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Saturday, 20 September 2025

Customized "Eggsy" Shoulder Bag

Customized Miko Craft Eggsy Shoulder Bag crafted by eSheep Designs
Customized Eggsy Shoulder Bag for my man...
I promised this "before the end of summer" and here it is one day prior!

When I came across Miko Craft's YouTube channel back in March, I determined to make one project and tagged a second one for future consideration.

As it happened, both projects shared the charmingly descriptive name of "Eggsy" — one being a backpack and the other being a sling bag. Per their namesake, they each have an oval rounded shape to them.

Customized Miko Craft Eggsy Backpack crafted by eSheep Designs
You've already seen the customized backpack that I made for me. Within a month of finishing it, I had a spare week alone – hubby was off camping – to work on the sling, which was destined to be a birthday gift for him. It took me a day and a half to sew up and I was quite pleased with how it turned out.

As with the previous bag, I added things and changed up the strap. I also came away with "lessons learned", which may be the subject of a future blog post, for the edification of anyone wanting to make either of these bags with the same modifications.

To start today's discussion, let's go back almost a decade to a personalized sling bag that I purchased from Vistaprint.




This is the Twister Sling Bag by Leed's that I bought for hubby's bday that year. The image below is a generic one from the manufacturer; the one I ordered is the same colour, but had a custom image imprinted on the main front panel (the phrase from our joint design project, You Just Can't Fix Stupid).

Leed's Twister Sling Bag
image courtesy of Leed's...

The bag, while serviceable, was bigger than he preferred and had a cheap, nylon-y feel to it that just didn't make the grade. (It definitely shows better in the photo than it felt in RL.) Ultimately put aside, I figured I would eventually take the materials and turn it into something more suitable.

Which is how I arrived at this customized version of the Eggsy Shoulder Bag. For this project, I harvested the two zippers, the mesh pocket, an interior hanging pocket, and the complete strap assembly. (Oh, and of course, I also cut out the personalized part that read "You Just Can't Fix Stupid.")

Customized Miko Craft Eggsy Shoulder Bag crafted by eSheep Designs
Front view...

The original Eggsy has no pockets apart from the two zippered compartments. It's actually fairly plain in that sense, and while I knew that it's likely because it's somewhat of a small bag, the idea of no additional pockets just doesn't sit right with me. So of course, the first plan was to add one, or two, or three...

Actually, the first plan was to choose fabrics. Since there weren't many options, I was happy with what I found. (Thought briefly about using old denim, but decided against it because – once again – my supply of it is too distressed to turn out a bag that doesn't scream, I was made out of old jeans!) These selections are from a 2018 Craftsy purchase. The gold/brown micro dot print (as well as the cream coloured lining) is part of the Boundless DECOdent Earthtone collection and was first used on my Purl Bee Penguin. The contrasting front side panels are made out of Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements (Rulers) leftovers from this pouch that was also made for hubby.

Customized Miko Craft Eggsy Shoulder Bag crafted by eSheep Designs
Back view of my customized Eggsy Shoulder Bag...

As is the case whenever I do a YouTube project these days, I ran the video and snipped screenshots out to a Word doc. After determining what my modifications would be, I then added notes where required in the process. For example, for the mesh pocket that was added to the back of the bag, this was where I put the instruction in my Word document:

Customized Miko Craft Eggsy Shoulder Bag crafted by eSheep Designs
images courtesy of Miko Craft's YouTube channel...

Even though I knew the gusset was going to be quite narrow, I still added a slip pocket to each side. They're good for holding pens, combs, straws. My other half has clip-on sunglasses that can fit in there.

Customized Miko Craft Eggsy Shoulder Bag crafted by eSheep Designs
Side view showing one of the gusset pockets...

The largest pocket that I added was a full-width interior slip pocket against the back of the bag in the main compartment. It was made out of the same fabric as the lining.

At the top of this same compartment, I attached a key chain and tiny pocket combo that I kept from a discarded key case. The key chain is secured by two snap fasteners. I believe if it's turned upside down, any keys on the ring can be stored inside the pocket; otherwise the pocket is probably only useful for keeping a shopping cart coin.

