Hand Quilted Book/Notebook cover

Recently I was asked to make a quilted book/notebook cover for a friend, by her daughter, as an anniversary gift.

Still with me - lol

This quilted cover is for a reference bible and holds a notebook, pen and highlighter as well.  It zips around the edges so you don't lose any notes or additional reference material you may need to stash.

This is the front of the cover when its neatly zipped.

This is the back of the cover, where I highlighted a different part of the print.

After cutting out the pattern pieces and sandwiching batting between the layers I sit down to some good old fashioned hand quilting.

I use embroidery floss in complimentary colors and just stitch wherever my heart desires.

It was nice to think about my friend and her many lovely qualities as I stitched.  

Can people feel the love in a hand stitched / hand made item?

Hurray - now you can see the coordinating lining fabric:)  

You can also see the pocket on the back of the cover that holds a notebook and pens.

It's roomy enough to hold a songbook as well...just say'n.

I slipped my Bible into the finished cover to make sure I had not made it to tight....a common issue of mine.

The "pocket" that holds the Bible/book into the cover can of course also hold additional items as well...say your study article or reference material.

This is a great grab and go item.  

For instance....to the park, or a waiting room, etc

I can do a little reading or some in depth studying sitting outside or while waiting for the car to be tuned up.

Do organizational items like this appeal to you or do you prefer to simply throw everything into a bag and go?

Project Organization - The Notebook & A Give Away

Here we have another installment on how I organize my sewing projects. 

 To see the first installment  click here

This is the note book I keep all my sewing projects in.  

It is a standard 3 ring notebook with vinyl cover The vinyl cover allows you to slide in a paper of your choice to help identify the contents....or to just make attractive.

I used some scrapbook paper by Cosmo Cricket called " Material Girl"

How could I possibly resist that?

Inside my notebook I store my:

                                                                   1.   Personal Croquie, 

                                                                   2.  My measurement form along with family members forms

                                                                   3.  Sewing Project Worksheets

                                                                   4.  Completed projects - which get filed towards the back

                                                                   5.  Fabric Swatches from stash 

For my fabric swatches I use index cards and I record :

                                                                    1.  Yardage amount

                                                                    2.  Fiber content and washing instructions

                                                                    3. Store where purchased

                                                                    4. How much I payed and saved if on sale

                                                                    5. Date of purchase

I also keep "Preferred measurements" cards in my notebook as well, but I will leave that for another post:)

The advantages to using a system like this, is that it removes the fear and clutter from my brain.  The fear of course being that I will forget some project and the clutter.....well the less said about that the better-lol

Once it goes into the notebook I can move onto more designing and creating. When I am ready to add a project into the rotation I look through my notebook and decide what is appropriate for the season, and difficulty level I am currently willing to add to the mix. It also provides a record of techniques, interfacing and alterations, which is very useful when doing a similar project.

In general I have 3-4 projects going at time.  This generally means that one is in pattern stage, one is in construction and one is handwork intensive.  When I am working on a project it gets removed from the notebook and pinned to my  bulletin board.

I challenge you to try this with 3 projects.  Download the form, or make one yourself, fill them out and see if you don't feel a sense of calm:) 

Comment about your results and I will do a random drawing for a custom note book give-away

Eva Dress contest & Sewing Project Organization

Today I thought I would share with you how I catalog my sewing projects and  ideas.  When the pieces start coming together for a project I like to organize them in such a way that I can track my time, ideas and expenses.  I do this for clients as well as my personal sewing.  

It begins with a form I made which was inspired by Roberta Carr's worksheet as found in:

 "Couture The Art of Fine Sewing"

You are welcome to download my form and use it for your projects.  You can find the form here

For the Eva Dress Contest I am planning on making this 1940 playsuit

  

My plans for these overalls are to use them for gardening although I am seriously haunted by making silk pajamas as well.  

Just Imagine how luxurious I would feel wearing a silk charmeuse playsuit with my Indigo Junction bed jacket?  

Can you say "Mr D'Mille I am ready for my close up"?

Alas the sensible side of me says I need something fashionable and serviceable to garden in.  Which would mean cotton lined linen overalls with some cargo type pockets to carry tools.  I also want to be able to roll the hem up, to keep them out of the water.  In order to accommodate that I will add some straps inside the side seam which will button to the outside side seam.  Not sure yet what I will use for the jacket, which I will most likely need.  A lightweight cotton shirting would  suit as it would protect me from the sun and bugs.

 I put in as much information as I have to begin and then I will add to the worksheet as I progress. 

 Under the Pattern Alterations I make notes about size changes I make. 

 The Design changes is where I list...well changes I want to make from the original design of the pattern.  As I am doing that I will make notes about any special cutting issues I might need to consider and list them under Cutting notes.

I think you get the idea:)

At this stage of the project nothing is written in stone. The sheet serves as a reminder and reference.  I slip the sheet into a sheet protector and place it in my project notebook. When I want to start something new, usually as I am finishing up some other project I will flip through my notebook and see what beckons.   As I finish them I move them to the back of the notebook so I can refer to them later.   Sometimes I think I know what I want to do with a particular fabric and I create a project sheet for it, but I can always change my mind later if I find different pattern or need.   

I like to use these when shopping for additional trims and notions all the info is available and easy to carry along.  Once I start working on them I pin them to my bulletin board for a constant visual reminder.  Currently I have 4 of them pinned and in progress.

Do you have a way you like to organize your sewing projects or would you rather not bother and just dig in?