I finally got to spend some quality time with my sewing machine over the holidays and it felt soooo good! It's been a while since I got to spend a few hours on the machine and it was so fun to whip up some xmas pressies using these fabulous free tutorials - The Fabric Berry Basket and the Wagon Wheel Pincsushion, from my friend Anna's blog - Noodlehead!

Aren't they adorable and so fun? I had so much fun whipping them up in some Art Gallery Fabrics in my stash! It's been a while since I sewed up a pincushion so when I spotted her Wagon Wheel one I knew it would let me have some piecing fun too!  

And those berry baskets? Genius! Seriously addicting! I think I need one for myself now too! They are great for storing odds & ends. Only modification I did was to interface the entire piece of fabric. In Anna's tutorial you cut pieces of interfacing out and insert them and I chose to just interface the whole darn thing and turn right side out. It takes a bit more patience and a lot more pressing after but I was happy with the result :) 

I also went into some of my cherished stash and used up some miscellaneous scraps & some prints from Mustang by Melody Miller for Cotton + Steel to make a stylish self-drafted zippered pouch as a pressie as well. I love making zippered pouches. I use them so much that it's a project that I never get bored or tired of sewing up. So many shapes and styling  options you can use to customize a zippered pouch. 

PATTERNS USED

FABRIC BERRY BASKET DIY TUTORIAL from Noodlehead

WAGON WHEEL PINCUSHION TUTORIAL from Noodlehead

ZIPPERED POUCH self drafted

FABRICS USED

BERRY BASKET & WAGON WHEEL PINCUSHION #1 - Avant Garde by Katarina Roccella for Art Gallery Fabrics

PRINTS USED: Steps Above Moonbow, Uninhibited Fashion, Neo Flies Dense, and Chalk on Charcoal (only on bottom of pincushion)

BERRY BASKET & WAGON WHEEL PINCUSHION #2 - Wild & Free by Maureen Cracknell for Art Gallery Fabrics

PRINTS USED: Midnight Roof, Morning Keepsake and Fletching Chant

So...what did you get up to this holiday season? Any sewing/knitting? Did you handmake any gifts or treat yourself? I'd love to hear about it - I've missed you over the break!