Feathers and polka dots

Maybe feathers and polka dots go together in some cases, but I don’t see the connection in this little fabric wallet I made. But I love both of these fabrics, so I’ll be using them again – just not together.

And, of course, living where I am in the Thompson-Cariboo region of British Columbia, we heart western! This was Canada’s original western frontier, and we’ve got the sagebrush and cactus to prove it! And the rodeos. Horses. Cows. Rattlesnakes. Cougars. We have it all. And so the western look is really popular. I love these cowboy boots – and this time, the polka dots really DO compliment the fabric.

The zippers are coming along for the most part, but pocket zippers aren’t all that difficult. You just have to keep them straight as you’re sewing them down, and I’ve been using Seam A Seam double-sided fusible quarter-inch tape for that. I used to pin the zippers down, but the zipper would still move around too much. The tape takes about as much time as pinning, and you have the added stability of the thread plus the “glue”.

I’m having fun making these little wallets now. I feel like I should be moving on to other things (a quilt, for instance), but I haven’t had enough of these yet. They’re quick and relatively easy to make – although the one I’m working on at the moment is giving me nothing but grief – and the pattern is free. It’s a tad confusing only because the pattern is all about promoting the fabric line, and sometimes the instructions seem to take second place to the fabric, but I guess that’s the price you pay (or not) for a free pattern.

I like the size – it measures about 8x6 when it’s finished, has a zipper on the back for change, a big roomy pocket inside for whatever and little pockets for your “plastic”. Has a magnetic clasp to keep it all inside, and a nice hands-free strap so you don’t have to be putting it down and picking it up while you’re out and about.

The co-worker who I was making the wristlets for kept telling me to put my labels in a place where people could SEE them! So, I’m started putting them a little more prominently. Whatever! It was just a name I plucked out of thin air, and I used one of my pictures with it – a western swallowtail butterfly drinking from the flowers of our local prickly pear cactus.

My tomatoes are beginning to ripen. I’ve already eaten a few of them, and I can say without exaggeration that I haven’t met a tomato I haven’t loved yet. And I don’t think I will. These are Green Zebras. I haven’t tried eating them yet, but I’m eager to. I gave away these two beauties, so I’ll have to wait a few more days. Right now I’m harvesting green beans and jalapeno peppers. I think the jalapenos are going to be part of tonight’s pizza!

Until next time,