Overdue: Some Christmas Makes

I love gifting handmade at Christmastime; my 2 kids, 7 nieces and nephews and many good friends keep me busy every year coming up with new things to make for all of them. 2015 was year of the treasure pouch/pencil case!  Thanks to Krista's fabulous pattern in Beyond Cotton, I was able to whip these up with some upholstery-grade vinyl in no time.  I love using my vast collection of fun Japanese linen prints for projects like this.

These are made to exactly the pattern size in the book.

These are smaller to accommodate some shorter zips I had  - Krista includes a formula for reducing the pouch size based on the length of zipper you have. Very handy.

The linen portions of the pouches are interfaced with fusible fleece and the pouches are fully lined. I'd always been afraid of sewing with metal zips; I've broken SO many needles making complicated bags with thick layers, or forgetting to change from a straight stitch to open hole stitch plate, that metal zips seemed like an inevitable accident.  Every time a needle breaks, my heart skips a beat and I feel I'm taking valuable days off my life.  Krista's pattern got me beyond my metalzipophobia!

The other project from her book that I made for grown-up guy gifts were these super stylish gadget clutches. I sized them for standard ipads. Because I could not find any locally, I had to order the 3mm industrial woolfelt from this shop in Toronto. I've since been asked to make a few more - they have a great finish, are not difficult if you have the right tools and according to my son T "they look totally pro!"

I thought the stamped number on the leather was cool, so I placed it as a feature rather than cut it off.

Specially requested stitching detail by T - I must say I was happy that he took an interest and asked me to make this tiny one custom for his e-reader!

The woolfelt is pretty pricey, so I didn't want to waste any offcuts. Instead, I trimmed them into long narrow strips, appliqued some pretty ribbon and made these keyfobs! Result! (by the way, "result" is my all time fav British expression that I love using, even though I am completely unBritish).

I made a bunch of knitting bowls to gift friends, then got an order for two more. These are such fun to make! I was surprised at how easy it is to install the grommet through the cording. I first did a bunch of extra stitching where I wanted to place the grommet, then marked the circle with a fineliner. I cut out the hole (very carefully) with an ex-acto knife, then trimmed errant threads with small scissors before inserting the grommet.

The last gift item I managed were three of these super cute and handy embroidery floss wallets. Sadly, I didn't take any interior photos and only managed to photograph this one before gifting all of them. I stayed true to the great FREE tutorial by Melissa that you can find here, except I added a little appliqued pocket on the front for snips. It's super easy - the hardest part for me was cutting the vinyl strips for the inside pockets. It is really hard to see clear vinyl through your rulers!

Please excuse some of these not-so-great nighttime photos. Most Christmas sewing around here is done at night and is so last minute there's no time to wait for perfect daylighting to take proper pictures. With my family all far, far away, expedient wrapping and posting is required!

I think everyone was pleased with their gifts. I know I had a great time creating for family and friends this year. What did you make for gifting?