Time to cover up my old blue vinyl checkbook cover.  In the spirit of Travel Handmade, a new patchwork checkbook cover is in order.

I used the Checkbook Covers – 3 Varieties tutorial by crazy mom quilts, found in my sewing project roundup How to Make a Checkbook Cover.  My roundup post shows 10 different ways how to make a checkbook cover, but this one stood out to me.  I like how she gives different options, starting with the most basic option.  It’s just a couple of 7-in x 13-in rectangles sewn together, after all.

I really wanted to incorporate linen into it, and had a few scraps leftover from my upcycled Messenger Bag.  So I cut up some 2-in strips, stitched to some other scraps, cut them up into squares, and pieced together the size I needed.

I was just about to do some simple straight topstitching over the patchwork, but then remembered the book I have: Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters.  Um hello, this small project would be a good first step into the scary world of free-motion quilting.  I’m not an artist or a doodler, so this is really new and scary to me.

I’ve already read her book, but I scanned through the pages again to see which stitches even I could tackle.  The geometric squares stood out to me, and so I doodled a little of it on my Fisher Price Magna Doodle (yes, I’m a 40-year old woman with a Magna Doodle).  I guess it went smooth enough, so I moved to the fabric.  The fabric is just scraps, so I didn’t really have a mental barrier to giving it a shot.

Hmm, less than desirable, but not terrible.  Don’t judge me.  Like Angela W. says, practice!  I need alot more.

The very last step in the tutorial is to fold in the two sides and stitch.  Easy.

And cute!