Box Pouch: Riley Blake Fabric Challenge Complete!

I was having a really hard time deciding what to do about the MQG's Riley Blake Fabric Challenge.  As President of my Guild I was determined to take on the challenge...but what to make had become my biggest problem...  Then I woke up yesterday morning and decided I've always wanted to make a Box Pouch so why not use this challenge to try it out?  I know...you might be wondering why would I decide to do something I've never done before for a challenge...I'm crazy like that...basically I have to make the challenge even more challenging to get me motivated to do it...does that make sense?  (Remember this triple zip pouch...when I decided to try sewing a herringbone design for the first time ever because doing a triple zip pouch wasn't challenging enough?  Like I said, crazy...)

As promised Susan ;) - I used this tutorial to make a lined Box Pouch.  However, I did not use interfacing and instead quilted the exterior panels.  I prefer the texture of the straight line quilting and the squishy way the box feels as a result.  Also, I changed the size of my tab and chose to only put one in.

I began by making the exterior panels first: I pieced the fabrics to the correct size, quilted, and made a last minute design choice to QAYG the selvage onto the panel <-- what a happy accident looking back as I think it adds a critical detail to an otherwise normal box pouch!  

Embarrassing Full Disclosure: Having never made this pattern before I had envisioned my piecing design as vertical rather than horizontal...after attaching the zipper I realized it was going to be horizontal.  Palm to forehead!  I worried that the "Riley Blake" text and those cute little owls on the selvage would be lost when I made my box corners.  But, at that point I had committed too much time to start over or abandon the project and decided to keep going and see what happened...  (I even CUT my corners while the pouch was inside out without checking to see whether the selvage had been butchered, I was that committed to leaving it up to fate at that point in the process.  That is the attitude one has with three babes under 5 yrs and therefore limited time to sew - sometimes you just have to go with it!)  How ecstatic was I to turn out the pouch and discover the selvage perfectly seated at the edge of the box!!! Admitted Total Fluke!  

I highly recommend that you make a box pouch if you haven't - it was very fun and simple to do.  I completed it in a handful of hours with multiple Mommy interruptions.  In fact I plan on making another one soon...but I know I will never recreate such a happy design accident as this one!  I am so glad I did this challenge as it made me think outside the box (haha) and more importantly it caused me to laugh at myself during the process...  Sometimes I need to remember to take my making a little less seriously and just have fun.  Thanks Riley Blake and MQG - this turned out to be sewing time well spent!

- rebecca lynne