Spring Is Zipping Along ...

... Faster than I'm ready for. I made this pouch last week:

I needed a larger pouch to accommodate an 8-inch hoop, and I'd been wanting to do some of Minki Kim's designs from Sew Illustrated, and it occurred to me to combine the two projects. I picked the large sewing machine sketch from the book, using some of my precious, scarce liberty fabric for the applique and linen for the background. The stitching was a little too complex, though, given that thread drawing is a newish technique for me. And the heavy grey thread I used blended in a bit too much with the print (maybe that's for the best, though, heh).

The modern zippers I had were too short for the bag, so I used a vintage metal zipper with giant teeth and zip. It looks great, but I had a heck of a time sewing it in (don't look too closely, please).

More Liberty fabric for the back:

Despite my stumbles, the pouch was surprisingly easy to make. And I can't wait to tackle other (less complicated) designs from the book.