Sophia's new drawstring tote

At the fabric store a few days ago Sophia insisted that she had to have this scrap of fabric in the remnant bin. I had no idea on earth what I was going to do with it at the time but I figured I would think of something. I decided to try my hand at making a small drawstring purse. Although I tried to find a coordinating fabric to use for accents I was unable to find exactly the right color so I ended up just making the whole little purse out of the Care Bear fabric.   This was very fun to make and I knew Sophia would love it since she loves Care Bears. She couldn't wait for me to finish it. It only took a few hours once I figured out how to make the bottom and the casings for the drawstring ribbon.

Tote bag I made for my mom

Mom's tote bag






This year I realized that I have never really sewed anything for my mother even though she was the one who bought my sewing machine and serger for me because she knew I wanted to learn to sew.

I thought for a long while about what to make for her. I finally came up with a plan. Every time mom comes to my house she needs to bring stuff with her and brings several small grocery bags just to carry her stuff. I thought what if I could make it easier for her and make a large tote she could carry her stuff in.








So I made a lined tote for her.  I chose a neutral fabric for the outside so she could use it to carry anything she wants inside it.  I selected a cute fabric with the boats and lighthouses for the inside because she loves getting out on the boats at the Lake in the summers.  This was the closest nautical fabric I could find to what I was thinking of for the lining fabric.   With the aid of my serger and sewing machine I transformed this fabric into a tote bag for mom to carry everything in.  I think it is the perfect size to pack full but not be too big to pack too heavy.  I have never made anything like this and learned a lot about how to make cute totes that I can give as gifts.  Not only did I learn more about how to use my machines, I also learned about a secret to make the fabric stand upright.   I am just getting a chance to post it although I finished it back in November because I wanted it to be a complete surprise for Christmas. It was so difficult not telling her what I was working on.  Hopefully, she will love it.

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Owl backpack I sewed for Sophia

I made this owl backpack for Sophia with my Serger. I completed it December 30, 2009.

I learned lots of new things my serger can do with this project. One thing I learned was that I can make  appliqués with it! Wow! What a huge discovery! Who knew that making pockets and things like eyes and a beak would teach me how to make those. While making the eyes and nose I realized that it is rather tough to make circular shaped appliques on a serger but not impossible.

I think with more practice I will feel a little better about making appliques to add details to things I make. Maybe I won't have to make them more than once to be satisfied with the results. All in all it was a fun little project to make and I learned a lot. I am glad it turned out so Sophia could enjoy it.







Here is the back view of the backpack. The back has a reinforced small handle in case she wants to carry it like a tote. There are also the backpack straps so she cam carry it on her back with whatever she wants to carry inside it.








Inside the backpack is a small pocket. Pictured at the top of the flap is a buttonhole loop.  I thought it would be fun to see if I could make it and well I am happy to conclude that I completed it.



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Fabric Wine Gift Bags

I made about ten if these little wine gift bags with my serger in a few hours for my husband to give away at work. Everyone was excited to receive a nice bottle of wine wrapped in a home-made gift bag. Some received CDs wrapped in smaller versions of the drawstring bag.

The current topics people who are environmentally conscious talk about are "recycling" and "going green". I think they are good ideas, although I admit I am guilty of not recycling often enough.

One thing I bet the environmentally conscious people never think about is all the wrapping paper and trees they kill at christmas time.

Everyone is starting to use recyclable grocery bags to "save the environment.". I challenge you to think about this idea. What about using recyclable gift wrapping in the form of fabric gift bags? It is super cute and saves a lot of waste and paper at Christmas.

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