Friday, June 27, 2014

24 Shades of Everything but Gray

This past week, I received a kind shout-out from the folks at Pink Chalk Studios about a pencil roll I made, and I thought I’d share it with you—because it’s a fun and colorful project.


Back in the day, when I only dreamed of making a quilt, I bought myself a copy of Joelle Hoverson’s Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. Joelle cleverly divides the projects presented, some of which she designed herself and some of which were contributed by others, by how long they take to complete.

The pencil roll, designed by Pink Chalk Studios, is categorized as a 2- to 4-hour project. Whatever! It’s more like a 2- to 4-year project! Back then, I had a humble stash, virtually no scrap collection (an essential for creating a project like this), and zero confidence in selecting fabric. So I started from scratch, and it took a darn long time to come up with the necessary 24 colors to coordinate with the colored pencils. Like, it took so long that a project I intended for my niece and nephew became a project for my own son—by the time I curated the collection of fabrics, my niece and nephew were too old for a pencil-roll gift.


You, of course, would not have that dilemma. I know you’ve got a great stash and a burgeoning scrap pile—so there’s probably no need to cut into your yardage anyway.

If you decide to tackle this project, may I make a suggestion? Crank out four or five of them assembly-line style. That’s how I got mine. I made five of them for my son and his buddies. Recently, when going through my yet-to-be-gifted pile of projects, I came across the fifth one and knew I needed to hold onto it for myself. Glad I did. : )

I’m linking up this post to Finish It Up Friday and TGIFF!

Update: I’m also joining the fun over at Stitch by Stitch’s Anything Goes Monday for the first time!

15 comments:

  1. Lovely pencil roll! I totally agree that when dealing with a potentially fiddly project like this one, it's a good idea to make more than one. Especially because it increases the chances of getting to keep one for yourself! ☺

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  2. Ooh, this is fab! I made a crayon roll several months ago, and wow. I really had to stretch my scraps for the eight colors! And even then, my brown was not awesome. So I understand how this could take awhile! It looks great!

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  3. It looks amazing! Making a bunch at once sounds like a great idea, especially so you can stockpile them for when you need a quick gift. I'm not sure my stash would have all the colours I'd need, maybe I'd have to do a little shopping to fill in the gaps?!

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  4. Muy bonito y original!
    Vengo de Crazy mom quilts
    Saludos

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  5. that's a super cute pencil roll! You did a great job on it! I've never made one but always thought it would be fun. My artist daughter would LOVE it!

    thanks for linking up to finish it up Friday!

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    1. Thank you all for your sweet comments. If you embark on a pencil roll of your own, be sure to let me know!

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  6. Great pencil roll! Forget the kids -- I want it! It's like a rainbow in your pocket (or school bag). Great job!

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    1. You just washed away any residual guilt that I'm holding on to the last one for myself! Grown-ups need pretty pencil holders, too. : )

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  7. Oh my gosh! That is so cute. I have an artsy daughters who would love that! Glad to know I'm not the only one who has quick projects turn into anything but quick!

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  8. ohmigoodness! I made two of those at Christmas, probably from the same book! I noticed tho that Pink Chalk was the originator. I gave them to my oldest grands, and they were so cute. (Also, I had a wonderful time making them.). Anything for the grands, right?

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  9. Stopping by from Anything Goes Monday.. Need one.... great job

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