My Ziploc bag was fine, honestly. There was nothing wrong with it, I mean my goal was to carry my markers around and the Ziploc bag worked just fine, right? Even after the dog got to it and ripped a hole in the side.
It was still fine.
But deep down I’ve been wanting a pretty pouch to carry my markers around in. I have other pouches of course, like this one from my friend Jill:
but that one already has my sewing supplies in it.
And I have this one I bought at Whole Foods:
but it’s too big and has other stuff in it anyway.
I bought this one for Winnie on a trip to Chelsea Market in New York City, which totally suits her:
but it’s hers and not mine and I don’t love to draw, besides.
But I do love my collection of fine tip Sharpie markers. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of deep thinking, reflecting, brainstorming, planning, scheming. I try to always carry around one of my cute little notebooks so when a flash of inspiration strikes or I find a few extra minutes on my hands, I can record it in one of my notebooks, carefully choosing just the right color of Sharpie to suit the thought or mood or maybe both.
You might say my Sharpies and me, we’ve got a little thing going on the side. These markers are helping bridge the gap between what’s in my heart and my head and what can be out in the world. Someday. It’s not easy and it’s not fast. But it’s all a work in progress, right? One little Sharpie markered word at a time.
So given that I’m a fan of all things sweet and handmade, it was particularly shameful that I kept my prized Sharpies in a torn and rumpled plastic bag. I mean, I could whip out a zippered pouch in an hour if need be. But I didn’t. I did wonder why, but told myself that there were more pressing projects to be made.
Like the Bookshelf Quilt, which I donated to a fundraising effort for Reston Interfaith that ended up bringing in more than $147,000. Not my quilt – that sold for $305, in a minor bidding war at the end of the night. Not too shabby, but I’d by lying if I said I wasn’t the teeniest tiniest bit disappointed about the amount but on the other hand I’m glad I was able to contribute $305 toward that $147,000 they brought in. And yes, the evening was fraught with nerves as I kept circling by the quilt and as surreptitiously as possible, peeking to see what the latest bid was. Yeah, I was that classy.
Anyway, back to the markers.
So I longed for a little pouch to house my markers but never made the time to sew one up. Meanwhile, I joined another sewing swap (to which my kids said in unison “Mom are you out of your flippin’ mind?!?” and I replied something along the lines of “Keep your fat traps shut!”).
I’m sure they chide only out of love, right?
In this new swap, you make a small project for your secret partner. It could be a bookmark, coasters, a set of fabric boxes, a small wall hanging, etc.
And when you sign up, you say what your favorite colors and styles are, and as usual I said I love the modern vintage feel and my favorite colors are pink and green.
The swapping universe had different plans for me, it seems, as not much of what I indicated I liked or wanted was what I received.
But as usual, the universe is infinite in its knowledge and I can’t help but wonder what guided my partner to make this for me. It’s just perfect. It’s as if it was made specifically to hold my treasured set of Sharpie markers. I love this little pouch so very much.
My partner knew something I’d never indicated, and it’s not my place to question how.
Now I know why I’d never made time to sew my own marker pouch, because this was the one I was meant to have. The universe knew that would be wasted energy on my part.
Sometimes the little things end up being bigger things than we thought, right?