Friday, March 13, 2009

I Want to Eat My Marker Roll

Because it looks so yummy.

I first saw the gorgeous patchwork colored pencil rolls in back around Christmas time, I think...

How long it can take something to stew in one's head before it comes to fruition: This doesn't follow the book's instructions step-by-step, but back when I read it I studied it until I figured out how the most striking construction elements worked, and so I imagine that my own marker roll has some very close similarities.

In particular, I copied the idea of the matching color patchwork-- --and the up-and-down, back-and-forth quilting: I like this, in particular, a LOT better than the other ways I've seen discussed of constructing crayon rolls, which is to sew up only to the edge of the pocket and then backstitch to hold the stitch, and then move over to the next place the pocket needs to be sewn and sew up to the edge there, etc. When I made my own crayon rolls with that method, I was bored by the constant stop and start, and I disliked the look of the obvious backstitch.

This quilting method is quicker and cleaner looking.

I figured out the width of each pocket by measuring the length it took for a fabric tape measure to go from the tabletop, over the marker, and then back to the tabletop, adding a half-inch seam allowance. I measured the length of each piece as twice the length of my marker, then folded the whole thing up at the bottom to form the pocket, leaving space between the top of the marker and the top edge of the marker roll.

The marker roll's only flaw, as it pertains to my personal method of crafting, is that it requires some pretty specific color choices. Crafting primarily with recycled materials, I'm very used to working with what I already have or can cheaply obtain second-hand or from the recycling center. I'm NOT used to buying new fabric, and frankly, I was a little uncomfortable with it--consumerism isn't really the goal of my work, you know, although maybe you wouldn't know it if you saw all this fabric I bought just for these rolls:
I am going to look for some cotton button-down shirts at Goodwill tomorrow (50%-off storewide sale!) to use for this type of sewing, but I did make my peace with the new purchases a little by choosing that my outside fabric for these rolls be recycled blue jean denim. Makes it extra sturdy, I think.

Next up--a Micron pen roll, just for me!

3 comments:

Lisa said...

These are beautiful! I need to make one, maybe the girls will put their markers away then, with the caps on!

cake said...

really nice, and seems like it was fun to make.

i cannot believe i missed the 50% off store wide sale. i was thinking about it last week, wondering when it was. i wanted to ask you, but thought you wouldn't tell me! tee hee. hope you got some good materials. well, i know you did.

julie said...

Oh, my goodness, you'll never believe it, but they MOVED THE DATE!!! I usually get the list of storewide sales online, so imagine my surprise when I walked into Goodwill bright and early on Saturday morning, no crowds, ample parking, even got my own shopping cart without a fight, and discovered that sometime in the meantime the storewide sale was changed to March 21!

So you townies are in luck.

And yep, I'm kind of obsessed with roll organizers now. They are REALLY fun to make, and while when I first saw them I thought they were kind of a fussy way to organize, as opposed to, you know, the pencil case, but I have to admit that the girls also love them and they do travel really well thrown into a bag with a couple of sketchbooks.