I've been active on Instagram for a little over a year now, and I often see really amazing, inspirational works of art received as part of swaps. I've seen sign-ups, but never signed up for one myself until my friend Carla hosted an "Under the Sea" themed swap. Growing up on the Pacific Coast, I've always felt a connection to anything ocean-related, so this particular swap was calling my name. 

This swap had a few requirements: it couldn't be a simple item, specifically it had to include at least 2 of the following features: embroidery/handstitching, patchwork, paper piecing, english paper piecing, multiple zippers, quilt blocks. We were sent a small questionnaire filled out by our recipient with their favourite colours, fabrics, likes/dislikes etc.

My recipient loves sea turtles and I wanted to challenge myself by trying paper piecing for the first time, so I set out to find a pattern.I find this great sea turtle that comes in 3 sizes designed by fernstitchco. I've had the Noodlehead Maker's Tote pattern for a while now and figured this would be the perfect opportunity to give it a go. So by now I'd figured out what I was going to make, but I had a little problem: I actually didn't know how to paper piece. 

Right about now is when I got really happy I have creativebug! I hopped over there, thinking there ought to be a class, and I was right! Not only is there a paper piecing class, it's taught by Carolyn Friedlander - how cool is that?! My membership includes as many classes as I can watch on so many different types of creative outlets.

Once I had the turtle paper pieced, I created the background large enough to be the front of the tote and continued with the instructions for the Maker's Tote. I also did some quilting in different blues and greens in wavy lines to make the exterior look more ocean-like. 

I had so much fun with the outside and the inside was exciting too! I decided to use mesh for one the pockets on one side, just because that seemed more ocean-like to me, plus I just got some in a pretty colour and wanted to use it. I used some of my all-time favourite fabric, Mo Bedell's Full Moon Lagoon for the interior, and also the side panels. I also used Patty Sloniger's Into the Deep from Sitka Fabrics and I love the fresh vibrant look those collections have when combined with the anything-but-basic Cotton + Steel Basics from Fabric Spark.

Another first for me with this project was hand-binding - I'd never done it before, and was a bit intimidated at the prospect. I asked my friendJenny, who does amazing work, if she had any tips. She gave me some pointers and a big dose of encouragement. I must admit, it was a lot nicer to do than I expected. I was able to watch a show while doing the hand-stitching, something I don't do at all while sewing otherwise. So I guess I understand how people say they enjoy hand-stitching and find it relaxing. I might even find some more hand-stitching projects to do!

For the very last step of the bag, I used rivets to attach my handles instead of sewing them on. I thought the metallic from the fabric would go nicely with the rivets.

Overall, this project really got me out of my comfort zone and I'm really thrilled with how it turned out. It was pretty hard to part with. My partner has received it, and she seems really happy with it. 

Know what I got for the swap? A Maker's Tote! Isn't that a funny coincidence?! I love that adorable whale! Both the one I made and received are the small size Maker's Tote; the pattern offers instructions for small and large. 

When I first started sewing, I was so intrigued with Kam Snaps - they looked so enticing, with their rainbows of colours. Most of the people I saw using them were making diapers though, so I wanted to find a use that would suit me. I came up with this insulated cup cozy.  I had seen cup cozies before, but they were usually closed with buttons or hooks, or made out of something else entirely. My design allows the cozy, or sleeve, to be completely reversible, so you get 2 for 1!

A friend introduced me to the reusable Starbucks cups a few years back, and I use mine daily. I designed my pattern to fit these cups; if you are wanting to fit different cups, you may need to adjust the pattern. I get a lot of requests for my pattern, so I finally got around to making it in a shareable version for everyone.  I'm offering it here on my site to you for free!

It's a perfect project for beginners and experienced makers alike. It's a fun, quick project and makes a great little gift.

To make the cup cozy, you'll need less than a fat quarter of 2 prints each. I like to use quilting cotton, but a linen blend could work too. You'll also need some insulated batting; I use Insult-Bright, available at Funky Monkey Fabrics, and Connecting Threads. You also need 2 complete sets of Kam-snaps and the pliers or press, and awl to install them (4 caps, 2 studs and 2 sockets). You can find Kam-snaps at Stay-Home Fabrics. You might find a point turner helpful too.

Start by downloading and printing the pattern. Make sure to print at 100%. You can check the test square to see if it measures 1" square to make sure the pattern printed at the right size. Cut out the pattern and tape together at the dotted lines to get the full piece.

​Cut out a mirror image set of your exterior fabrics. You can do this by either placing fabrics right side together and cutting out the pattern piece once, or just cut out one fabric from the pattern piece, then flip over to cut the mirror image. Then cut one Insult-Bright piece.

