The Craftiness Returns!!

Hooray! I finally finished a project! It's been a long hiatus, but I made these journals for my sister-in-law's birthday (October 30--Happy Birthday, again). I have received confirmation that she is now in possession of her birthday gift; therefore, I can now post about this craftiness.

This is the "Scrapbooks" project from Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. That title is a bit of a misnomer because there are some major quilt projects in this book; the author has a "More Than 12-Hour Gift" chapter. The "scrapbooks" project is not one of those 12+ hours projects, though.

The journals are Kraft Moleskine Cahier Ruled Journals from Barnes & Noble. Other retailers sell Moleskines, but we tend to get ours at B&N. The fabric I used is all cotton, mostly purchased from local mom-and-pop quilt shops. Astute Crafty Snicklefritzes' readers will notice that the red floral is the same fabric from the bridal shower gift for the birthday girl sister-in-law (see We Set Up a Sweatshop...). The dark blue floral (trust me, it's a floral) is from the Zip Pouch, Spitze! lining. The Americana fabric is making its debut here. A while ago, the Partner-in-Crime and I bought a red and a blue fat quarter of this vintage looking 4th of July fabric. The PIC is planning to use some of it for home-made books. I think it's awesome.

The pattern is blocky, so I cut out three different picture blocks to add to the mix (the eagle, the "Greetings" ship, and the eagle plus two ships). I zigzag stitched the fabric to the front of the journals. The PIC glued the fabric down on two of the journals, but for the blue and red vertical stripe journal, I just stitched it. I used a regular needle and for the most part, the Huskystar did pretty awesome (I did have a panicky "Holy Goodness, I just broke my sewing machine" moment at one point, but the PIC saved the day, and all is well now.) I did a test run on another journal (not pictured here) to see what stitch length works best.

I think these turned out alright. They have kind of a crazy quilt/Americana feel to them, perhaps bordering on folk art. I do have to say that I agonized over the layout of the fabric. I like making gifts for people, but I tend to stress out over whether the receiver will like the gift or think it's just a stupid second-rate/Kindergarten looking piece of junk. I stress some when I make things for myself, but not nearly as much.