Patchouli Moon Studio

Saturday, October 17, 2026

Sew Powerful Purses #541-555 for 2026

I finished 15 purses to donate to Sew Powerful Purse Project that I already had cut out and ready to sew. I just had to cut out some of the lining fabrics to finish these. 14 of these are One Block Wonder quilt blocks that I made into flaps. It's so fun to see how these turn out. All from the same fabric, but look at how different each one looks.

Somehow I cut the front pocket and back (see below) a bit too narrow. So I had to add another fabric to bring it up to size, since I had no more of this fabric. I had to cut a wider piece too, since I had rounded the lower corners and needed to piece the added strip on a straight piece. So I added rickrack to cover the seam of each and give it a bit of bling at the same time.

On this flap I stenciled the background and then I fussy cut the hot air balloon and appliqué.

Linking to:

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Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Kai Rotary Cutter Review

Kai Rotary Cutter review: I used the Kai rotary cutter yesterday and it cuts nicely. I just have to get used to the slightly looser feel of the blade and to take my time when I use my Stripology Ruler, since I have to gently place the blade into the groove to cut. I love that I don't have to open or close the blade on the Kai!

The Kai Cutter & Blades that I won from the Sew-a-thon.

One thing that is a big plus for the Kai cutter, is there are no wavy washers! I have broken a few of those washers on some of the Olfa cutters that I have over the years and those washers aren't sold in many places and when I do find them, they are so pricey. I did find some washers from a place in China that came in a package of several washers, and were cheap enough to take a chance on buying them. They do work, however the screw nut loosens after a few cuts and I am constantly tightening it. Not sure if all those washers are the same, but I do know that none of the rotary cutter brands that sell their cutters at quilt shops online or in brick & mortar buildings even stock or sell washer replacements at all, which is a shame as they would sell them if they stocked them. If you do find any of these washers for sale they are generic, so they may or may not work well? I was happy to have won a Kai cutter and love that there is no washer at all, so when the washers of my other cutters break, I will only use the Kai. I do have 4 different size cutters of Olfa, and Kai does make 3 of the sizes: 28mm, 45mm and 60mm, which are the ones I use the most. I have an 18mm from Olfa too, but rarely use that one, so I might be replacing my cutters to Kai as the washers break on my other cutters.

Better buy them while I can get a 20% off discount through 12/31/26. See coupon on this page and use the discount code on the coupon. Plus Free Shipping!

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Sunday, October 11, 2026

Sew Powerful Sew-a-thon & Fundraiser Stats

September 30th was the end of this year's Sew-a-thon & Fundraiser. Here are the results.

The Results:

The 2026 Sew-A-Thon campaign is completed and we're thrilled to share that as of September 30th at midnight we raised $267,921 and completed over 8,000 purses. Wow! That will allow us to serve 26,792 girls with the supplies they need to stay in school.

The campaign was made possible by 18 amazing sponsors (be sure to shop from them and let them know you're grateful they supported the Sew Powerful Sew-A-Thon). They are some of the most prestigious brands in the sewing industry and we are so honored to have their support! Some offer coupons in the link above for their products to help you save some $ and they don't expire until 12/31/26.

We had 376 courageous participants who worked hard to raise money, 46 teams that rallied together, and over 1,600 donors who gave to this important cause. We are so grateful for the trust you've placed in our ministry - and the generosity you've shown.

On behalf of our team in Zambia, the women and girls we serve through this program, and all of us at Sew Powerful - Thank You!

Jason & Cinnamon Miles & Team

I want to thank you all who supported Sew Powerful through donating in my honor. I also want to let you all know that they announced the Top Ten Purse Makers for the Sew-a-thon and I came in at Number One!!! I made 252 purses during September. The others in the top ten made from 120-250 purses during September, so I just made top place by 2 purses, whew! This means that next year I will have a purse I make given to a girl and I will receive a photo of her holding the purse that I made. I also will receive another photo with a second girl and another purse I made because I raised $1,000 or more. Thanks to all of you who helped me get there. I will make a couple of special purses for this, so stay tuned to see the purses I make for the 2 girls and later to see them holding them.

All prizes were randomly drawn (except for the top 2 fundraisers who got to choose the prize they wanted). Not everyone received a prize. First, you had to have raised $100 to be eligible and there were only about 85 prizes. I did win something useful, a Kai brand rotary cutter with 3 extra cutting blades. It just arrived in the mail yesterday, so I will give it a test this morning. Thank you Kai Scissors for the prize! Use the sponsor link above and scroll down to coupons and Kai Scissors is offering 20% off their entire site and Free Shipping, using the code listed on the coupon!

The rotary cutter comes with a clear plastic cover to cover the blade, which is nice. Kai rotary cutters do not have a place to move the blade out to cut, you cut by pressure of placing the blade on the fabric and just cut. The blade will automatically return when you lift the cutter up. So these Kai rotary cutters are much safer to use as you cannot set it down and have a blade exposed. Safer around small children as well as older people 😁😂who might forget to close the blade. Kai does make excellent scissors too. I purchased a scissor, set, pinking shears and a paper cutting scissor years ago and love them.

The back of the rotary cutter has a thingee (technical term don't you know 😄😉), that you can move right or left for more or less pressure. This might come in handy for cutting through thicker or thinner layers of fabric. I will test this out this morning and let you all know what I think.

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Sunday, October 4, 2026

Sew Powerful Purses #529-540 for 2026

Last 12 purses that I made from the September Sew-a-thon.

The flower on this flap was made by a friend who passed away over 12 years ago. This was a fabric postcard she made. I sewed it to the flap and added the orange trim to make it pop on the painted background that I stenciled. My friend, Gloria, would have loved the idea of sewing these purses for the girls in Zambia as she was a teacher for the deaf and loved being an educator. So Gloria, this is our collaboration together as I know you would have made purses for these girls too.

These 2 flaps were made from One Block Wonder quilt blocks. I have a whole bag full of flaps I made from the same fabric. Each one looks different and they are so fun to make! This was a great fabric to use, but I only had one yard, so it wouldn't make a large enough quilt, so I decided to use them for purse flaps instead. If I find another good fabric to use for this technique, I will make more like this as they will all look different.