Book sharing Monday - Technically speaking ;)

It is *technically* still Monday, so there ;) it's 11:50 pm :)

I'm not just sharing the book either - I'm showing off my very first zipper *and machine quilted patchwork* all in one project :)

"Patchwork Style - 35 Simple Projects For a Simple and Colorful Life" by Suzuko Koseki

This is such a fun book -

very inspiring and not at all daunting as I imagine quilting/patchwork to be. I don't have huge amounts of time, so I want things to come together quickly and this project at least was quite simple - with gorgeous results IMHO - and sewed up really fast - just 2 short bursts over 2 evenings - and it was late too, so some of that time was spent ripping things out due to silly mistakes made only because I was tired. Lately tho I can't get myself off to bed until I've had at least a little time spent crafting :) That time makes me feel so alive - and whole - and me. It's worth losing a little sleep - which is saying a lot considering how many years it's been since I had a good night's sleep ;)

This is one of those books that gets you so inspired and wanting to get started immediately.

This looks trickier than it is - there wasn't any measuring going on - it's all approximate for the quilting part. You just create a log cabin square, cut it to the correct size and then machine quilt it with a liner fabric, and then batting sandwiched inside. I really like the effect of the lines of quilting.

A fabulous way to use up all those pretty scraps you can't bare to throw out.

Silly me tho - I used a nice shiny satiny -and very slippery fabric for the lining. I ignored the little voice in my head that told me I would regret it - and i did - it was finicky- and the bag ended up a little smaller for it ;) But it all worked out in the end.

I love the zipper - it's a lovely old metal one :) Scored at the Sally-Ann - a whole bag of them for 50cents. A new zipper at my fabric store is around $7-8 dollars! I can't bring myself to pay that much - and they aren't even nice quality ones. I love old things - made in a time when quality was just a given. I get so frustrated with the absolutely intentional lack of quality and planned obsolescence these days - little things like this where I can by-pass that whole game - makes me quite giddy :) Yes - I get pleasure from really odd things ;)

I'm guessing there will be a lot more projects showing up here from this book - tho as of today it's in direct competition with Soulemama's new book - " A Handmade Home " It's really wonderful - even better than I'd imagined it would be! I can't wait to dive in and start one of the many projects - the hard part will be deciding which one to try first!