Le Challenge - Direction

Another month, another Le Challenge. For anybody knew to me through the Blog Hop, Le Challenge was set up by Nat and Lucy to literally challenge us. Challenge us to make or finish something by the 15th of the month that ties in with the "Le Challenge" and sometimes to push the boundaries, both of sewing and thinking.

July's Le Challenge was "Direction". For somebody like me with a terrible sense of direction, this was quite a challenge. So, the obvious thing was a map.

The pouch was to be 4" x 5" and to hold bank cards when we go away, which we do now and again. Unfortunately all my bargain zips were 6" at least, so we have a sewing hexie pouch.

I made a small pouch with some map material from a charm pack called Barcelona and lined it with some bicycle fabric from Liberty. The rather expensive Liberty fabric was used with a cheap and cheerful orange zip from a bargain bucket.

Just make the normal pouch way, a sandwich, top stitching and flip inside out. Add a little top stitching.

I decided to embellish it with a star and "you are here" sign like you see in street maps. Not to sure about this, it looks a little clunky so it may come out again. I'll see how I feel in a few days. If it just has that primitive naive form of stitching then it stays. I want it to have an organic feel. That actually kept me awake the other night trying to think of the word, organic. Vegetable, I thought, no not vegetable, simple I thought, no not simple, ORGANIC  I thought. That was my eureka moment. If I had been in the bath I would have leaped out. (Science joke, reference to  Einsten)

To be honest, map wasn't my first thought. In my youth, in a small rural town, we spent a lot of time in Gospel Halls, it was a big thing through the summer holidays.  You learnt a few bible verses and won stickers and pencils. It always finished with the preacher leaning over the stand with a long look and saying, "and when you go home tonight, which direction are you going in?"

And, my friend's grandmother had a large picture of John Bunyan's Pilgrim Progress in her living room.  Pilgrim had to chose between the narrow straight road to heaven decorated with harps and bibles, or the broad curving road to hell decorated with what looked like drink and debauchery. A scary painting indeed for a ten year old to look at over lunch.

Helen x
linking up with Le Challenge

Also, this is the third week of the Blog Hop after a two week break. Go check out this week's bloggers. I'm in Quantum Quilters. There's some great competitions on the home page.
Hannah in Modern Magnolia Studio
 Sylvia in A Stranger View
Amy in Indigo Cottage Quilts - who incidentally gave me a lovely write up
Cindy in Stitchin At Home