintage quilt, a giant bow! I didn't have a seasonal wreath to hang on the door for Summer, so I made this bow! It has a bit of random interfacing to give it a bit of structure. I serged the cut ends and hung it up with a zip-tie. Easy peasy! And I love it.



Saved some little half-square triangles leftover from making my Starflower zipper pouches, turned into a few random blocks!


I have started slowly adding things to my online shop as a part of a moving sale! I'll continue to do so through the Fall. These will be a dedicated post about it hopefully in the next month or so!


I'll leave you with a photo of Dusty cat helping in the sewing room. So nice!

Happy Sewing!

Scrappy Canvas Pencil Pouches

Happy Monday! Today I want to share a some zipper pouches I made recently!


I dug into my canvas scraps for these pencil pouches made from Anna Graham's Canvas Pencil Pouch Tutorial. I haven't made any of these in 8 years (see my first batch here), it was fun to revisit this design!


This time around I went completely scrappy. I don't reach for my canvas scraps often, so I wanted to use up as many scraps as I could while making these. This meant that two of the three pouches I made had different fabrics for the front and back! I think it adds a bit of whimsy to them!


Even the linings came from the scrap bin! Using up scraps is so satisfying.


I had three metal zippers that were the right side, which is why I made three pouches! Well, plus I can't just make one. My Mom requested another (I gave her one of the original pouches I made years ago), which is why I made new ones in the first place! I figured I could find uses for the other two.


How fun do they look from the bottom?!


This is a wonderful design, and a great tutorial by Anna! I was glad to make these again and also to use up some scraps! It had been a while since I've used these metal zippers, they are so nice. I have plenty more in other sizes, I feel like I should reach for them more often!

Pattern: Canvas Pencil Pouch Tutorial by Anna Graham
Fabric: Scrap stash
Notions: Metal zippers from Zipit*

Happy Sewing!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

Upcycled Starflower Zipper Pouches

Happy Tuesday! Today I wanted to share two zipper pouches I made recently with my new Strawflower Quilted Zipper Pouch Pattern!


I've still been feeling a strong pull towards repurposing textiles and also with working on older works in progress. These two pouches scratch both of those itches! First I knew I wanted to use these vintage napkins that I thrifted. It's a set of five, I believe, and I used two for this pouch. I love collecting (and using!) cloth napkins, but these are noticeably smaller than most in my stash and I wasn't using them. For the second pouch I pulled out this random block that has been languishing. I made this block using offcuts from my first Triangularity Quilt, which I made more than ten years ago.


With the texture of this napkin, this pouch reminds me a little of a carpet bag (in a good way!). This is the largest pre-set pouch size in the pattern, it finishes at 12" square. I'm thinking about picking up an old english paper piecing project and that's what I'll store in this pouch! For the quilting I did some simple wavy lines.


I love using a zipper that is a pop of color! I keep coming back to this mustard/gold zipper in my projects, it's such a great color.


Used some older Carolyn Friedlander for the lining. It was a little bit of a challenge to find something in my stash that worked well with the napkins!


For the smaller zipper pouch I used the custom bag instructions in the pattern. I'm not sure yet what I'll use this pouch for, but I'm just glad that block is out of a drawer and finally turned into something! For the quilting I did random straight lines, mostly on the diagonal to mimic the blocks.


I like using the lining fabric for the zipper end tabs as a little tease of what's inside. I also almost always make little quick zipper pulls, because why not!


Even though these fabrics are many years old, I managed to find some matching fabrics for the lining and the back in my stash and scrap bin. Sometimes it pays to hold onto things!


The Starflower Quilted Zipper Pouch Pattern is available as a PDF download in my online shop.


Pattern: Starflower Quilted Zipper Pouch Pattern
Fabrics: Stash
Notions: Zippers

Happy Sewing!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

Recent Lined Drawstring Bags

Happy Wednesday! I have quite a backlog of drawstring bags to share with you today. Some of these are even from the holiday season, whoops! These were all made with either my Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern or my free tutorial.


First up, a sweet floral bag! Before my daughter arrived, I put together a box of fabric combinations to turn into bags or other small projects. My thought process was that I could then easily grab a stack of fabrics when I had a spare moment to sew something without having to think too much. It worked out rather well, but I actually still have a few combinations waiting to be turned into something! This was one of them. I used the peek-a-boo lining variation in my Lined Drawstring Bag Expansion Pattern to make this bag. Otherwise it's an Everything size! The main fabric has been in my stash for a long time and is by Carolyn Gavin, love her artwork.


