Kurt's Christmas Present Part I

Sometime last year, my husband sketched out a pencil case he wanted for when he went out and sketched outside or traveled. Months later, when I was trying desperately to figure out what to make him for Christmas, I remembered the sketch. I looked through every scrap of paper in his work area (and believe me there are a LOT!) and finally found it! I made a pattern according to his drawings and started looking for fabric. I wanted to make it out of some durable material so he didn't have to be careful with it (that's no fun). I decided on canvas for the outside, which I hand dyed indigo using Shibori techniques.

The inside is oilskin that I purchased by the yard online. It's waterproof and if it gets dirty, you just have to wait until the dirt dries and then brush it right off. It's great stuff and really easy to work with. My friend, Alex, who rides horses and worked on a horse ranch one summer, told me that cowboys swear by oilskin. That just made it extra cool! :)

The pencil case has a flap that comes down to cover the tops of the pencils and a little removable pocket that holds his favorite eraser.

The eraser pocket attaches to the case with a magnetic button and the whole case is secured with a plain leather button that matches perfect with the oilskin. Kurt loved it!