Place fabrics right sides together and the Insult-Bright wrong side against one of the fabrics, matching the shape of the pattern, then pin or clip around the edges. Starting at the bottom of the cozy (where indicated on pattern piece with turning gap) sew around the perimeter, leaving a small turning hole, with a 3/8" seam allowance, making sure to backstitch at start and stop. Trim corners and seam allowance, except leave seam allowance intact over turning gap. Trim away Insult-Bright over turning gap. 

Turn right side out, making corners nice and sharp. Tuck in seam allowance and press all over. Topstitch around cozy 1/8" away from edges, closing up turning gap. 

To add the snaps, you can use the pattern placements (4 circles on the pattern piece) as a guide, but I suggest trying it out on the cup you're going to be using it with before piercing holes with your awl. I do this by wrapping the cozy around the cup, nice and snug. One end should overlap the other, it doesn't matter which one since the cozy is reversible. Once I have a placement I'm happy with, I hold the cozy where the ends overlap and quickly slip the cup out. If you aren't confident with doing this, you can pin or clip the cozy in place before you remove the cup; a bobby pin or paper clip would work well here too. Now while still holding the overlapped ends, I take my awl and pierce the top and bottom, through both ends of the cozy. Note: For this step, you need to make sure the hole you're piercing is well within topstitching on both layers, otherwise your snap may miss a layer.

Once your holes are pierced, you can let go of the overlapped ends and install the snaps. You'll want one set of caps showing on the left end of the cozy and one set of sockets on the right end for side A, and when you flip the cozy over to side B, it should have caps (the other side of the sockets from side A) on the left and studs on the right (the other side of the caps from side A).

You're done! Rinse and repeat for all those teacher/neighbour/coworker gifts. It's great for scrap busting too! I would really love to see your cup cozies! Please tag me @reecemontgomery and use #HappyOkapiCupCozy on Instagram, or share on my Facebook wall. 

If you aren't a coffee drinker, they double as power cuffs!

Want to make a cozy, but don't have snaps? My friend Rachelle used Velcro on hers; check out the changes she made for it.

The hardest part about testing bags is that sometimes we need to keep it a secret until release date. I made this bag back in April, I think and I'm bursting at the seams to finally share it. The Tortoise Bag from Sara at Sew Sweetness is finally here! This bag comes in three different sizes and goes together in a very clever way. Here's my version in the size large.

Installing that zipper is way easier than it looks. You can use either 2 zippers and connect them in the middle, as explained in the pattern, or if you have zipper tape by the yard, you can just create a double pull zipper yourself.  If you need a refresher on how to do that, check out my video tutorial here.

There are handles, and also a removable cross-body strap. The inside also includes a zippered pocket and a removable false bottom for added firmness to the bottom - and who doesn't want a firm bottom, am I right?

We dubbed my bag "Elizabeth-in-the-box" because Tula Pink's Elizabeth fit so perfectly inside that flap and I couldn't resist using it there. Actually fussy cutting was really easy with this pattern so you could line up a print from the exterior flap and continue it on with the main body if you like too.

I used one of my very favourite prints, Astraea from Tula Pink's Elizabeth collection as the main exterior print. The rich jewel tones make it work as a year-round colour palette. I had some fun on the inside with coordinates from the collection and the selfie as the inside flap. 

Head on over to the Sew Sweetness shop and grab a copy to get started on yours today!

I made a fanny pack! No, we haven't traveled back in time to the 80's. This isn't the same fanny pack you remember; it's modern and cool. Or maybe I've reached the age where fanny packs are cool? I was planning a day trip with the kids and wanted to be hands-free for the day. I love purses but I really didn't want to have to worry about my purse on my shoulder or cross-body all day, so I whipped this one up. I received this pattern as part of my prize pack from the Bag of the Month last year. It's the Sew Sweetness Beatnik Waist Bag.

The pattern is for a small bag to be worn around the waist. It has 2 front pockets with flaps, a divided interior pocket, and a zippered pocket at the bag. The main compartment is secured with a zipper.

I didn't veer too much from the pattern. I omitted the back zipper to save a bit of time (I decided very last minute to make the bag.) I also used magnetic snaps instead of regular snaps, because I wanted to display some images from the prints I used. 

After using it all day, I wholeheartedly recommend this pattern. I really loved having my hands and shoulders free and still having my essentials with me. Next time, I might add some card slots inside, but they fit perfectly in the front pockets, so the slots really aren't necessary. 

Thankfully I had everything I needed on hand. You just need a side release buckle and a slide. Because I did mine last-minute, I just used a black buckle, but next time I think I'll use a coloured buckle, like the kind Sara sells. In a pinch, you could also use a D ring and a swivel clip with a slide. 

I used Libs Elliott's True Love fabric for this bag. I thought the splatter print was a bit of a throwback to this 80's inspired style. The entire line was available at Sitka Fabrics, but some prints are starting to sell out, so don't wait too long to grab some for yourself. 

