ZIPPITY-Doo-Dah!

At some point in my sewing-blog adventures, I came across the ZipIt Etsy shop and had two realizations:

1. Multi-colored zippers are really, really appealing when arranged in beautiful rainbow-like formations.
2. This ZipIt Etsy shop has some magical zipper prices.

After my jewelry roll success, I decided it was time to splurge and purchase an array of zippers to keep at my fingertips. That way I won’t have to run to the store every single time I need a zipper, which will likely save me money in the long run. This is a familiar scenario: I need one zipper. I come home hours later with about three hundred unnecessary sewing accessories… and one zipper.

I normally pay around $1.99/zipper at the fabric store. But for $31.00 total, which included shipping costs, I ordered 100 zippers in a variety of colors and sizes, which made each zipper only 31 cents each. AND… I ordered these beauties on May 9 and received them on May 11. Wow. WOW!

First project on the list? A zipper pouch to hold all of these zippers!

Hooked on my nook!

Remember when I said I was going to recycle the Hot Seat into the draft of a new project? 

Ta-da! Introducing… a cover for my nook! (My Barnes & Noble e-reader) …



I searched for a nook cover pattern awhile ago, but there wasn’t much out there since e-readers are still fairly new to the world. I recently stumbled across this amazing pattern on etsy.com that included patterns for the nook, nookCOLOR, Kindle 2, Kindle 3, iPad and KOBO, all in one PDF file!



Click here to visit the etsy shop, BirdfulStitches, where I bought this pattern!

I printed the pattern at home and decided to use scrap fabric – the fabric from my old “Hot Seat” – for a first draft to make sure I knew what I was doing before invested in new fabrics. The pattern was easy to follow with lots of helpful photos, and I couldn’t believe how quickly I finished the project! The cover is sized perfectly for my nook.

Only one boo-boo took place during the first draft – once I finished, I realized I had some leftover fabric pieces, and my nook cover didn’t have any extra pockets on the inside. I read the pattern ten times over and realized the reminder to sew the pockets inside must have slipped through the cracks, because it was never mentioned. I sent an e-mail to the person who created the pattern, who thanked me for my input and said they’d update the pattern. Yay!

With my first “draft” safely behind me, I excitedly allowed myself to buy new fabric for the cover I actually planned to use.



I even got adventurous and strayed from the pattern, using a magnetic snap instead of the recommended button. My first magnetic snap!



I was so excited to take my freshly covered nook to my book club last week… with the second set of pockets and all!





It’s projects like this one that make me truly appreciate the power of the internet. With e-readers being such a new product, it’s unlikely that I’d be able to find an “official” pattern like this anytime soon… so I’m thankful that I can tap into the talents of others via the world wide web!