Well quilting certainly hasn’t ruled this summer. I’m afraid over the last couple of months I’ve done precisely three bits of sewing.  One was a ripped seam on my 15 year old’s shirt, you can guess whether it  was the boy or girl twin. It was all the way up from bottom of the shirt to the arm hole, I really don’t know how this was done and in fact I don’t want to know either. It will doubtless involve some unacceptable behaviour at school. The other was making 4 luggage labels and now finally some proper sewing with this Two in One pouch from Aneela Hoey’s book Sewing Stitched Organisers.

The problem has  been that I’ve been preoccupied with a knotty issue at one of the organisations with which I’m involved.  As with problems of this type there have been hours of meetings, phone calls and discussions. Interesting but soooo time consuming.

Its also gardening season. I was once a very keen gardener but I’m afraid it’s more of a chore now albeit I’d admit to a satisfying sense of accomplishment when it’s done and the garden looks half decent. Although thanks to a very dry summer it has not looked even half decent.  My lawn became yellow and very dead looking, as with everyone else’s . Nothing, I know, compared to countries where months without rain is the norm and the constant drought causes huge problems.

I can see why people get out of the habit of making things and even when I have had some free time I haven’t, as I would usually do, race to get to the machine. But after an embarrassing encounter with security at Heathrow and a sew along, run by Stacey of #craftylilmouse and Zena #mycreativelypottylife of Aneela Hoey’s book to inspire me, I made  this pouch out of these fabrics.

So back to rules and my embarrassing experience of today’s strict air travel requirements.  I remember a time when I would routinely book air travel under the name of Jenny even though on my passport it was Jennifer. For years there was never a problem until  I remember it being an issue on my return from the US and only with much tutting was I allowed to travel. But today, for very good reasons everything has to be just so, for which I’m grateful, but still forget to comply.

So once again I’m stopped at security after my hand luggage have gone through the x ray machine and have been found wanting. The children look bored but resigned because this happens every. single. time.

 

I have to join a long queue to have everything taken out and get inspected with all sorts of handheld devices, wipes taken, tests on little machines and so on. It wouldn’t have been so bad but the offending items were these motley plastic bags, one of make up and the other a travelling first aid kit. I should have, of course, removed them.

There is no privacy in this upending of your bags’ contents. It didn’t help that behind me in the queue was this immaculate woman dressed to the nines with hand luggage to match.

 

But next time it will be different.  I will be proud to remove my two in one pouch, reveal the contents via the see through pockets and not be stopped. Time will tell. They may just stop me because I look dodgy!

And another rule? I really don’t know why it’s taken this long to work out that binding with a horizontal design like this (the top fabric) is the way of madness…..

I was so pleased when I’d finished this pouch. It looked attractive and functional but I rather glossed over the uneven binding.

I had a look at other versions of this pouch on IG and saw how beautiful the binding was on others.  I know envy is supposed to be the thief of joy but that aside I knew the bumpy misaligned binding would irritate me so it had to be redone. But with the bulk of the corners it’s nigh on impossible to keep to parallel linear lines matching  the pattern. It looked better after a lot more effort on my part but I won’t make that choice again. Yet something else to remember, but a useful lesson – solid, or reads as solid for my binding next time and certainly nothing grid like!