Things to do with fat quarters

I have felt a little unsteady on the calendar front today,  having woken up thinking that it was the weekend. It's not such a bad thing if one does that on a Friday, but a Tuesday . . . ?

Bunting from LittleTreeHouse on Etsy

But things looked up when the fog lifted and we actually had a couple of hours of sunshine, so I was able to take some exciting photos. Well, exciting for me, because they are of My Sewing Room - yes, you read aright, all our decorative upheavals have meant that the orange corridor next to the kitchen now has a name and a coat of paint (as does the Head Chef's coat, but we always have a paint accident when he takes to decorating, and there have been worse ones than this [it was the one I gave him for Christmas last year, but I have already told him that it is a waste of time giving him presents as he doesn't really like what I give him (except for this coat) and if he is going to get paint on his presents, well, then, it really is a waste of time, and I had only just said to Princess Bunchy, mind the wet paint, and he was the one who had actually applied the paint . . . ]).

My New Sewing Cupboard and paint accidents in waiting

So this morning I went into My Sewing Room, and pondered on what I could make from some fat quarters that would enable me to tick off another item in the Polka Dot Daze Christmas Challenge (yes, it is Tuesday, time for me to have to account for my week's progress, hence my presence in My Sewing Room [I am sorry, I am so excited about My Very Own Sewing Room that I am impelled to put it in writing]).

(For Christmas Challenge list, read Princess Bunchy's presents for friends list [I never had this trouble with the boys, you know, they never wanted to give presents to anyone], which grows by the day.)

Dear little Robins from SewSweetViolet on Etsy

I suddenly remembered the Basic Wallet pattern that I bought from Keyka Lou a little while ago (there is a sale on, by the way, and everything is reduced, if you are feeling the urge to be crafty), which, although it has rather a mundane name, makes a really pretty little purse - and what's more you can make them from the heaps of fat quarters in your stash. Isn't that thrifty?

Not so basic wallets

I also decided that it was time to step up the pace on the old making front, and go into mass production - well, three purses at a time.

Making nice things from fat quarters in a very methodical way

I was very methodical, and layered together three fat quarters to cut out three pieces of fabric at a time - the Basic Wallet pattern is very economical on fabric - you can cut out two of these purses from a fat quarter, with plenty left over (the Owl Coin Purse pattern is a good way of using up scrap fabric, and I think I am going to try that one next, as these would also make good presents.)

Oh so orderly

I was also able to use small pieces of interfacing left over from larger projects, so that was also very satisfyingly economical. I used Vilene Firm fusible interfacing on the main fabric, and Vilene S13, a thick non-fusible for the lining, and the combination produced a really nice structured purse - but you could use up any interfacing that you have spare as there is plenty of scope for flexibility. I think fusible fleece could also work well. (And a handy hint here - Teflon ironing cloths are wonderful for ironing on interfacing, and save an awful lot of mess on the iron or ironing board.)

Mass production - interfacing three pieces at once

This small-scale mass production was definitely a more efficient way of working - it does not take much more time to cut out three purses at once, and setting it all out in such an orderly fashion and doing each step for all three before moving on to the next made a lot of difference (I am sure you have all worked this one out years ago, but somehow I never got round to thinking it through).

More presents

Using small all-over prints saves time in terms of cutting, as I didn't have to think about placement as I did with the first purse I made (the pink one with the large roses), and it would have been even quicker if I hadn't had to change the thread to pink to topstitch the spotty one.

Pretty linings

So I can now sleep easy tonight, knowing that I have been able to show my face on the Christmas Challenge blog, and I hope that you have enjoyed the glimpses of My Very Own Sewing Room. I will show you more when it is all finished and all traces of paint have been removed from the Head Chef.