Back in March, I did a “In Celebration of 1000 Posts” give away and my friends Jennie and Kim won.  They both chose to receive something sewn by me.  So, in May (once the Easter sewing frenzy was done), I had the fun of sewing their prizes.

The “Put a Bird on It” Pouch

Jennie chose a little pouch (tutorial from Noodlehead), told me that she liked birds, and also mentioned she liked the fabrics in this little wallet I made a few years ago.  Based on that, this is what I made her:

birds previously seen in Ellie’s doll backpack and color book

Love those polka dots! (previously used in Ellie’s Montana dress)  (The gray is a really finely-textured wool that feels really nice too!)

This pouch is becoming a favorite project of mine.  I’ve made it several times before:  for my sister, in gratitude for our nurses and midwife after Mark’s birth (times three), for a young friend’s high school graduation present, and as a graduation present (featuring the same bird!) for a former student of mine.  With practice, they’ve become super easy and quick!

The World’s Most Sophisticated Crayon Roll

Kim sent me a few links to some ideas she’d pinned on Pinterest.  I decided to make a crayon roll (as inspired by this tutorial although I mostly only used her measurements and ignored much of the rest of it).  As I was thinking about it though, I realized that in truth, I was making a prize for her two daughters and not for her.  So to make the prize be for her too, I chose what are (to me at least) beautiful, restful, and sophisticated fabrics. This way, even as her daughters use the crayons, she can enjoy the beauty of the crayon roll itself!

I did have to promise Ellie to give her crayons back and not mail them off! 🙂

The pink bias tape for the ties came from a huge vintage bias tape collection that I recently lucked into – even the packaging is adorable!

I was so pleased to find that pink print that has the subtle gold in it to play off the gold and pink of the outer print, along with the solid gray (grey?) – all from my stash!

I’m calling it “The World’s Most Sophisticated Crayon Roll” because just about every example of this craft that you see all over the internet is sewn from really bright, cheerful, kid-friendly fabrics.  I’m definitely going to make one of these for Ellie and I’m tempted to make her a sophisticated one also! 🙂