Wanna win this bag?

Need a new bag? (Everybody needs a new bag!)

This is round two of the bag that I currently carry. I am hoping to make more of them and put them up for sale in my (currently empty) Etsy shop.

It's approximately 13 inches wide, 11 inches tall and 3-4 inches deep. There are two open exterior pockets and two interior pockets. It has a magnetic snap closure. The exterior is a heavy weight dark gray-green fabric (yes, looks gray in the photos. It is greenish.) The interior is a made from a sheet and is white with pale pink stripes and roses.

I regularly carry two checkbooks, a small wallet, a 5x7 notebook, a book (often a hardback or trade paperback) and a stack of bills. There is still plenty of room in it.

How can you win it?

1) Agree to carry it for a week (or longer) and give me feedback on what you would change.
2) Leave a comment on this post for one entry.
3) Post about this giveaway on your blog for 3 more.
4) Add this blog to your blog reader for 3 more. (You're on the honor system for this one, I don't know how to check on that!)
5) Include a valid email address if it is not in your profile so I can contact you.

Contest closes July 27. US and Canada addresses only, please. Winners will be announced on Monday.

Baby gifts

My mom will be celebrating the birth of her 7th biological grandchild later this month or early next month. This is the first girl. (I have a step-niece who joined the family at about age 5. I only make the distinction between biological and not because it is amazing to me that my brothers and I have only been able to produce boys until this one.) ANYWAY. I made a few gifts for her.

First is a smallish tote bag. It's made of white canvas (actual, heavy canvas) and flannel. This is my first attempt at combining the two, and I'd really recommend against that. The canvas has no give and the flannel seems to be made of give and together it is frustrating.

I made a nice stack of burp cloths out of flannel as well, nothing fancy there, didn't even seam up the selvage edge. (I would SO do that if I weren't making them for family.)

Last, a cool little blanket. This blanket has loops on all four corners that can be drawn into a carbiner and clipped onto your diaper bag or stroller. Why would you want this? so you can scoop up all the toys in one shot! I made this of canvas and flannel as well. The canvas should keep the baby dry on damp ground and the flannel is nice and soft. Once again, I would not combine the two. Perhaps a lighter weight canvas next time, or a cotton top with some batting inside? Stunt baby is not included with the blanket.

Jewelry Bag...

For a friend's birthday, I made this little jewelry bag. The fabric is from Mary Englebreit and has been in my stash forever. It's black, with tiny little cherries. The inside is red with little diamonds and is a newer addition to my cabinet. I used ribbon instead of cording on the drawstring, which is harder to use but looks really cute. These bags are so quick and easy to make, I hope to get a few into the shop this weekend.

How much do I love taking pictures outdoors? I like to tell myself that the peeling paint looks artistic, not crappy. Please let me believe in this fantasy.

New Purse

I made a new bag for myself, and I gotta say- it rocks! It's pretty roomy and I used canvas for the interior so it's got some body to it.
I hope to make some of these for the shop someday. If I ever catch up on making gifts!

Tote Bags

Recent tote bags.

(Blogger is hating me, the inside of the second bag is the darker pink with a stripe of the lighter pink and a flower like the outside. I can't seem to post that picture.)

Christmas sewing

I've been sewing and crafting like mad lately, unfortunately, none of it is for sale in the shop! I'll post about it anyway, as eventually I'd like to make more of these items and get them listed. I'd REALLY like to do it before Christmas, but that is so not gonna happen. There's always next year. (Though, if you fall in love with any of this let me know, we can work something out I'm sure...)

First up, I made myself a bag! Crazy. I originally wasn't pleased with the length of the strap, but after using it a couple of weeks I find that it works well.

Then I made one as a gift. I shouldn't even be posting this one online, but hopefully it will still be a surprise. It's actually nicer looking in person, but black is so hard to photo well.

I'm working on some little mitten ornaments. (Surprise, Laurie! one of them is yours...)

I'm doing them assembly line style, here are some of the ones still waiting for cuffs. (This is not all of them, yikes! I got a little ambitious here.)


I've got more bags to make, more mittens. And some other surprise things. Hope everyone else who's crafting for the holidays is making progress as well.

PS. Anyone know an easy way to post pictures on blogger? Having them load at the top and having to drag them down on my tiny laptop screen is annoying.

After a brief hiatus...

I am back with a new bag. This one was a birthday gift for my niece, who is 7. The exterior turned out great! I quilted across the yellow with pale pink, blue, and fuchsia to match the lining, and it looked better than I expected. I added a couple of giant buttons to the outside, and made it reversible like the others. It is hard to tell in the picture, but the lining is brightly colored cats. I think it was a hit.