Sewing Binge

On the rare occasion, I don't have any looming deadlines, and I take a moment to do whatever I want.  (I've given up on telling myself I'll do nothing, because I just get antsy.)  During this past holiday week, I could hardly believe it, but I had no deadlines looming!  I decided to do a little sewing and knock out some holiday gifts while I was at it.  Once I got started, I couldn't stop!  I whipped out presents for all my knitter friends, a little jacket for a friend's newborn, a housewarming gift and a nice tote bag for myself.  I suppose this is the upside to sewing vs. knitting.  You can actually "whip something out" in an hour or less.  Knitting, no matter how small the project is, simply takes time.

Here are some of the little project bags I made for some knit pals:

The Felted Wool Baby Jacket, a free pattern from The Purl Bee:

And some linen dinner napkins for a friend who just moved into a new apartment:

The flipside is sewing results in an apartment takeover.  It requires so much space to lay out and cut fabric that my kitchen counter and kitchen table are completely monopolized.  Then, the ironing board comes out, the sewing machine and serger sit on another table and all the different colored thread, bobbins, interfacing, tools... I could go on and on.  But before I tucked everything away, I had to make a little something for myself.

Reversible Tote Bag with Shoulder Strap, a free pattern from the Japanese Sewing Books site:

Well, at the end of this sewing binge, I can safely say that I'm looking forward to sitting on the couch, and having a project fit in my lap.