I bet you can't guess who I made these Christmas bags for! My seemingly endless stash of Hello Kitty fabrics has really come in handy lately. We did a combination of wrapping paper and reusable bags for my daughter, who enjoyed opening both. These were both made using the easy going variation in my Lined Drawstring Bag Expansion Pattern. One is an Artist size, the other is a Project size.


Last of the holiday bags! I made this group of 5 snack size bags to gift some sweet holiday treats in! They fit a jelly jar nicely.


Another Hello Kitty bag, this one Easter themed. I think I have Hello Kitty fabric for every major holiday! This one is Project sized!



These bags are both gift bags for one of Michael's coworkers who recently had a baby! The baby quilt is done and fits neatly inside the Artist size bag. The other bag will hold another small present. I used some of my Geometric Bliss prints for these.


And now and smattering of bottle gift bags! Michael needed a last minute bottle bag for a gift recently and I almost couldn't find one! So I decided to make a small stash of them so that we're better prepared for last minute gifting. These were all made using my Wine Bottle Drawstring Gift Bag Tutorial. This one features a fun print from Carolyn Friedlander and a sparkly accent.


Next I dug into my hand-dyed fabric stash! This is a fabric I dyed by first applying a wax resist with a paintbrush, then indigo dyeing! I am feeling a pull to start using more of my hand-dyed fabrics lately! I went with a solid exterior for this bag, no accent.


Another bag made from hand-dyed fabric, this time ice-dyed! I have a bunch of ice-dyed fabrics waiting to be used, it was nice to dip into my stash. I went with a solid exterior for this bag, no accent.



These last two bags were made with some fabrics by Sarah Watson that have been in my stash for many years! It is so satisfying to dip deep into my stash and use something I've been holding onto for so long.

Pattern: Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern, Lined Drawstring Bag Expansion Pattern, Lined Drawstring Bag Free Tutorial, Wine Bottle Drawstring Gift Bag Tutorial
Fabrics: Stash
Notions: Cotton Twill Tape, Nylon Paracord

Happy Sewing!

NEW! Starflower Quilted Zipper Pouch Pattern

Happy Friday! I'm excited to say I have a new sewing pattern, the Starflower Quilted Zupper Pouch Pattern, available now! This is the first pattern I've been able to publish since 2022, so it's been a long time coming! Before we dive into the pattern details, I'd love to tell the story of how it came about.



Back in 2010, when I was first starting my quilting journey, I often turned my scraps into pieced zipper pouches. It all started with a pouch I made using scraps from my Warm Cool Half-square Triangle Quilt. For a long time, it was my favorite way to use up not only scraps, but all the random quilt blocks I'd make as I was learning.



Zipper pouches are still one of my favorite things to make, and I really love making these flat ones. They're relatively fast to make and make great gifts. I've continued to make them all these years later, much the same way as I made those first few. Although I will say everything about the ones I make now is just a little bit neater! It's incredible how much I've learned and honed my skills in 15 years.


The Starflower Quilted Zipper Pouch Pattern is all those years of pouch making experience come to life! There are four pouch sizes included: 6", 8", 10", and 12" square to coordinate with common quilt block sizes. In addition there are instructions for making your own custom size pouch, which could be square or rectangular! The custom sizing for these is really simple and straightforward, never fear. I've included instructions for four star quilt blocks (one for each pouch size), making them plain with a single fabric, or using your own quilt block.


Let's take a look at the sample pouches! These pouches were made using reclaimed vintage sheets and YKK zippers. My favorite source for zippers is Zip it on Etsy*.


First up, the star quilt block pouches! I don't know what it is about star blocks and vintage sheets, I just can't seem to get enough of the combination!


6" Woven Star Pouch


8" Wrapped Star Pouch


10" Sawtooth Star Pouch


12" Ohio Star Pouch


These plain pouches are perfect for those precious fabrics you can hardly bear to cut into! Show off those beautiful focal fabrics with these.


6" Plain Pouch


8" Plain Pouch


10" Plain Pouch


12" Plain Pouch


Starflower Quilted Zipper Pouch Pattern fabric requirements.


The Starflower Quilted Zipper Pouch Pattern is available now as a PDF download in my online shop.

Happy Sewing!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.