Tool Time Tuesday...Eyemark? Bookmark?

Hello everyone. It's Tool Time Tuesday and you know what that means...something out of the box! I've either used something from a hardware store, an automotive store, used tools to make it or I've dug through the trash to find a treasure. Anything is fair game for Tuesdays even one of my old tutorials.
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I made a little change to my eyeglass case tutorial and used a drill to do it!!
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Here it is...My Eyemark!! One more thing you may have notice about Tuesdays are the titles to the post. I try to make up something catchy. Well, Courtney and Kelsie think "Eyemark" is...well, they don't like it.
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I took an eyeglass case and attached a bookmark, so I think that equals an Eyemark. If I make millions from this some day, my girls are going to be sorry I copyrighted it first, Lol !!!
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Here it is...a perfect combo to hold your glasses and to hold your page. See tutorial below.




You will need 2 pieces of fabric 4 inches x 13.5 inches. One of the pieces that I used was a pre-quilted fabric for the outside and the other is cotton for the lining. You can quilt your own piece first or use cotton for both. You just won't have the padding like the quilted kind. This pattern is reversible, so pick 2 cute ones.



The extras are: matching ribbon and some doo dads for the end of the bookmark. The doo dads are optional.

Start by placing the fabrics right sides together.

Stitch one short end with a 1/4" seam.

On the other short end, center the ribbon on the fabric.

I rolled up the rest of the ribbon and pinned it so it won't get caught in the seams.

pin to keep ribbon and edge secure.

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Sew another 1/4" seam on this short end.

Now bring both seams to the middle, still with right sides together.

Finger press the seams open...

and match up the seams.

Pin both sides.

Sew 1/4" seam on both long sides, but leave an opening for turning. See my opening on the upper left hand side.

Here's the close up.

I clipped the corners to reduce the bulk.

Turn right side out through that opening. Machine or hand stitch that opening closed.

Now, open up the fabric that you want to be on the outside and start tucking in the lining.

The eye glass case is done, but the ribbon just needs a little jewelry. You can tie on a pendant from an old necklace, or a bead or a special little something near and dear to your heart.

I've picked a thimble...but this is where the drill for Tool Time comes in. If you love thimbles...just look away for this part!

I drill on a block of wood, so I don't go through my desk.

Didn't hurt one bit.

Now to get the ribbon in that tiny hole...

a big needle will do the trick.

Tah dah!!

Tie a knot to secure inside the thimble.

Now that's much better...a little bling or should I say Thimbling. Now that's a name for something...I'm going to use that somewhere!

I started to read this book and the title is so fitting for me right now. I haven't quilted in a while due to time and a crazy schedule. I feel like a "Lost Quilter". I think I need to find myself this summer.

Bookmark...

attached to an eyeglass case equals...

Eyemark! How about imark or seemark, or bookandsee, seebook, booksee, marksee...ok I'm going crazy and the girls are laughing at each name I yell out, so I give up.

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What do you think? I think I like Booksee!

I need to go to bed. It's after midnight and I'm slap happy with all these names, LOL

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Have a great Tuesday,

~Karen~

9:13 PM | 0 comments | Read More

The "Eyes" Have It...a tutorial

Warning this tutorial is picture heavy

But the tutorial is oh so easy!!

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Reversible Eyeglass Case

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Fabric choices: cotton (if you use cotton, it won't be too padded, but still works great), home decor, pre-quilted, canvas

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Measurements: 2 pieces of fabric cut 4" x 13.5". In the following pictures I used Moda's Maison de Noel by 3 Sisters (on the left) and Moda's Gingham Rose by 3 Sisters (on the right). I thought one for spring/summer and the darker one for fall/winter.

Directions: Place 2 strips of fabric right sides together and pin the short ends .
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Sew both shorts end together with matching thread...I used black so you could see. Remove pins as you go... trust me on this one!

Press open both seams. Sorry this is so blurry.

You will now have one continuous loop of fabric. Still with right sides together, bring the seams to the middle, match the seams and pin. At this point, in the picture below, there is a loop of brown fabric on the left and a loop of red fabric on the right with seams matching in the middle.

close-up of pinned seams.

Next, sew one continuous seam on one long side...back stitching at the beginning and the end to secure. On the other long side, sew for a few inches and back stitch to secure. Stop and leave a 2" opening. Start to sew again until you get to the end and secure with back stitch.

Close-up of the 2" opening. At this point you will turn fabric inside out. If you are using a thicker fabric or quilted fabric, you may want to leave a bigger opening.

Once the fabric is right side out, make sure your corners are poked out with something (that sounds so technical doesn't it...but you know what I mean) Press seams, making sure to iron the opening that you used to turn the fabric. You will need to either whip stitch or machine stitch the opening closed. If that side is going to be on the outside of the case, make sure you use a matching thread. The color of that brown looks so green...it really does match in person

You are almost done...just need to decide which fabric you want for the outside. I chose the red and white fabric first. All you need to do is open up the red and white fabric and shove (another technical term) the brown fabric inside. Make sure you use something pointy to push the brown fabric down into the corners.

Tah Dah...you now have a reversible eyeglass case. Isn't it the cutest thing.

And if you want the brown (even though it looks green in this picture), just pull out the brown and push in the red.

Now you are set for the fall and winter seasons.

This next series of pictures is all the same process, except I cut 2 pieces of the red fabric (Moda's Wee Play), 1 piece of the blue Wee Play and a piece of Warm and Natural batting. I wanted to make my own quilted fabric for one side of the case. I place one piece of red fabric right side down, then batting on top of that, then another red piece of red fabric right side up. I pinned it and then free motion quilted all over it. I trimmed the piece to the original 4" x 13.5" measurement. You can now follow the same directions as above and the end product will have one side quilted. This gives it a little extra cush!!

This picture below is the 2 pieces with the batting, after quilting. You will need to trim this to 4"x13.5" .

In this picture the blue fabric on the left is just fabric and the red is the quilted side.

Here I am pushing the blue fabric into the red for the lining.

Another cutie.

This seems like a long tutorial, but you can seriously make one of these eyeglass cases in 10-15 minutes. This would be great for all of you who make those adorable purses, because now you can make a matching eyeglass case too. They make great gifts and party favors. Every Christmas I have a ladies party and I love making something for everyone to take home. One year was a tissue case, this past year was a scarf and this year I'm making these.

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If you have any questions at all please free to email. These tutorials seem easy in my head, but once you have to write down every step, it may seem confusing.

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Enjoy and pass this one on to all your friends!!

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Thanks for stopping by,

~Karen~

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