Birthday Gift For my Friend

I always wonder if the people I love feel that love in my fabric arts. When I looked at my list of things to do, a birthday gift was next. My close friend in MN requested another knitting needle keeper. I made her one last year and threw away the pattern. This one I found will do the trick.

It was so many pages long to download, and having pics didn't help me understand it. When I taught, one thing I shared is that we all communicate differently and what might seem easy for one person to understand might be gibberish to another. I struggle to understand patterns. Its a fine line for the pattern-maker to write one for people who are beginners to those who are advanced. My questions or obstacles seem to be about the simple things a more advanced sewer/quilter would know. 

This needle-keeper roll has three levels, which means three pocket pieces. It made no sense to me the way it was written, so I labeled the different pieces and actually stitched it from the back rather than to mark pieces and take the chance that I wasn't accurate. The top row has 1" slots; the second row has 2" slots; and the third row has three stitches to make three 4" slots and one 2" slot at the end. I am very happy with how the column stitches look. The result is what the pattern-maker wanted done a very different way.

Someone gave me this lovely hand-dyed fabric that I did not want to cut up. Much to my surprise, it was the exact size for this pattern (front & back bottom). And again, this is a scrap-stash gift, including the ribbon which was at the end of its spool.

It rolls up nice without anything in it right now. The color will stand out wherever she lays it down in her home. And looking at the inside part, it should hold a lot of needles and supplies. I think it took me about four hours to complete it, however, more time to include searching for a pattern and then finding fabric to make it work. 

I finished a number of simple mug rugs too, and spent time sorting shelves again. I need to do that every once in awhile. Its not so much about cleaning as it is retrieval.