Thanks so much to everyone who joined me for the Noodlehead Caravan Tote Sew Along! I hope it motivated you or helped out with a tip or two. I really enjoyed seeing the finished bags. The random winner for the 2 Noodlehead patterns prize is Kelly P., who made a stunning Caravan Tote. She even used Anna's Rain Walk fabric for her version. 

There's still time to grab the pattern at a discounted price (save 20%), using coupon code HOSAL until August 31st, 2016 in theNoodlehead shop. Then you can check back to follow along whenever it suits you. Start at Day 1 to find fabric selections and make your way from there. 

Holy smokes, was that great or what?! We had almost 1400 entries for the giveaways. Check your email - did you win? 
Chelle won prize pack A, which includes a store credit from Tangled Blossoms Design, and patterns from Jalie, Carla's Creations and Blue Calla. 
Karen won prize pack B which includes a store credit from Emmaline Bags, a fat quarter bundle from Camelot Fabrics, and patterns from Pollywoggles and StitchArt.
Rachelle won prize pack C, which includes a Flare Fabrics store credit, the Rebel Quilt pattern, and a pattern bundle from Thread Riding Hood.

Thanks again to all our amazing sponsors. You can find all the link to our sponsors on the blog hop, here. 

What would you like to see next? I have a few things up my sleeve, but I love hearing suggestions, so hit me!

I hope you've all had a chance to enjoy your weekend and had lots of time to sew! Did you also get some time to hop along with us? Here's the schedule if you want to go catch up and read about some amazing makes, designers and shops.

I'd really like to thank Marsha from Seam of my Pants for all the help with this blog hop. I'll let you in on a little secret...my computer crashed about a week before the hop was set to begin. I had all my sewing done, but left the writing until the last minute, and then reallllly regretted it. Why couldn't I have been more organized and scheduled all my posts weeks ago?! Well, I know the answer, it's because I always have new sewing projects that distract me. Anyway, without Marsha's help in the background, I would have had such a headache. Now that I have a computer again, I can write to my heart's content. Don't worry though, I'll keep this post short and sweet. 

We had 11 people writing at 9 different blogs over more than a week, with some days having multiple posts for the hop. Marsha was quite busy with her features, and I invite you to read them all. I especially enjoyed the Camelot Fabrics feature; she had me in stitches! She also interviewedBeverly Johnson and we had an offer from Craftsy for all her classes at 50% off. The discount is over but Craftsy often has sales, so check it out and you just never know, it might be on sale!

Celine and I both talked about Libs Elliott here on my site. If you haven't had a chance to seeCeline's Rebel Quilt, you'll want to do that next. Don't forget Sitka Fabrics is carrying the entire collection of the Libs' first fabric line, True Love.

Fiona sewed up a beautiful Dahlia, from Blue Calla Patterns. Both Fiona's shop, Tangled Blossoms Design and Blue Calla Patterns are sponsors for our giveaways.

Carla gave us a treat with her new ruffled wristlet pattern shown off in more Sitka Fabrics. If you hurry, you can still catch her patterns on sale. She's also offered a pattern of winner's choice in our giveaway. Sherri from Thread Riding Hood wrote about some timely Fedora's, perfect for sunny days, or just to add some flair! Keshia sewed up one of Sherri's patterns, and I love how it turned out. You can win a pattern bundle from Thread Riding Hood, make sure to enter the giveaway before it's over. 

Daniela and I both sewed up bags designed by Janelle Mackay of Emmaline Bags. Daniela modified the Totes Ma Tote to make it a super quick sew. I made a bag from the book Janelle Co-authored, On The Go Bags, which is still available at a discount with code CANADA to save 20% at the whole site. Emmaline Bags is also a sponsor for our giveaway, offering a $25 store credit - Thanks so much!

Michelle made a beautifully elegant summer nightie set from Jalie Patterns. Ula has been keeping very busy and was part of two blog hops! I love the dress she made from Pollywoggles. Both Pollywoggles and Jalie are also giveaway sponsors.

That leads us back to here! I promised to share what I did with the other Camelot fabric from the Mama & Me collection. I love that this collection has pretty, grown up designs, but also fun playful ones; making it perfectly named. I made a sun hat in this super cute yellow fabric with a Mama fox and her baby. For a listing of Canadian retailers that carry Camelot Fabrics, please see myTwo-Bottle Tote post.

Check back in a couple days to see the winners of our giveaways. Thanks so much for joining us. I'd really love to hear what you thought of the hop. Did you learn about new Canadian sewing resources? Did it inspire you? Are you still looking for something?

Please show our sponsors some love! Most of the sales have finished now, but there are still a few active discounts, head on over to the sales tab to check them out.