tablet case

My blog post titles are just so creative aren't they?  Does anyone enjoy trying to come up with something interesting or do we all hate writing the damn things?

Anyway, it is what it says.  I made a case for my tablet.  It's not an i-pad, I'm not some label queen, it's a Samsung tablet and I love it to bits.  When I went to the Manor House in October, I wanted to take my tablet and so the weekend before saw me making a last minute case for it.  Turns out I might as well not have bothered as there was no wifi signal there so I couldn't use it!

I used an FQ of Kate and Birdie's Winter Lane which I've been hoarding.  I don't think it's particularly wintery so I was happy to use it.  I drafted my own pattern for this case, took some measurements, cut out my rectangles and then quilted.

I do enjoy FMQ so I'm not sure why I'm putting of FMQing the And Sew On quilt and my applique cushion cover.  I know it will be fun when I get started.

I stupidly quilted it with the lining fabric, in hindsight I would have much preferred making a separate lining, I wouldn't have had to bind the damn thing for a start!

I wish I'd taken a picture of the cut out pattern piece before I sewed it up.  It's one piece with a rectangle taken out of the top to form the front.  It was a stupid design and I bound it in the most ridiculous way, but never mind, it's done now!

I love the finished case, but you have to make sure not to look directly at the binding as it's so sloppily put on it could explode in your face.  True.

I put in a button hole and added a self-cover button to match the lining.  I probably could have fussy cut it!

Night night Mr Tablet, sleep tight.

Great week!

I am having a great week!  OK, so it's only Tuesday, but I was featured on One Pretty Thing this weekend (OK, so a lot of people are but to me it's a massive achievement!) and now I've been told that I'll be in the FaveCrafts January newsletter with my counting bean bags!  I am so excited it's like Christmas Eve has come early.  Small things...

Oh, and something else that makes me happy?  Remember my embroidered picture frame?  Here it is with the photo in it, mounted in the frame with the glass.  Love it!

(Project from Quilt a Gift by Barrie Sue Gaudet)

My online "success" also makes up for my frustrating sewing experiences over the weekend.  I'm on the last desperate push for Christmas presents now.  Having decided to abandon the idea of making gifts for my dad and father-in-law (I bought them a jumper instead!), I have now almost finished.  At the weekend we made some Cookies in a Jar, I just have to make labels for them now.  I got the recipe from taste.com.au.  I also made my own version for my dad who's diabetic.  I found a great diabetic dessert cook book last year and now all his presents come from it!  I used a shortbread recipe that just called for some butter to be added to the dry ingredients.  So, just a label for that too and they are done.

Also on the to-do list is a load of baking for presents, my lovely husband has made the gingerbread dough for the gingerbread rabbits and it's in the freezer, I'll get started on the rest of the baking tomorrow night, then hopefully finish it Thursday night.  That's not going to happen is it?  I'll be baking on Christmas Eve too no doubt.  I will be at work all week and I'm hoping they let us go home at lunch time on Christmas Eve as I also have to finish up knitting the ted bed for Rebecca's teddy.  Oh, and I have to do the wrapping and make gift tags.  OK, feeling stressed, time to concentrate on what I HAVE finished!

First up is a lap top cosy for my mum, the pig lover.  I found another pig patterned fabric and decided to use it. 

I wanted a khaki green for the lining but have very little in the way of solid fabrics, I love patterns too much.  Well, I had a brain wave.  I was in Asda and I found some of their Smart Price pillow slips in the right colour - two for just £1.69!  What a bargain is that??  There's well over a metre squared of fabric there when they're unpicked.  I used this excellent tutorial at Crap I've Made. 

(That lining IS khaki, once again it's my rubbish photography!)
I did struggle a bit with the zip.  Once I'd sewn it up, the ends of the zipper tape were protruding, a little handsewing sorted it out but I'm not sure where I went wrong.  It certainly wasn't down to the tutorial - the instructions were fantastic, I think it was just my lack of experience, it was only my second ever zip!

I also managed to finish up the caffetiere cosy for my brother.  Well, one of them.  I'd made two, one for a large 6 cup caffetiere, one for a small 2 cup caffetiere as my brother (a massive coffee lover) has both.  I'd measured and cut and sewed, then discovered that my great new sewing machine wouldn't put a button hole in them.  I'd used 2 layers of fabric and a layer of wadding but my 1-step button hole was struggling as it couldn't feed the material properly.  No problem I thought, I'll use the manual buttonhole.  Oh, there isn't one on my machine!  So I took them round to my mum's who's got a machine with a 4-step button hole.  Sorted! 

I took my caffetiere cosies home, opened the buttonhole and sewed in the threads, then wrapped them round the caffetieres to see where to sew the button.  Oh.  The large one is fine, but the small one is far too short.  About 6 inches too short!  What happened there??  So I abandoned it, he'll just get the one!

And then there was the i-pod cosy fiasco.  I think I've already mentioned that I've now made two attempts at this simple piece of sewing?  The first was far too small (noticing a theme here??), the second was too bulky to turn.  I would have loved to abandon this project, but mum had specifically asked me for one so I had to do it.  I gave up on the tutes I'd been following and made it the same way I made the accessories pouch back in November.  Success!

I added a silly little piggy bell I'd found.  Here it is with my i-pod inside - yes it's too big!  I'm going to say I did it deliberately so she could fit her ear phones in!!

Notice the pigs are upside down?  At least they are the right way up on the back! 
I know a lot of people are signing off for Christmas, but I'm hoping to do one last post with the ted bed/bag that I've been knitting for what feels like forever, and I'll show you the cookies in the jars too.  If you're leaving blogland before then for a Christmas break, have a very happy Christmas!