No procrastinating around here!

I'm quite proud of myself that I have already finished my April bag in the Amy Butler Style Stitches Challenges.  Ahem...what is the date?  Why, it's only April 5!  And I actually finished it on April 3, but just needed to take pictures and upload them.  Very proud, I must say.

So, this month was a checkbook cover.  I had the same reactions of other people in that I wondered, "what on earth am I going to do with a checkbook cover?"  I write about 1-2 checks per month and haven't had a checkbook cover in years.  I admit, I don't balance my checkbook as I rely heavily on online banking.  So, what will I do with it?  I think I will pass it along to my mom, who hasn't quite yet adapted to the ATM era.

 The finished checkbook cover

A slightly pathetic picture where I am trying to show all three fabrics at once.

The inside of the check cover.  It includes a pen holder!

And here's the outside, just so that you can get a better glimpse of the fabric choice.

I already had the fabric in my stash.  I purchased it at a cute quilting shop in Connecticut called TheYankee Quilter.  I don't remember what the fabric brands were.  I used regular quilting fabric, not home decor fabric as the pattern suggested.  I think that home decor might have worked a little better, as I feel that I can see the outline of the snap through the olive green quilting fabric.  But overall, I still think it came out cute.

The pattern was the first in the book labeled as being "intermediate."  I thought it was fairly easy.  The hardest part was sewing around the curve of the flap, but I just took things slow and the stitches came out pretty good.  I think it also feels pretty easy because I'm getting used to Amy's directions.  Although this is the first time I used magnetic snaps, I still think they're easier than zippers!

I'm really excited about next month's bag and already have all the fabric selected.  It's going to be really gorgeous, provided I can get the pleats to work!