Amy Butler's Sweet Greetings Large Portfolio

I really need a new camera, with a better macro.

With the emotional aid of the great Soprano, I was finally able to pick out the contrast fabric for my Amy Butler Sweet Greetings Portfolio. We went to our local Joanne's, because it was located by some other shops we wanted to hit Saturday morning. I do like the fabric we picked out, but the state of the calico selection there is pretty sad.

"You say Twee, like it is a bad thing..."

My original fabric looks a bit rosier, than the true red that it is, in the photo here, but I'm really pleased with the English tea time/whimsy/twee feel to the combo. Which is perfect for my trip.

London Walks cards.

Now, I did read through the instructions before I went into making this, although I don't think I paid as much attention, as I wish I did. The one thing I noted looking at the pictures, was that I should measure the pockets and make sure they were useful for my needs. I knew that I wanted some pockets to hold my London Walks Cards. (I had bought this same deck for Paris and loved it. Although, I have not heard exactly good things about this deck, I managed to score this set for 99cents on ebay!)Checking the pattern measurements, I could see they were plenty big to hold my cards, and I figured anything bigger could fit into the larger paper pockets.

Gathering all the necessary items.

Only thing is, there isn't "larger paper pockets." I thought that this portfolio was built like a folder with large pockets for A4 sized paper, in addition to the smaller ones on top for other things. As it turns out*, the large "pockets" are not pockets for paper, actually they are sewn shut to hold in the chipboard. Woops.

OooO Pretty Colors.

Never to be stopped by a pattern simply not being what I expected, I set my mind about how I would get those big pockets, I so dearly desired. I had, of course, already cut out all my fabric, creating a sorta fabric tangram, that I was sure I could make into the shape I wanted. The answer of course was easy enough, "don't put the chipboard in, just leave the pockets open for the paper." Sine I'm cheap and was planning to use part of an old box I cut up, rather than chipboard, it wasn't that great of a loss. Also, the added result was that the portfolio would be soft if I wanted to roll it up for storage in my tiny suitcase, once I had tossed all my travel notes along my way!

"Depends on what you mean by real."

The next funny thing about the pattern that surprised me was with the small pockets. They give the illusion in the picture that they closed with little buttons. However, once I got into the pattern I realized, they were only the other larger pockets, folded over, sewn down, and had "decorative" brads attached. One could stick tiny items behind them, but they don't open and close. Obviously it is less work to do them that way, but I'm throwing that in the same pile as those shirts that have half a vest sewn to the front.... they fool you for a moment and then you think they're stupid.

The best shot I got of it (damn my foggy city and it's lack of natural light.)

I do get the aesthetics of the faux pockets, and rather than the toss the idea entirely, I added some gold grommets where the brads should be; thinking that perhaps about key ring attachment and frankly, I always have a ton of grommets in my sewing kit. This retain the effect of breaking up the pockets, so it looks like you have more than just four of the same, and at the same time wouldn't add the bulk that brads or buttons might.

Fin.

Once everything was puzzled out, the project came together easily if not a bit wrinkled. I used grosgrain ribbon for the front and the ties, to keep the symmetry with my passport holder, and decided to use the contrasting fabric for the pen holder, (the patterns calls for using the main fabric) as I thought it was cuter. Personally, I think without the large pocket modifications this project is bit useless, but I don't do many "paper projects." My end project though, suits my needs very well, and I think is rather adorable!

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*to be fair, maybe I totally misunderstood the directions. I don't think I did, however Amy Butler's crew isn't exactly known for their most clear directions. This entire pattern was made of rectangles, and yet the page diagrams don't really label what you're looking at, so you can't tell a pocket from a appliqué.