The Songbird's Garden - Needle Case

The Songbird's Garden three-fold hexagonal needle case also has an appliqued hexagon on the front, just like the journal cover that I'd posted about yesterday. Instead of a wooden hand painted birdhouse button to embellish it, this one has an embroidered birdhouse. There is a very gentle variegation to Valdani threads, and these work beautifully with Lynette's fabrics. Once the embroidery and applique was completed, it was time to make the main part of the needle case. I used template plastic to trace the hexagon from the pattern, and cut out a selection of hexagons from the fabrics I'd chosen from my "Lynette" fabric box...
* I've got an old rotary cutter that I used to cut out the hexagon from template plastic - my Karen Kay Buckley perfect scissors are just for cutting fabric!

...as you can see below, I used a wooden raw wood button "stitched with love" onto the woolfelt needle keeper rather than make a Suffolk Puff that's in the original pattern. Inside the needle case there are 2 pockets which are ideal for storing packets of sewing needles - 1 pocket is trimmed with a hand embroidered strip, and the other pocket is trimmed with some tape measure ribbon...

...two fabric ties were stitched into position, before the front and back were stitched together. I think the trickiest part was turning the needle case the right way through once I'd stitched all around the outside. The opening was then hand stitched together using ladder-stitch, and the seam is almost invisible! This cute pattern is by Lynette Anderson Designs, and I'd bought the pattern from Lynette's stand last year at the Festival of Quilts. Thank goodness I've been able to complete it before FOQ this year! Now I won't feel too guilty if I get temped to buy some more of her gorgeous goodies when I see her on Sunday!