Quick Weekend Bag

     I needed a bag with some pockets for school and while I have a large reuseable bag collection, as I mentioned once on my other blog, none of them had pockets. I never leave home without either my water or my reuseable drink bottle filled with herbal tea, and my water bottle leaked onto one of my school books when I didn't realize the cap wasn't all the way tightened.

    I solved that problem by using some leftover blocks from the turquoise quilt in my header and some fabric from my stash. I quickly put this bag together on the weekend and it has a bottle pocket for my water or tea, a pocket for my pens, pencils, highlighter, and flash drive. I squared off the bottom and lined it, it stands up perfectly and now I'm set for school. 

 Here's the other side-

I am trying to keep little projects going as often as possible, I feel so much better when I do something creative!

Apron Fun

After working for so long on the white/beige rag quilt, I desperately needed some color.  I've been wanting to make a new apron, so this was a good time to play. I couldn't find a pattern to suit me, and I rarely follow directions anyway, so I designed my own.

 I wanted the neck strap to button rather than tie, and since I am left-handed, it needed to button on the left side. As I mentioned previously, I love birds. So when I came across this bird fabric, I knew it was the one. I pulled out a green from my stash that matched the foliage, and finished it with canary yellow bias tape that matched the color of the goldfinches. For the waist ties, I cut a 3" horizontal strip, folded it right sides together and sewed it like a tube, then turned it right side out and pressed. Cut it in half and sewed one tie to each side. I did this for the neck strap also, making a buttonhole on the end of the left side of the strap, and sewed it to the top of the apron on the right side with a button on top.

 This used only half of a yard of the bird fabric ( I had a yard so that I could use it lengthwise-I cut it in half on the lengthwise fold), along with some of the contrasting green fabric, and was quick to make. I still have half a yard of the bird fabric left, so I may make another apron in a different style.

I cook a lot, as you will know if you read my vegetarian cooking blog and I tend to be clumsy and spill/drop things regularly, so I love aprons!! Here is a shot of it being worn-pay no attention to the model, it's not a good shot of me, it was 90 degrees when this was taken ;)