Stitched in Color

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Linen and Squares

Do you know what's good about doing a swap?

Linen + Squares drawstring pouch


It get's you trying new things.  I'd always wanted to try Jeni's drawstring bag tutorial, so there you go.  No wonder it's so popular - the thing goes together lickety split.  Totally one I'll be using again.  Anyhoo, my partner likes linen, color and many of my favorite fabrics so I figured a work made in scraps would be just the thing.

for Love circle swap

I had some trouble getting a mix of prints that I liked for the squares on this drawstring tote, so I just kept cutting and cutting and cutting 2" squares.  And then with all the leftovers...

Linen + Squares journal covers

Yeah, that.  Dividing the squares into color groupings made me much happier with the scrappy combos.  I paired the squares with my favorite real natural linen from Fabric-Store.com, which has a seriously earthy texture and tone that I really can't get enough of.  This is the good stuff, people.  I hope there are some linen-lovers at Indie Craft Parade!

more Linen + Squares

Although the fronts are minimalistic, I got playful on the back and inside covers.  Improv-piecing scraps just makes my day.  You never know what will happen... 

Strawberry Fields journal cover

Oh, and here's the ugliest covered journal I've ever made.  No offense if you like it. I had the 2 hourglass blocks in my abandoned "pieced scraps" collection.  Every time I sort through them these 2 blocks always stick out like a soar thumb.  This particular green and pink combo is just not me, so it never seems to work with anything else I make.   So... I stubbornly forced myself to make them into a covered journal when I really, really should have just let them go instead.  Lesson learned.

inside Strawberry Fields

The inside is better.  And, who knows, maybe this'll be the first one to sell.  Wow, that would be a hooot!

These 4 covered journals join a tall stack of projects destined for Indie Craft Parade in Greenville, South Carolina, September 7-9.  I've heard from some of you who are going to be there. That's the coolest!  For those that can't some... yes, I will be posting leftover stock in my Etsy store after the fact and you'll be the first to know.  Totally warms my heart that you've been asking!!!