Customized Miko Craft Eggsy Shoulder Bag crafted by eSheep Designs
View of main compartment interior...

By the way, I used Decor Bond as the interfacing for the exterior fabric. True to reputation, it tends to crinkle with repeated handing – and (man)handle it you must when it comes to turning these assemblies right side out – but the effect is always less noticeable on darker fabric. Also, if you can press at each juncture, it goes a long way to alleviate the problem. I do like the stiffness that it provides.


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The Twister Bag had a nylon slip pocket that was sewn to the top of the lining inside the main compartment. It was therefore an easy decision to reuse it in the same manner here. The only difference is that it's in the top (smaller) compartment of the Eggsy.

Customized Miko Craft Eggsy Shoulder Bag crafted by eSheep Designs
Recycled interior hanging pocket...

For the second time in a row, I totally changed up the strap. Of course, this time it was unavoidable since I took an entire strap from one bag to reuse on another.
 
The strap that came with the Twister Sling Bag was very long. As you can see in the various pics, the portion of webbing left hanging free is rather substantial... and this is after I cut off at least half of the wider section of fabric connected to it. I suppose if you're a big bulky linebacker and need to carry the bag across your body, the extra length might be useful, but here it was just excessive.

Customized Miko Craft Eggsy Shoulder Bag crafted by eSheep Designs
Opposite side view showing strap attachment...

The nylon fabric section of the strap was directly attached to the top of the Twister bag, unlike what was designated for the Eggsy. The Eggsy called for 4cm wide webbing to be encased in the anchor at the top of the bag. Meanwhile, the webbing that formed the bottom part of the Twister strap was only 2.5cm wide.

It was a problem begging for some "outside of the box" thinking. I arrived at my solution by unpicking the binding around the nylon section, sewing a section of webbing to it and then attaching the binding to the webbing to create the required width. In doing this, I was also able to sew the personalized piece onto the lower part of the nylon fabric area. Win-win!

Customized Miko Craft Eggsy Shoulder Bag crafted by eSheep Designs
As usual, for an idea of scale...

This bag was a more difficult "sew" than the Eggsy Backpack. I would classify it as an intermediate project at a minimum, largely due to the repeated "sewing around in a circular fashion" that's not easy to do when zippers are part of the equation. Add the fact that this is a fairly small bag that would tend to show imperfections more readily than a bigger backpack.

Miko fully demonstrates all of the required sewing in the video, but darned if he doesn't make it seem so easy! (Mind you, my use of Decor Bond – as well as the extra layers that were added with all of my modifications – did not make the sewing any easier either!)

'Til next... 🇨🇦🍁

Saturday, 30 August 2025

Pearls of Wisdom

DIY pearl tree by eSheep Designs
One of two painstakingly hand-crafted pearl trees...
I love trees.

It's not something that I think about on a regular basis, but whenever I see an unusual or particularly magnificent tree, I'm reminded of this fact.

On our vacation through Cape Breton Island and Ottawa, I was captivated by how leafy trees canopied the highways in that part of the country. It's so unlike what I see at home on the prairies, where – if it's not flat farmland disappearing into the horizon – the trees are more the tall, sparsely branched evergreen variety than the thick, bushy deciduous kind.

Anyway, for those of you who don't give two figs how I feel about trees, that was a long preamble to the subject of today's post, which you can tell from the photos is clearly not about sewing, although it is somewhat about trees. It is also a bit about problem solving and making do. As I've learned over the past decade, to evolve as a student of sewing – or any craft or livelihood – it is extremely helpful to know how to adapt to unforeseen circumstances.

pearl trees crafted by eSheep Designs
Pearl trees bookending my ROKR wooden owl...

Sometime last year, I looked up what item traditionally marks a 30th wedding anniversary and learned that it was pearls. When I did a search for what type of pearl gifts were common, I found a whole lot of trees. Naturally, my immediate thought was, how can I DIY one?

Off I went to YouTube.

By the way, I don't recall which exact videos that I watched, but here is an example that shows one way of tackling this (you'll have to copy and paste the link to make it work):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opJhbuOsvmE




After seeing a couple of videos, I felt confident of being able to attempt the process. I wasn't looking to replicate anyone's project, just wanting to understand the basic technique enough to put my own spin on something. (Didn't realize how true that would end up being at the time!)

