Sewing Summit: Travel Handmade

Last year, I found out about Sewing Summit much too late to buy a ticket, plus I had a just past one year-old needy baby, so I couldn't go. I was so bummed! This year, I stalked the registration page, and was one of the first fifty people to sign up. I was so excited to go!

Now that it's come and gone, I'd like to share some of my thoughts about the experience over my next few posts, starting with my personal Travel Handmade experience.

As much as I would have liked to travel completely handmade, it was just not possible. I had quite a few little zippy pouches that I had previously made, so I only made a few other items which I could carry on the plane and in my luggage.

Of course, I needed a new purse to carry all my crap on the plane, right? I've wanted to make Anna's Go Anywhere Bag pattern for awhile, so I sacrificed some precious Heather Ross fabrics to make it happen. I absolutely love my new bag--Anna's patterns are very well written and easy to follow.

Since I wanted to bring a few favorite tools, I needed a place to safely stow them in my luggage. I was inspired by Christina's Travel Sewing Kit, but didn't have time to order the pattern she used. So, I decided to draft my own pattern. It's pretty much the same as hers, but without the (which in retrospect would have been totally awesome) place for needles/pins.

At the very last minute I made a zipper pouch for my English Paper Piecing supplies. I used Anna's Open Wide Zipper Pouch tutorial. I used some cute washi tape fabric with a natural linen on the bottom, and a favorite Chicopee print as the lining. I love this little pouch, but don't look too closely--I sewed it in 20 minutes, with Fini on my lap. The zipper may be a tiny bit crooked...

I'm sad that I didn't have time to make a few more things, but everything I brought made travelling a little more fun and colorful. Plus, it was always nice to have a complete stranger ask where I bought something, only to answer, "oh this little thing? I made it the other day!"