This little cutie is the second attempt at this pattern I ended up modifying the original quite a bit to make it work for me. Part of the reason was the slippery ucky lining fabric.

Pattern:
http://lillyella.com/2014/12/05/sturdy-fabric-basket-tutorial/

 Over the years, my sewing area has changed many times. Usually due to moving to different houses. This time a change was needed because our family has grown. Again. In every instance, my machine has been set up and always ready for use in the main action area of the house. When it was time for this change it still needed to be where I am, so I can sneak in even a few stitches at a time. Our house is woefully short on storage space so we have armoires in each room. This one is in the living room.

I put a peg board along the back wall for all of my supplies. They are easy to grab and use. This unit is intended for a television, so there are a few outlets right inside. I have a lamp in there for late night sewing. The machine is on a part that slides out so I can sit on one of our bar height chairs if I have time for a longer project. Usually I just stand.

Here it is closed. No kiddos bother it. The drawers and bottom cupboards are full of crayons, puzzles, and other kiddo arts & crafts. On the outside are our 3 favorite family rules.

I really love taking small projects on the go.

Folder

I had planned on adding a hand embroidery design to this one, but after stitching it I realized it didn't quite match. I'll still just use it as is for some random project.

After searching pinterest for ideas, I figured out an idea for a thread holder. Since I'm rarely sewing anymore with the machine, I wanted a way to store just a few spools. Most of these are for handwork. Luckily there was a five year old handy for the sawing, sanding, and hammering involved in this project.

A project folder shown with an 8" hoop. I love the reds in the fabrics and the buttons. For years I've used my machine to sew on buttons, so this was a bit more challenging.

This little project folder is shown with an 8" hoop. 

I figured out a storage solution for this long term project. I'm trying to steer away from junky looking Ziploc bags for each project. For this folder, I hand stitched some thread loops to hold some supplies in place. Then, as I need them, I can simply cut the loop and pull out the thread. I also used a thread loop to hold the ring in place that is holding all the floss colors.

These are the last two for a total of four Wildolive stitching pouches. This ticking fabric was given to me by a friend. It was the leftovers from me making her 2 new removable laundry hamper liners. I lined all of the pouches with a pale blue and white sheet and one layer of 809 interfacing. This is the sort of useful, fast, easy project that I could easily make a couple dozen of. But this time I won`t.

 Although I am adjusting how much I sew, I still managed to make a few of these pouches. This is just 2 pics of the same bicycle pouch with wide teal lace. Since I am participating in a couple Block of the Month patterns I`ll need to keep some projects going for a while. Hopefully this will help me stay away from keeping my projects in ziplocs.

Katherine has been doing some hand embroidery with me lately. I decided she needed a little pouch to hold her hoop and latest project. One of my favorite blogs had a cute and fast idea. She suggested using a ruffle, but in the interest of time and simplicity, I used some lace scraps.


Pattern:
wildolive stitching pouch

I have found a new way to organize the floss I am using for each specific project. The top picture is half of a butterfly that was purchased, but duh- I was able to use a bit of plastic from the recycle bin and a hole puncher. I am now punching holes and organizing each project for on-the-go stitching!

 

 These little handy needle books are perfect! I actually try to sort my needles this way- the smalls for when I'm using just 1-3 strands of floss, the just right for when I'm using 4-6 or the BIG for when the kids are embroidering. This project was so fast and easy our five year old proudly made them!

http://wildolive.blogspot.com/2014/08/printable-matchbook-needle-books.html

Instead of ribbon to hold the thread spool, I used elastic for this one. I like the look of the elastic better.

Pattern:
http://lotsofpinkhere.blogspot.com/2011/09/travel-sewing-kit-tutorial.html

Hand embroidery seems to be easier for me to pick up lately. With a new baby, larger projects don't seem feasible. This great project was so fun to make and now I love using it every day! It holds everything I need for the hand embroidery projects I've been working on. The one pictured is a circle from the WildOlive 50 states stitching club. I'm doing circles instead of stars- the stars seemed to challenging for me right now. 

Wild Olive stitching club:

http://wildolive.blogspot.com/p/50-states-stitching-club.html

Travel sewing kit tutorial:
http://lotsofpinkhere.blogspot.com/2011/09/travel-sewing-kit-tutorial.html

 This tote went together pretty quickly. I wasn't really interested in making it, except it was advertised with some knitting inside and I was sold. I'd love to find an easier way than turning and ironing the top edge.

Pattern:
http://veryshannon.com/patterns/reversibleboxtote

I have been a fan of Riley Blake Designs for a long time. These lovely Writey-Tidy notepad holders are the perfect thank you gift for my wonderful friends who handmade some sweet gifts for our baby.

http://www.rileyblakedesigns.com/cutting-corners/2010/04/11/writey-tidy/

These may be the last 2 divided baskets for a while. The top one is actually for me! I've already loaded it up with some cutting and tracing projects & supplies that I can tackle while kiddos play at the park. 

These scraps pieced together nicely for this tote. It was left from the diaper bag I made in the last pregnancy. I love how the colors look so great with the plain mint green. Last time, I used some funky polka dots and it was a totally different look. Noodlehead divided basket pattern.

Sea turtle fun! I loved using this fun boyish fabric with the orange gingham. One of these will be a gift and one will stay at our house. Again, the Noodlehead divided basket pattern.