For supplies, trips to Dollar Tree and Dollarama yielded the following items for $8.50:

dollar store supplies
My DIY supplies...

I was actually quite pleased with the look of the pearls and purchased four packages in three different sizes. Underneath the supplies, you can see my planning sheet where I scribbled out how to make various branches and how many beads they would require.

I'm calling them beads because that's what I assumed they were based on the labeling on the packages. Even after I opened them up and dumped them into small zippered bags, it still didn't occur to me that they were oddly missing one important characteristic of being called a "bead."

THEY HAD NO HOLES.

not beads from Dollar Tree
Technically, not beads!

On the day that I sat down to start making my tree, I cut a length of wire and finally noticed that I had no way of threading these!

I knew that I only spent $7 on these "beads" and could have gone out and found others with actual holes in them, but something told me to make the best of the situation and come up with a solution. This meant, of course, going back online and searching for ideas.

What I came across were stones and other found items being wrapped with wire to make jewelry. While I could see how that would work for odd shaped pieces, a slippery round bead would surely be hard to wrap, right?

As it turned out, if one is patient and determined, it's doable.

pearl trees crafted by eSheep Designs
A "make do" solution...

At first, I used two lengths of wire, overlapping them to form a cross around the pearl. I figured this would be the most secure way to hold them (and it probably is). However, this method used up a lot of wire and the result wasn't pretty. It led me to decide that my original instinct – the single wrap that you see here – was the right choice, even though it's obviously not the most secure.

What I discovered was that if I twisted really tightly, the hold was surprisingly good. (And no, I didn't have to apply any glue.)

My plan was to make twenty branches with eleven beads on each. The first seven beads were the small size, followed by two medium and then two large ones. The branch pictured below is nicely done – I definitely got better with practice – but the first attempts were imperfect, to say the least.

pearl trees crafted by eSheep Designs
I made eighteen branches in this general style...

I ran out of wire after finishing fifteen branches, so it was back to Dollarama to pick up more. With a new supply of wire, I decided to start wrapping branches together to see if I could form a decent looking tree of any sort. It soon became clear that this particular wire wasn't strong enough to support more than three branches put together, so – once again – it was time to re-think the process. Instead of one big tree, I decided to create an arrangement using combinations of three branches.

DIY pearl tree by eSheep Designs
This arrangement has six branches...

My plan was to push these branches into a floral foam block and then put that into a decorative pot. But around the same time as this crafting was happening, I was trying to find a way to make a couple of Airwick air fresheners work again.


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Airwick Life Scents Touch & Glow
Destined for the garbage bin, these came in handy...
I'd had these for years and years and didn't realize that the batteries aren't replaceable. (What a waste, huh? Luckily both of these units were free; would have been a bad purchase.) With no way to initiate the warming action anymore, I had pulled off the plastic cover and was simply waiting for the remaining oil to disperse. The little glass bottles, however, gave me inspiration.

They are just the right size and have enough weight to them to hold my pearl branches in place. The opening, however, is only big enough for three bunches of three branches, so I made only three others, calling the project a done deal at eighteen branches total.

Very happy to have found another opportunity for reuse in the most unlikeliest of circumstances!

DIY pearl tree by eSheep Designs
This arrangement is made up of nine branches...

By the way, as I was wrapping the branches together, I only had three beads pop out on me. I was super impressed that they held up to being manipulated in such a manner. I had another two pop out as I twisted and bent individual "leaves" to arrange them, but all in all, their holding power has been amazing.

In the end, I'm totally satisfied with how this project came together after the unexpected obstacle of beads having no holes. (Oh, I've since been edified about these pearls: apparently they're meant to be used decoratively as filler for vases or glass containers. I still think they should be clearly labelled as having no holes, however.) The only real negative was that it wasn't a project that hubby was able to participate in; per my original intention. I had envisioned us taking the supplies on our vacation out east and assembling branches during our down time. Given how the process ended up being rather finicky, neither the ultimately fragile branches nor hubby's bigger fingers would have made that plan a reality!

