I should zip it.

Sorry I skipped a week of blogging.  I'd only made one thing, and I'd forgotten to take photos of it before I sent it off...  You can see it here though!  I've also been a bit of a misery guts so less said on that the better!
Its been a pretty sleepy couple of weeks for me.  I did have a couple of awake days last weekend, but I had to use them  for housework!  Well, it had kinda built up, and no, I don't like housework, but I don't like a totally messy house either.  (boyfriend if you're reading this, stop choking with disbelief...)  So, I ended up using the only awake days I had getting the house in order.  But at least it was nice to nap in a very tidy house. (boyfriend, again, if you're reading this - its even nicer napping in a very tidy house you've cleaned for me...come home soon!)

I have done little bits and pieces of sewing though, mostly in the last couple of days.  I'm in the "For the Love of Solids" swap, and getting something done for that has been top priority.  I don't know why but I really haven't been feeling like it much!  I kept thinking that one day I'd get a good idea I actually felt excited about, but its gotten to the stage that I need to have something done, whether I get really excited about it or not.  I've tried really hard to come up with something my partner will like, but lets just say I'm not entirely confident about it!
Its going to be a cushion cover by the way.

The colours are genuinely much nicer than they look here, the blues are brighter, the green is not as dark and murky as it looks here.  Bad lighting, honest ;-)
In between doing that I've been playing about a bit...

Now this I am excited about...  This panel here had a purpose, more of that in a minute, but this panel has made me want to do this bigger - 4" squares instead of 2" and a whole quilt of...  cos I just didn't have enough on my "next I want to make" list...   However, this panel is now this!

My first attempt at a zippered pouch.  I have now sewn a zipper 3 times - as a bag closure, as an internal pocket, and this zippy pouch.  I still suck at zips.  I've got another pouch to make up so I'll be having another go right away, but I'm kind of stuck at what to do differently.  I've studied every tutorial I can find, and I still don't feel confident with it.  This is my main reason why.

The zipper foot.  I hate it!  Don't know if you can see from the pics but it has a half circle on either side, and a teeny gap in the middle.  I've tried the needle positioned in all three ways.  None seem to make sense to me!
If you can see it, the foot is angled too.  I swear I tried it three ways and none of them worked right.  Needle on the left and the top fabric got stretched out of proportion.  Needle in the middle and it was not close enough to the zipper.  Needle on the right and, well, I might as well have been doing free motion it was skidding about all over the shop.  Does anyone have a foot like this?  How am I supposed to be using it?!!

Ach well, pouch mark 1 is passable, it wont fall apart, it zips up.  And I've pre cut the pieces for mark 2, cos I knew if I didn't I'd just postpone trying again!  I WILL do this.  But if anyones got some zipper foot secrets to share, please do...

I'm linking up with Sew Modern Monday @ Canoe Ridge Creations  so have a nosey there at all the gorgeous projects others have on the go!