Something for she, he and you!


Yes, I have treats for everyone today, so stayed tuned right to the end to find out what I have for you!

First of all though, let's talk about the thing for 'she'.  Little Miss is the she in this tale and you can tell how behind I am on sharing my makes because I was talking about my batch of kindle cases over a month ago on my February Podcast.  I posted a few pictures of my kindle case here (scroll down a bit) and now I'm finally getting around to sharing the others I made.

If you heard the podcast you'll know that my case had a few unfortunate errors that bugged me a little and so the second time around I wanted to avoid all that.  As usual when I'm making something for the smallest person of the house, I let her have full editorial say so on the fabrics selected and, as usual I was slightly dubious about her choices initially.



She decided to go for a full on cat-fest.  She picked pretty much every fabric she could see that was feline related and then added some pink and purple into the mix because those colours are still the reigning favourites.  I can't say I was massively inspired myself but this was not for me so I dutifully started cutting squares and setting to work.

I thought I'd been very careful with all my measuring and cutting but got half-way through before I realised that I was cutting the squares too small.  Humpf.  So I started again.  Once I had assembled the second set of squares into a patchwork I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked the fabric they created.  That little girl of mine, I thought, maybe she knows what she's doing after all!  

I was just about to start the hand quilting and then would you believe it, I realised the whole thing was too small.  What the actual heck?!  So I added another row of squares to the side and a little strip to the bottom to salvage the morning's work.  And this is me trying to be careful.  Heaven help me.




Still, after these initial hiccups, the thing came together like a breeze.  Somehow, miraculously, it ended up fitting the kindle like a glove.  I actually really like the little strip of just one fabric at the bottom, it gives it a nice finish.  All luck and absolutely no judgment obviously, but still you take what you can get I say.  Oh and there are even little pussy cats inside too.  I do love a pretty lining, it's like a nice little surprise waiting to be discovered.  I'm glad to say that the cat lover was happy with it too.






Next up is the 'he' of the house.  It is very rare that the Mr asks me to make something for him so I pretty much always drop everything and get right onto it when he does.  Making for a man does not come remotely naturally to me but I figured keeping it simple would be no bad thing, so I opted for some stripes.  'Nothing can possibly go wrong this time' I thought.... hummmm.

So I beavered away happily on this one.  I came together reasonably quickly, all went fairly smoothly.  (You can see this is heading for a fall can't you?)  I'd almost finished the whole thing in fact when it suddenly occurred to me that I should check the fit.  So I merrily grabbed the kindle and when about putting it in the case...



...Or at least, I tried to.

Predictably, it wouldn't fit.  Well, it would, just, if I really pulled and pushed it into place.  But really and truly what I'd made was pretty much useless.  Yikes, what is going on with me?

You know how it is when things go all wrong.  Sometimes you want to throw it across the room and storm away.  Sometimes you just want to bury it and forget the whole sorry episode.  But on this occasion I was just plain annoyed.  At myself, of course.  But, I'd set out to make a kindle case for hubs and I was blooming well determined that he was going to get one!

So I started on Hub's Kindle Case 1.1 and feverishly worked on it right up until Little Miss came walking through the door from school.  Thankfully, Mark II did fit.  Just.  It was still fairly snug, but it was useable and so that would have to do.

It's strange that the case I thought would be a disaster actually turned out to be my favourite and the one I thought would be simple was actually a bit of a nightmare.  

Still, all three of them have a functioning cover of some sort which is the main thing and for a little while at least, I think I might leave making kindle cases well alone.






Now it is your turn, dear Reader as I have a little something for you too...

The lovely people at Homespun Magazine have very kindly given me the opportunity to offer you a free digital issue of their marvellous magazine.

If you've read the blog before you'll know this is one of my favourite crafty mags as I always find it so inspiring.  Being published in Australia, it's not always easy to get my hands on a copy, but these days the wonder of technology can solve that problem nicely.  The joy of the digital issue means that you can get this one delivered right into your inbox wherever in the world you are.  How good is that?


: : TO GET YOUR FREE COPY OF HOMESPUN : :

• Click on this link to go to the registration page

• Fill in the form with your details

• Enter 'Cherry Heart' into the 'Name of Event Attended' field.

: :

Hey presto, the free magazine issue will wing it's way right to you!


Update: 11 March 2015, 10:40 - For some reason you'll need to enter a Australian state in order to receive your free download, even if you are not in Australia!  Oh, and do remember to check your junk/spam/bulk folders if you don't get the confirming email through to your inbox within a short while.


