By Hook by Crook I'll Get My House in Order

I got a bit deep yesterday, with all my ramblings about swimming. The trip to the pool obviously hit me with a wave of memories. Today I’m swimming into shallower water to share with you a fun project that I did on Sunday.

I’m pretty sure some of you experience the same thing as I do: I'm drowning in paper. Not just the junk mail, newspapers and regular mail, but also all the pieces of paper that I, myself, produce or squirrel away. I’m incorrigible when it comes to writing notes and reminders on little pieces of paper, or jotting down ideas and designs, or ripping text or images out of papers and magazines for information or inspiration, and then just leaving them lying on every surface in the flat. Sure, I have developed a filing system, but it can take a while before all those little pearls of wisdom or useless pieces of information end up where they belong. And in the meantime they increase in number.

So when I saw these cute fabric envelope pockets in 101 Patchwork Projects + Quilts, I figured I’d make one to put my treasures in, to temporarily get them out of the way. Ok, I know it’s procrastination, and I should just learn to put things where they belong immediately, but… well… you know…

This is the pocket I made on Sunday, and as you can see, it’s already filled with Very Important Stuff. Now I just need to decide how often I’m going to empty it. I’m waiting for a sunny evening on the balcony. That worked well the last time I sorted out my heaps.

I tried a new method of deciding which colour of thread to use by simply pouring out my threads onto the surface and then removing the ones that I didn’t want. I figured that this could be a good way to discover new colour combinations. And if not - at least it's a feast for the eye.

My thread finalists. I liked them all, but I didn’t want a border competing with the ribbons, so I chose the most discreet colour.

P.S. One little note though, in relation to the construction of the pocket (that is, if you follow the directions in the magazine). I used quilting cotton (Robert Kaufman), but feel that the flap and pocket are a bit too floppy, so I would recommend that you add a lightweight stabiliser in them. That would also help you to avoid a wavy edge if you finish the pocket with satin stitch like I did.