Squirrel ! ! ! !

You may recall that my plan for yesterday was to make the final 2 pillowcases for Christmas and some potholders that Tessa had asked for. Well, it seems my  sewing room was filled with squirrels and I got a bit distracted.

The first thing I saw when I went down there was the potholder I'd made for my  friend who's of Scandinavian heritage and I knew that one wouldn't be enough so I made a second one, slightly  larger. Don't know how that happened but who cares--they're potholders, for crying out loud!

                          

I'd found these cute fabrics--the red fabric with gray and black Scandinavian designs along with the taupe and off white coordinating partners--several years ago and I liked them so much, I hated to cut them. Well, I found the perfect use for them and I know my friends will like them.

The next squirrel was this blue and pink bag I'd bought awhile ago to use when I'm traveling.  It's fairly small--about 8"x 10" when folded up--and the strap is the perfect length to go across my body, leaving my hands free for whatever--pickpocketing, or maybe not!  I can put my things in the large compartment and not have to lug around a purse, which I find very cumbersome even on the best of days.

Inside the main compartment which has no poickets or any thing.  Just a place to put stuff without having any organization.Kind of looks like a very large fish mouth in this photo!

   

                        

The other compartment has slots for plastic cards and one large slot for paper money. No place for coins tho--a serious drawback for me.

Bear with me, there is a reason for all this talk about this bag.  My friend Bonnie and I traveled to the Canadian Maritime provinces last June--a truly wonderful part of the world!--and she admired my bag. Well, I said I could easily make one for her if she liked and she said she would. Now Bonnie has traveled all over the world and she knows all the ins and outs of traveling so if she thinks this is a good travel bag, I believe her.

On the last day of the trip, I found a quilt shop in Halifax and purchased the olive green and blue Grunge fabrics to use in making up her bag.  It's sat around in my sewing room until I spied it yesterday  and decided it was time to make up the bag.  

I'm using the green for the main fabric since Bonnie wears a lot of green, and the blue for the lining, and yesterday I quilted them together with a thin batting and a simple meander.  Then I cut out the  pieces for the front and back of the main part of the bag.  Next I have to make up the smaller pocket and I decided to simply use the two fabrics-- wrong sides together--so I don't  have so much bulk when I sew them all together.  If I quilted this part as well, I'd have to stitch through 3 layers of quilt and I don't think my machine would like that too much.

I also decided that when I make the "credit card slots" part of the bag, I'll use some velcro to make a secure compartment for coins using one of the slots.  There'll be plenty of room for all the plastic cards a person would want to carry.  By making these modifications, I'll not infringe on any copyright laws.  I hope!  

So, the plan is to work on this again today.  And the pillowcases, and potholders.  Maybe.