What would you make?

Last month I had the difficult task of making something for someone who has been amazing supportive to me over the past year. She is also an accomplished knitter and sewer and mentioned in passing that she'd love to have a handmade gift. So I knew that whatever I made would be appreciated but what to make?

Lots of ideas were considered, pondered and then discounted but eventually I settled on two:


red door stop

This was made with upcycled upholstery fabric before the other door stops but as it hadn't been given away then I couldn't share the details. The room it was intended for has just been replastered, a new hard wood floor laid and the walls are painted white with red as an accent colour. However instead it's found a new home in the hall way stopping the front door smashing into the very stylish designer radiator, but at least it's being used.

I also wanted to make her something more personal. Again I dithered between patterns but it was the fabric which finally dictated my choice. I had 3 gorgeous fat quarters that needed a pattern that took 3 fabrics - and found my answer in Quilting in No Time:


Cosmetics bag

Please imagine the base colour as lilac as you'll get a truer picture.

I couldn't resist the dancing couple:


dancing couple detail on make-up bag

The construction looks very stylish (in my opinion) but is simple to achieve:



base of make up bag

and I love how the patchwork strip brings the design together:



close up of centre pattern

I added a cream zip:


I used a 10" zip rather than the 12" stipulated in the pattern

My one criticism of the pattern is that the lining is too wide once you put it inside the outer bag:


lining fabric bunched up

So I'd recommend trimming an inch off recommended lining size given in the pattern.

I LOVED this bag and was reluctant to give it away. It was VERY much appreciated and is already in use. Since then I've already made another one and more are in production/being planned.