Getting ready for back to school....

Every time R saw the Michael Miller Groovy Guitar fabric in my cupboard she would comment on what a great pencil case it would make. That was just the beginning of her none too subtle campaign for a new pencil case for the new year back to school.

Now I've always been a fan of new pencil cases at the beginning of the year to go with the new pencils and new books that you try to keep neat until the gloss of the new year wears off so it didn't take too much convincing. And, given that R is happy to cover her own books and get her bag sorted for the new year it freed up a bit of time for me to make her one. Truth be told, I had actually purchased this fabric with R in mind, either to cover a music book or make a little something music related.

I used this very simple tutorial from Flossie Teacakes but adapted the measurements to make a pencil case that measures around 40cm x 30cm (16" x 12"). R's only request was for it to be able to hold her 30cm ruler.

But I know that the kids also have to house USB's and various other instruments in their pencil cases. Most purchased versions have inner (or outer) zipped pockets and I'm just not clever enough to work that out....so, I made another mini pencil case that clips inside with a key ring to hold all of those bits. The inside features a few Kona solids in co-ordinating colours pieced together. I love the little tabs at the end of the zips. They really finish off the zip and they weren't too difficult to sew.

Someone is very happy. Let's hope it doesn't end up covered with graffiti!

And on a completely different note. Look what we found in the garden. This is a pumpkin that came up after we emptied the compost bucket with the seeds from the Halloween Pumpkin that we paid a small fortune for. When the plant first sprouted I held little hope that it would ever do anything, thinking that the fruit had been hybridised out for re-growth. Well, fingers crossed we may still end up with that Halloween Pumpkin stand after all!