This weekend while messing around in my sewing room I got distracted by Pinterest - go figure. I saw these cute little bags that only took 3 fat quarters to finish and the pattern was from Monica of The Happy Zombie so I knew that I had to check it out. Her patterns can be found in Quilts and More Magazine on a pretty regular basis and on All People Quilt(just search for her name).
I had some 1/2 yard cuts that didn't have a home so now they have been put to use!
You can find the pattern for the bag here. If you attempt the bag my advice is to be very careful with the cutting. The bags have cute pockets on both sides, lining and you can finish the bottoms in 3 different ways. I went with the 2" MCC(Milk Carton Corners). The bags finish fairly small but the finished size will depend on how you do the corners.
When my husband saw the bag he just started laughing....its a good thing I found him otherwise I would probably be even more of a crazy cat lady! But seriously....how funny are those cats :)
This brings me to Pinterest Project #3 for the year. I think I'll run out of time before I ever run out of pins!
As I type, the temperature here is -1 degree. If you factor in the wind chill it feels like -21 degrees out there. Hence the reason I am staying inside all day sewing!
I started out by attacking my scrap basket and fabrics that have been gifted to me. I found the perfect blocks to use while making up some walker/wheelchair bags. Here are a few of the blocks all sewn together. This is actually a shot of what the back of each bag looks like.These pretty blocks were all string pieced together with nowhere to go - so now hopefully they will be making someones day.
Here are the finished bags!
Bag 1
Bag 2
And together now :)
The last photo shows both the front and backs of the bags. The left side is the back and the right side is the front. The front side has one large pocket, two smaller pockets and a small slot for a pen to fit. The back side is different on these bags - one has a large pocket(top) and the other has two smaller pockets(bottom). Personally I think the one with two large pockets would work better because you can roll-up magazines and fit them in there but who knows! I will have to check with the volunteer coordination at Good Sam and see which she thinks people will prefer.
Pinterest Project #2
I didn't work off of a pattern but more like a general idea. The video below gave some great instructions however since I was working with scraps, wanted to add an extra pocket AND needed to add a pen holding pocket I adjusted as necessary.
While thinking about not going outside I was reminded about something I had seen on Pinterest a long time ago. A hooded scarf or scoodie. I had bought the fabric to make one this fall and just didn't get around to it so here we are. I used tan sweatshirt fabric and purple flannel to make mine. I wasn't exactly sure how long I wanted to make the scarf part but I think this will be a nice size to wrap around your neck in the winter and not worry about adding to much bulk underneath your coat. The tutorial that I used can be found here.
With all of that I'm off to drink another cup of hot cocoa!
A mug rug is not quite a place mat but is larger than a coaster. It's the perfect place to set your coffee and a snack while at your desk.
Check out this gal's Matchstick Mug Rug tutorial. It's totally cute and so easy. I think it will be a great way for me to use up some scraps and practice my binding.
In other news, Craftsy is once again offering up a free Block of the Month. I'm not sure if I will make this years quilt however I still signed up just so that I can watch the videos :)
I know that I always seem to find other projects as the year goes on but these are a few things that I want to focus on. I know that I have fabric to do the smaller projects but this will also give me some liberty to shop for larger cuts - especially for pillowcases.
I also have a few on-going projects that I would like to finish:
2012 Craftsy Block of the Month quilt
Beginner's Quilt-Along quilt
'Hometown' fabric shower curtain
Scaredy Cats wall hanging
Paper pieced Christmas cat wall hanging
Continue working through the book 'Three Times the Charm'
I'll let you know how I'm doing as the year goes on :)