S x




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Comments

  1. *LOL* Been there, when my cell phone bag (made from beautiful leather) turned out too small. And thanks for sharing the link to Homespun Magazine!

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  2. I so appreciate your honest and humble account of your struggles while sewing the cozy. I constantly run into these tangles and am apt to think it only happens to me.
    I also wanted to thank you profusely for the free issue of Homespun. I totally love this but cannot get it in the states. I have purchased a few digital copies and now I have another. It's much appreciated.

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  3. I LOVE the cat kindle cover, this might be my next sewing project. A couple of years ago my fiancé made himself a Chewbacca inspired Kindle case using some furry fabric, it looks so cool still.

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  4. Oh Sandra I do feel for you! We've all been there haven't we, so I do feel your pain! Thank you for making me realise that I'm not the only one and big kudos for not surrendering to the naughty sewing gremlins :-) All three cases look fab and unique too! Thank you v much for the offer of a free copy of Homespun magazine, I haven't read it before and I'm really looking forward to having a look. Oh by the way, I filled in the questionnaire on the Loop website giving feedback on their blog and I won a pair of tickets to the Country Living exhibition! I'm going on Thursday evening with my husband so it was a nice surprise. Take care, love Jo xxx

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  5. Sometimes it is when I am most careful with the measurements that things go awry. My first Kobo cover went wrong too and didn't fit, despite my careful measurements. The second one fits beautifully though. I think it is hard to adjust for ease, with the depth of the sides taking up more room than you think. Right now I'm wrestling with adjustments on a skirt pattern which don't add up either.
    Love the little cat case the most, as I never grew out of loving all things cat and shades of purple and pink are still my favourite colours, with some green thrown in. I'm sure both your husband and daughter love their cases.
    Isn't it a shame that males are trained out of liking 'pretty' things and have to have dull colours in comparison and very few men are brave enough for florals. For that reason I don't think I would do much sewing for men.

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  6. The family of covers are looking great... hopefully you will forgive them their trickiness soon! I really like the addition of the lilac dotty strip at the bottom of your daughter's case...

    Thank you for the chance for read Homespun... I look forward to sitting and reading my copy soon

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  7. I made a little cover for my phone which was surprisingly a lot smaller than planned. It fits nicely, but it was supposed to be quite a bit bigger. Funny how that happens isn't it. You've made a beautiful job of yours, no doubt they are very much appreciated. Thanks for the Homespun Magazine, I shall go and have a look. CJ xx

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  8. Hi Sara, when I saw that it may be a longish post I grabbed a coffee first:0)
    Little Misses fabric choices worked so well and the ones that you chose for hubby. Really relieved that they worked out in the end.
    A little question. At what point did you sew the Velcro tape on? I can not see any stitching at all on the front of hubby's case.
    Also, when you did your hand quilting (I have only machine quilted) did you have any fabric behind the wadding?
    Hugs

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  9. Such a perfectionist you are, sheesh!! Beautiful results though and I totally love that little kitten fabric. xxx
    ps I was looking at a book to buy on Amazon the other day 'Boho something-or-other' and your Stripey Fingerless Mitts were in it!

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  10. The kindle covers are wonderful - I must admit my favourite is the cat themed one, she certainly did have a good eye choosing all the fabric, and you put them together so beautifully! I have very little patience when it comes to sewing and can never be this neat, not dutifully begin a project again if it doesn't fit! But I do feel inspired to try again seeing how gorgeous your covers came out :) jenny xx

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  11. Ah the trials of handmade projects never stop do they?! On a positive note...just received the magazine Homespun. What a big, wonderous mag it is. Very inspiring. Favorite from the issue? Was the little Hedge Hog tote bag. Is that adorable or what!!!
    One snafu with obtaining the free issue was having to identify which "state" (Australia) you're from. You can't leave it blank so I just clicked on one which completed the process.

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  12. Love that little pouch and such cute cat fabric too.
    I don't seem to be able to access the free copy, the only options for where you live that comes up are Australian states and Im in the Uk.
    I tried using WA and inserted cherry heart as you said but all that happened was that the page blanked all that inserted lol
    Would love to see a copy of that magazine too to see if its worth subscribing to digitally

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  13. I love how you all have Kindles. And it is too cute how your little miss picked out her own fabrics. You have skillz!

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  14. It would have been puppies and purples and pinks here when my grown up girls were little girls, those colours must be perennial favourites. It's a cute cover, I'm not surprised she was happy with it.

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