A Needle Pulling Thread Summer 2016 Sampler | Page 13

with
Sewing the
circle and
Prêt-à-porter Portfolio hexagon

templates
When I was a kid, the women of my family
would show up with for a visit with their
creative works in progress. As they chatted
about the latest news, family gossip, or
the plot lines to favorite soap operas, our
visitors worked on their knitting – a mitten
or a sock slowly emerged from the clacking
needles. Sometimes, beautiful lace revealed
itself from the end of a crochet hook to
enhance an embroidered pillow case. Often
someone embroidered a pillow case.
This was the lab that fostered my desire
to create – where ever and when ever the
opportunity arose. Those lessons stuck with
me.
Once I learned some basic skills, I was also
given my own work bag, which I proudly
toted around. Added bonus: engrossed in
my latest project, I was the most quiet kid
in the house.
Fast way forward to now, I'm not a fan of
idle hands.
But, now there's less time to indulge
my pastimes. I'm often on the road or in
waiting rooms. The work bag, charming
as it was, isn't practical to squash into a
brief case, ready for a bit of downtime
handiwork.
But my Prét-à-porter Portfolio fits the ticket
(and my briefcase) nicely. It has a large
zippered pocket to wrangle all manner of
sewing bits and pieces, a secure scissor
storage pocket, and a built-in pincushion.
It also has a pocket for a small ruler, a seam
ripper, pencil, and a memo pad.
This project has a lot of sweet details, and
it will take some time. But, you're going to
love the results!
Instruction photos by Nancy Devine

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