Gifted in Pink

Needlebook made from some of my favourite Tilda fabrics.

It's no secret! I love sewing gifts for others. It is one of my favourite ways to show a little of love.  Planning what to make and selecting just the right fabrics to suit the recipient, always makes me happy as I think about the person I am sewing for.  It's even more exciting when the gift IS a secret!

My lovely friend, Maria @craftyosa, loves to sew, the colour pink and she is a fan of Tilda fabrics, so I knew I couldn't go wrong, combing through my little stash for any pretty pinks to sew her a needlebook.  Besides, I had been wanting to try the cute scrappy pattern found in Kim's book, Scrap Happy Sewing.   Pairing linen with various pink Tilda prints gave me just the look I was hoping for!

Felt for needles and pockets for scissors/floss/notions, make this a handy little organizer for sewists!

Kim's pattern is simple to follow and there's lots of options for adding extra details to the interior - such as buttons and ribbons. I went minimalist, with only two embellishments (beyond the felt needle keeping patches), choosing a wooden flower button and a piece of twill tape - both by the Tilda brand.

The trickiest bit in the making of this needlebook was in stitching the rectangles of felt to the linen pockets.  Goodness, there's some stretch to felt! By contrast, machine stitching the self-made double fold bias binding went quite smoothly, thanks in part to using my "stitch in the ditch" presser foot on my Janome 8900.  I also used (the ever so handy) Wonder Clips for holding the binding in place for edge stitching, in place of pins.  I love that these clips will hold things in place securely, without any chance of being scratched or poked - as can happen when using pins.

Scrappy Road Trip block sewn for Maria for her month as Queen Bee in the #pinkbee2019.

The sweet needle book was happily sent as one of the little extras I tucked into the parcel I sent Maria for her month as Queen Bee in March.  The block she chose for the quilt bee to make for her is a Scrappy Road Trip - mine is shown above.  I was so inspired by making the first block that I ended up making about five more, so far, which I think is a indication that I may... ahem... have inadvertently started a new quilt. In pink.  I may also have found the perfect little gift to make for more of my sewing/quilting friends.