Before I sign off – to stay on topic and as further evidence that I am fond of trees – here are three tree projects that are actually sewing related that I've either made or provided a reference to: the hanging Christmas tree, tabletop tree and button tree.

'Til next... 🇨🇦🍁

Saturday, 9 August 2025

Quasi-Tutorial: Quick Access Card Holder

Quick Access Card Holder on a Chain by eSheep Designs
Just what my Eggsy Backpack needed...
I'm happy to report – for anyone who may have been concerned for me 😜 – that my Eggsy Backpack worked out quite well during my vacation. I had high hopes that it would, but one never knows how one might react to a new bag until it gets used.

For my part, I had been virtually attached at the hip to my crossbody sling bag for four years. Even though its smallish size precludes carrying much, I had gotten used to its distinctive elements of "convenience." Primarily, the flip up the flap to access credit cards in two seconds was something that I sorely missed in my new bag.

During the trip, I used one of my purse lanyards to keep my credit card within easy reach. It did the job adequately, but when I started using the backpack full time after I got home, I put cards in the gusset pocket. That wasn't entirely optimal as there was no way to separate the three cards that I needed to carry and I always worried that handling one would jeopardize the security of the others.

Meanwhile, I really liked the idea of the lanyard; it was just that the clear pocket at the end wasn't the best choice for storing credit cards (i.e., people probably shouldn't see credit cards hanging out in the open).

Quick Access Card Holder on a Chain by eSheep Designs
Attached to the inside of the bag and held in an exterior pocket...

Therefore, after one week of using my Eggsy full-time, I began to ruminate on a similar but better solution, the final result of which you see here.

You can call this a mini wallet, a card caddy, or a key chain; it's actually reminiscent of a biker wallet. It's a simple "sew" that can be put together in various ways depending on choice of materials.




The underlying design of this card holder – one long strip of double sided fabric which is then folded and seamed as required – is one that I have used for at least two previous projects. Because this was meant to coordinate with my Eggsy, I fell back on the same two fabrics, which necessitated cutting two strips. (Thus can be made, however, with one single long strip – folded against itself – just as easily.) Depending on fabric, you may want to interface lightly with something like SF101; I didn't do anything with my selections as one was a cotton twill and the other was a high thread count quilting cotton.

In terms of hardware, I used a chain (taken from a $1 belt), a split ring, and a swivel clasp. (If you don't like the idea of a chain, go with ribbon or bias tape, like I did for this project and this.) After taking most of the photos for this post, I added a couple of rivets. You'll also need a small square (about 3/4") of hook and loop tape.

Quick Access Card Holder on a Chain by eSheep Designs
Fabric required for this quick access card holder...

The two large strips of fabric are 13.5" long x 2.75" wide*. (If using a single long strip, it should measure 26.5" x 2.75") The two smaller pieces are 2.5" long x 1" wide.

Start by making the tab at the top for the split ring. Take the two smaller pieces of fabric, put them right sides together and sew down the long edges. Turn right side out – be patient, it'll be tricky – press, fold in half and then press again.

Quick Access Card Holder on a Chain by eSheep Designs
Sew together the two small pieces to create the tab...

Center the folded tab against the right side of one of the short ends of the remaining strips of fabric and pin or clip. Lay the other strip right side down on top, pin and sew with a 1/4" seam allowance. (If using just one long strip of fabric, place the other end of it here.)

NOTE: ensure that the raw ends of the tab extend approximately 1/4" past the ends of the fabric, as shown below.

Quick Access Card Holder on a Chain by eSheep Designs
Sew together at both ends, encasing the tab at one end...

[By the way, it occurred to me after I finished this that I could have saved myself some time by using ribbon here. In that case, I would have doubled it – like I did for the hanging loop of the Eggsy itself – for extra strength and durability.]

Sew together the opposite ends of the two strips, creating a circular loop. (If you started with only a single strip of fabric, you won't need to sew a second seam.) Press open the two seams as best as you can, then open up the loop and rearrange it so that the two seams are stacked on top of each other.

Quick Access Card Holder on a Chain by eSheep Designs
Match both seams and pin, leaving a suitable turning gap (yellow pins above)... 

