Kitten-proof sewing organizer...

I had a perfectly good sewing-on-the-sofa kind of organizer with a pincushion attached and a removable pouch for scraps and threads and stuff. But it was a kitten MAGNET! Nosey Parker wanted to pull all the pins and needles out, dig in the pouch, burrow underneath it all- she was scaring me! I just knew we'd end up at the vet's having emergency surgery, so I decided I better come up with something that wouldn't risk her life but would still allow me to do my handsewing on the sofa at night while we watch TV.

This is what I came up with.

I didn't even have much of a plan, which is odd for me, I usually over-think these things and spend way too much time on something small or silly. I grabbed 2 fat quarters of Kaffe Fasset material out of the hutch thinking I could afford to waste them if this didn't work out. The one I used for the interior is not my favorite fabric and I think I only I bought it to have a bit more red fabric available to me when I made my coin quilt and then it wasn't the right kind of red. Anyway, I used these thinking they'd be OK, but as it turns out, I really like the punchiness of it all together.

I slapped a piece of fusible cotton batting in between 2- 10" x 15" pieces of fabric and machine quilted it using the circles on the outside piece as my guide. Then I laid it on the arm of the sofa and started thinking- "what do I want and where should I put it?" After a few mis-starts and boo-boos- (like don't put all the bulky stuff on one side, stupid!) this is what I ended up with and I'm pretty tickled with it. I managed to get all this done with those 2 fat quarters of fabric. I was piecing scraps together for that binding, though!

This is how it looks when it's just opened up or ready to be closed up.

And this is how it is "in action". The scissors just hang there, easy-in and easy-out.

See that elastic up there? That's what holds the thread in place, it loops over 2 shank buttons and keeps SOMEONE from batting them around the living room. A little divided thing in the center holds my favorite leather thimble and 2 other things, like pens or forceps. The pins and needles are encased in a little flapper thing that folds up and snaps shut, keeping all pointy things out of reach of the little beast. The tiny scissors are held safe by a fabric sheath and locked into place with a bit of fabric and another snap. When I'm using them, I can just slide it into the other strip which holds it in place vertically.

The big pouch has wire in the casing so it's easy to throw things in there, snips of thread, candy wrappers, just any old trash. And it's velcroed on so it's easy to clean out and empty. There's another pocket next to that, it's fixed in place and good for reading glasses or notes, etc.

When I'm done for the evening, I just put the scissors in the little sheath, snap them into place, and smash it all shut. lol Clip the little buckle on the twill tape ribbon and Bob's your uncle! This will be good for taking on a trip, too, I think. I like to take what I call "idiot work" along in the car so I'm not just sitting there when I'm not driving.

I'm toying with the idea of making some of these for my Etsy shop, do you think they'd sell or are they too kitten-proof-y? And if you want to make one, just ask if you need more dimensions or instructions, OK? Thanks for looking.

I'm thinking about doing a tute for this, maybe I'll try to do that when I whip up a couple for the shop. Just don't hold your breath, OK? lol

Amylouwho is doing a sew-n-tell post this week. If you'd like to see what others have been making and get inspired to do something yourself, click on that link!