Koala and Wombat Zippy Clutch

I know.  I never thought I would be making a zippy clutch featuring these two animals together, but it was perfect my secret partner in the Seaweed and Raine Sunshine Mail swap who is from Australia and has a blog titled Wombat's Picnic!

I started by cutting out the Koala's from a piece of fabric in my stash... it's the same as the one I used to back my Happy Garden quilt, but in black and white instead of yellow and red.

Then I picked a few fabrics to coordinate and decided on green and brown as per one of my partner's likes.

I used the same pattern for the Gathered Clutch from Noodlehead as I did making my Groovy Clutch only I made the front band a bit wider to accommodate wombats.  Here's a bit on wombats if you are curious.

The wombats were created by fusing fabric to interfacing, drawing and cutting out the shape, hand sewing them to the band, and them making them pretty with the seed beading. 

I love the affect!!  And those wee ears!!

Where were we?  Ahh yes, moving on to the clutch lining.

I picked out more green for the lining and used the pink flowers as the credit card holder slots. 

And here is the front of the clutch all finished up.  You can see I added a few lines of quilting too.

And that Koala mom and babe on the back.

And those pretty flowers on the inside.

And there you have it... Koala's and Wombats co-existing happily. 

I must say that greens and browns with a pop of brilliant color like fuchsia really gets me thinking about the start of fall.  The summer green begins to give way to the show that is coming...and I'm excited to have a front row seat!! 

I'll be adding this clutch as an entry to wearables category in the Celebration of Color being hosted by the talented Stitched in Color from September through November.  So many inspirations to take in.  And of course colors... oh and check out the prizes offered for this month as well... it's not too late to join in!

Groovy Gathered Clutch with Dots and Coffee!

I have had this Gathered Clutch from Noodlehead on my want to do list for some time now.  And guess what?  I did it.  I decided a few nights ago that I wanted to start something that I could finish the same night... and this is much more doable than a whole big quilt in one sitting.

I read through the materials list and then started to gather up my supplies. For fabrics I pulled Michael Miller Baby Feelin Groovy in Charcoal, Michael Miller Dumb Dot Gray, and Saturday in Brown.  I also grabbed my fusible interfacing (first time using it) and a gray zipper.

I started to cut all the pieces as the instructions were wrote and started to see that there maybe a better fabric match to line the clutch.  I grabbed this coffee pattern (sorry I don't have the name of it handy).  I was tickled because it has the same light blue tone!

As promised this clutch really did come together rather quickly.  Here is a look at my gathered front.

I'm so proud, I even figured out how to use the basting stitch on my sewing machine for the first time which is used to create the gathers!

Here are the credit card slots for the lining.  Yup, those chocolate kisses and coffee cups are perfect! 

And here is the clutch all put together!  Another first for me was using the zipper foot on my sewing machine.  I have only had it a few months now and apparently haven't strayed far from quilting.  It wasn't nearly as scary as I remember it being to use the zipper foot.

I enjoyed the technical challenges that this little project posed.  They were like good reminders to help me brush the dust off some of my sewing skills.

And here is a quick peak in the clutch. 

Yup, I'm pretty smitten with this one.  I am working my way up a little into trying to sew a few skirts or a dress.  I also can see making this clutch a few more times.  I already have a few other color schemes in mind and I have a few ideas for how I might tweak the design a bit. 

Just goes to show that sometimes you should just take the leap.  Go for it.  Give it a whirl.  You may be really proud that you did!!

I am sharing this at Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story as well as a few other parties from my weekly party list!