Pin as required. Sew along both sides with a small seam allowance (between 1/4" and 1/8"), being sure to leave a turning gap (about 2.5" should be sufficient).

Quick Access Card Holder on a Chain by eSheep Designs
Sew, leaving a turning gap...

Turn right side out and press well. Stitch in the ditch of the horizontal center seam.

Measure 2.25" from each end and fold them back onto the strip to create the pockets. Then fold the entire strip in half along the center seam. Verify that both sides are even and adjust as necessary; press well.

Pin the pockets in place.

Quick Access Card Holder on a Chain by eSheep Designs
Fold the two ends of the strip back onto itself to create the card pockets...

Check where the turning gap ended up; if it's within the folded area of one of the pockets, you can close it up later (simultaneously) when you stitch up the sides of the pockets. Otherwise, stitch it closed now.


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Use some double sided tape to stick the pieces of hook and loop tape into position on the pockets, centered about 1/2" away from the bottom edge. Unpin and unfold the pockets and sew the hook and loop tape in place. (Alternatively, you can probably make do with an adhesive hook and loop tape, which is what I did.)

Quick Access Card Holder on a Chain by eSheep Designs
View of interior...

Refold the ends to form pockets, pin and handstitch the sides closed. Why the hand sewing? To minimize width and to accommodate the cards tightly, I made this as narrow as possible. If you want to be able to sew these pocket edges by machine, cut the original fabric wider* (by at least a half inch).

A couple of days after taking the photos for this post, I went back and added two rivets to the top of the holder. They help the two sides "snap" back together and stay closed. (Rivets aren't the only way to achieve this; you can simply sew a line right across there, about a half inch down from the top.)

Quick Access Card Holder on a Chain by eSheep Designs
With rivets added...

I made this because I had gotten used to accessing my credit cards quickly and wanted a way to add that functionality to my new bag (and essentially to any bag I might carry). Those of you who still keep your cards in traditional wallets may not see any value in this project; however, it can serve other purposes. One thing that occurred to me is that transit users might find this handy for keeping a bus pass on a tether.

Image courtesy of Dollarama
I'll finish off with a hardware sourcing tip: check your dollar stores for keychains. Along with the requisite split ring, some come with a matching swivel clasp, like this one here from Dollarama. For the chain, look into your closet or jewelry box for something to recycle. Otherwise, go to your nearest hardware store; they sell different types of chain by the foot (and that's about as much as you need for this project).

'Til next... 🇨🇦🍁

Saturday, 19 July 2025

Recycled Creativity Revisited

"Whirling Wood Grain" by eSheep Designs
Taking some time for surface design...
A couple of years ago, I recycled an old fabric design into a new entry for one of Spoonflower's design challenges.

It was also the last time I entered one of them, before the ones that I'm posting about right now.
  
Surprising, in a way, since I had thought – with not blogging regularly  – that I would have more time to fiddle with surface design as well. Turns out that a lot of things didn't pan out the way I anticipated that they might last year.

Which is not to say that I had actual plans that didn't get executed. I quite literally had no plans, so whatever got accomplished in 2024, I'm actually quite fine with it all.

Anyway, to get back to the topic at hand, the first Spoonflower challenge last December was called Cabincore Wallpaper. The aim was for designs "that encapsulate the essence of cabin life, blending comfort with a touch of the great outdoors." Even though I wasn't enthralled with the theme, I thought I could do something with it.

Growing up, I lived in two houses that actually had a bit of a cabin vibe to them. The first had a family room that featured wood shakes on two walls, which was put in by the original owners. In the second home, my parents were the ones who decided to panel the basement walls in quintessential faux woodgrain.




Maybe because of all that "woody-ness" from my youth, I am loathe to feature brown wood anywhere in my own home. So for a design challenge that is supposed to invoke cabin life, what would I go with?

Wood, of course.

But this is a surface design for a wallpaper, so it doesn't have to look like real wood, in either colour or substance. With that in mind, I thought about concocting something with a stylized wood grain. My first attempt was tossed into the garbage bin after wrestling with it for a day. Truly, I am a big proponent of saving creative attempts – and in fact, doing so and taking advantage of that is the overall theme of this post – but this one wasn't up to snuff in so many ways.

