Isn't it always the case that sewing anything unusual sounds so much harder than doing what we normally do, even when we know it's not?  Yep, yep.  That was me and this zip organizer from Zakka Style .  Zippers, bias binding, interfacing, etc.



Happily, I had a deadline (oh, QuiltCon) so that pushed things right along.  I also used Krista's great notes from the Zakka sew-along. Now I have my handmade bag and a wallet that mostly, kinda matches.  Yay!



I definitely had trouble committing to fabrics for this project.  Most everything I pulled seemed like "too much" so believe it or not this could have been louder.  I think I would have liked the inside better without the butterfly ribbon, but I definitely love that ribbon for the outside.  It's a Loulouthi ribbon by Anna Maria Horner.  Magenta always gets me.



So, um you wanted to see my old wallet?  Yeah..... I truly bought it to punish myself for repeatedly losing wallets.  I figured something so silly would be hard to forget.  Plus, it was cheap.  Well, then I never lost a wallet again! Now I'm going out on a limb with a wallet I actually like.  Wonder what happens next?



Admittedly, the new version is not all that much more "mature" than the old, but on this side on the outside (so from at least one perspective) it looks pretty grown up.



Best of all, it actually holds my stuff even better than the old wallet.  This "zip organizer" is bigger than your average wallet and...



has a huge outer zip pouch for coins.   And that's good because one of my life missions is to use my husband's change.  That man is always bringing home change.   Sheesh.

Okay, all zipped up.  Is it time to pack yet?