Bag lady

Lately, I've been sewing bags from pass-along fabric and stuff I already have. The book bag below is trimmed with scraps of Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric from Stephanie from my guild, and is the wrapping for the Eric Carle book itself, a favourite of my children, and one of those classic books every new baby should have. I used reclaimed canvas bags from my husband's work for the body of the bag, and the handles are old belts that I had taken the D-rings off for another purpose, so I only had the webbing left. It should make a good sturdy bag for the intended recipient (now only a week old) to take to the library when he's a bit older.

While I was making one, I went for two. This time I had to piece the canvas, so I sewed a strip of the VHC fabric on the seam line.

Here's five more cosmetic bags from quilty fabrics that I've made for future gifts, including one as a trade for the VHC fabric. I made a bunch of these for Christmas, but I've since figured out a quicker way to do them with the help of an online tutorial . I square off the bottom instead of making it flat, but otherwise its the same method. I start with a 8 by 15 inch rectangle, machine quilt it to a foundation, sew in the zipper and lining in one pass, sew the side seams (leaving a hole in the lining, turn them around, and I'm done. The hardest part is getting out the needle and thread to close the opening by hand. I've done one, four more to go.