I realized that part of the problem was that – not for the first time – I wasn't feeling totally "into" it and therefore did not have the requisite mojo. To address that, I decided to look back into my design archives for some inspo.

eSheep Designs wallpaper design "Spin Me Good"
"Spin Me Good" wallpaper design...

Because this is a wallpaper challenge, the underlying elements have to be bigger. Therefore, my main sources of recycled creativity would likely come from previous wallpaper designs. I ended up here, from a 2018 black and white challenge... specifically, design #3.

I eventually named it, but it remained a private design and has never been proofed. I saw potential in how the concentric circles could be interpreted as the rings on a cross section of a tree.

With a little bit of help from PSP's deformations and tiling effects, I ended up with this seamless tile.

First iteration of "Whirling Wood Grain" by eSheep Designs
The genesis of my Whirling Wood Grain surface design...

And yes, the first colour that I chose was a reddish shade of brown. Eventually, it was lightened up and after a few iterations, I got this:

"Whirling Wood Grain" by eSheep Designs
I thought I was done at this point...

Even though I worked with this lighter shade of tan for several days, I felt the urge to explore a different colour altogether.

The first one I tried was grey, which looked fine, but perhaps too sterile for the theme. No matter the season, I believe cabin life should always have a "warm" vibe, so it was back to the drawing board to choose some colour. I settled on an olive green shade for its close association with tan/brown. My first attempt is this one below.

"Whirling Wood Grain" by eSheep Designs
Colorized to green...

I eventually deemed it still too dark. Apparently there is a trend towards dark wallpaper, but I cannot imagine it being a good choice for cabin life, with dim lighting often being prevalent in cabins as it is.

Taking a closer look, I decided that lightening up the background would suffice. I still wasn't totally sold on it, but I eventually ran out of time – not to mention interest – to make it different, so what you see below is what I eventually entered. It's called Whirling Wood Grain (Olive).

"Whirling Wood Grain (Olive)" by eSheep Designs
My eventual entry...

For a design that I personally wasn't in love with, it did about how I expected it would in the challenge. (Ironically, it has received more attention than my Ode to the Canadian Penny design, which I like much, much better and that would also make a terrific cabin wallpaper.)



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July 28- August 3
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Immediately following this design challenge was another wallpaper challenge to promote Pantone's colour for 2025: Mocha Mousse.

Almost Argyle Fabric design by eSheep Designs
For this, I went back to 2021, when Pantone's colour of the year was actually two selections: Ultimate Gray and Illuminating Yellow. Shown on a pillow sham at right is my alternate entry – Almost Argyle – for that competition. (My actual entry was Feel Like Playing Jacks.) 

In the same manner as described for the previous design, I took the main elements and tweaked them with the colours that were permitted; Mocha Mousse was the main one, but the following shades of cream and brown were permitted alongside: Cannoli Cream, Cream Tan, Safari, Sirocco, Chanterelle, Baltic Amber, and Chocolate Martini.

Pantone 2025 Wallpaper by eSheep Designs
Third attempt...

We were given the hex codes for the above, but no "paint chips" to see what they looked like, so it was a bit of a trial and error to arrive at what would be a pleasing mix for the existing design. My first attempt was too monochrome. I deemed it to be blah and reassigned the colours on the various shapes, settling on three others besides the Mocha Mousse: Chocolate Martini (the darkest shade shown above), Sirocco (the second lightest), and Cream Tan (the lightest).

Pantone 2025 Wallpaper by eSheep Designs
Sixth attempt...

I worked my way up to a sixth iteration before deciding that I was mostly satisfied. Mostly. I had taken away stuff and added stuff and was still not entirely finished, but it was close. After being reminded that Mocha Mousse was supposed to be the dominant colour, I rejigged some elements and arrived at my eighth and final iteration.

If you haven't figured it out, Mocha Mousse is the colour of the interior of all the diamond shapes. (I ended up naming this Mocha Mousse & Friends Argyle.)

Mocha Mousse & Friends Argyle wallpaper by eSheep Designs
This was my entry...

Even though I had only had four days to work on this one before the deadline, I must say that I ended up liking this entry much more than the one for the previous challenge. (Must have been getting into my "vibe".)

After I submitted, I discovered that the next challenge had the same theme, only for fabric, with different complementary colours... so it was back to the drawing board once again. This time, I found myself diving into my 2020 archives, to a limited palette challenge from early that year involving shades of "classic blue". The alternate that I created for that competition was Yarn Cross Stitch in Classic Blue.

I won't bore you with details of the process, but what I did was revamp the "stitch" elements – to convert them into petals – and then replaced the shades of blue with Mocha Mousse, Laurel Oak (the bluey-gray one), Buffed Beige (the lightest one) and Coffee Quartz (the darkest).

Here is the design that eventually became my entry:

Mocha Mousse Blossoms Pantone 2025 by eSheep Designs
This one is called Mocha Mousse Blossoms...

In the two weeks that were allotted to the voting process, it got sufficiently "favourite-ed" by members of the Spoonflower community that it jumped into third place out of all the fabrics that I'd ever designed... right behind my Pride & Prejudice Text (in White) and Pride & Prejudice Text (in Black). (Voting-wise, the final number was disappointing by comparison, but I'm still learning the craft and have no expectations of challenging for any top spots!)

Entries were pictured thusly for voting purposes:

Mocha Mousse Blossoms Pantone 2025 by eSheep Designs
Fabric on a chair...

The themes of the next two challenges did not ring my bell, but the one after caught my attention: sophisticated stripes. The design prompt in this case was to "reinterpret a classic and create an entry that makes a sophisticated statement." 

I like stripes, even when they're as simple as this:

Yellow & Gray Stripes fabric by eSheep Designs
Yellow & Gray Stripes Spoonflower sheet set...

Back in February of 2016, I came up with the following stripe-y pattern, the inspiration for which was discussed in this post:

Stripes (Blanche) by eSheep Designs
Inspiration design...

I liked the distribution of stripes in terms of number and size, and wanted to put some different colours to it to create something new. However, knowing that I have no talent for creating beautifully coordinated palettes, I had to consult visme for inspiration.

I can honestly say that I had forgotten the official name of the design challenge at this point, but when I scrolled through the colour palettes, the one that spoke to me was actually called "Sophisticated and Calm"... coincidence or what?

Sophisticated and Calm Colour Palette from Visme.com
image courtesy of visme.com...

My first design using those five colours, called Sophisticated Stripes & Dots, is shown below. It's simple and has a 3D vibe to it.

Sophisticated Stripes & Dots by eSheep Designs
Design #1...

I liked it enough to keep it as an actual design, but with time to play with the concept, it evolved. A couple of days later, I had the beginnings of my eventual entry.

Early Laced Up Ribbons by eSheep Designs
The beginnings of my final design..

Similar to how the cross-stitches were employed, I drew a small slash and put some dots underneath at both ends to create the illusion of eyelets. Through the magic of a mirrored pattern repeat, it looks like ribbons joined with laces. Over the next hours of playing with it, I added another row of dots to the black "ribbon" and narrowed the beige trim along its edge. The final step was to add some contrast detail to the eyelets, all of which you can clearly see below.

Laced Up Ribbons Wallpaper by eSheep Designs
Final design shown on wallpaper...

For voting purposes, entries were shown as wallpaper, but I think the design makes a striking fabric choice as well. (It's called Laced Up Ribbons.) Here it is as part of a bedding ensemble.

Laced Up Ribbons by eSheep Designs
Pillow sham & sheet set (all mockups courtesy of Spoonflower)...

This time, favourite-ing by the Spoonflower community boosted this design above my black P&P fabric into second place. (It was eventually supplanted by my entry into the Novelty Paisley challenge, which was subsequently exceeded by yet another, Egyptian Inspired Art Deco.)

I hadn't entered one of these competitions in over a year, and then suddenly it was five within three months. All of it possible because I had ready made inspiration to draw from... which is a reminder once again that we should never toss away our creative efforts. You never know what circumstance might arise to make something relevant and useful.

'Til next... 🇨🇦🍁