A Bag to Carry Their Stuff (and mine)

I recently purchased some denim/cotton fabric from the remnant bin at Joann's and decided to make this bag I sew in Jenny Ryan's Sew Darn Cute. I really like how it came out!

It was my first time using:

-a magnetic snap

-cotton webbing for the handle (btw, the book's pattern calls for two, shorter handles, but I wanted one like this to have my hands free)

-a reinforced strip around the top for the handles

-an inside zippered pocket

I did some patchwork on the front, using vintage bedsheets from my mom (also used the sheets to make a dress for my daughter and a sewing machine cozy for myself). And the lace was left over from my daughter's baptismal dress.

I love my little bag, but I'm finding it a tad too small for my (our) needs. I think I might have to look for a pattern for another bag. (Which I think is half the fun!)

Railroad Crossing Pillows

My son LOVES trains and railroad crossings and so when I saw a railroad crossing pillow in the Land of Nod catalog (a place where I've found great inspiration for projects), I decided to give it a try (sans pattern). I also attempted piping for the first time, which I've been wanting to do for a while.

The red pillow below is my first RR pillow. I used red fleece, yellow felt, and black cotton fabric. The back has this awesome train print, but, for some reason, I didn't take a picture of that. Anyway, I think it turned out pretty well even though the piping looks pretty rough up close (I covered white piping with black fabric -- for the next time, I just went out and bought black piping! Much easier).

I decided to try another pillow, and this time I let my son pick the fabrics from our stash. He selected yellow cotton for one side, pink fleece for the other side, and a fushia-colored fleece for the sides. The R's are again made from felt.

Here's the front and back. For some reason, the cotton (yellow) side looks really lumpy. But the fleece (pink) side is truer to the circular shape I intended.

I finished it up after my son went to sleep and then stuck it in his bed overnight. When he awoke in the morning, you could hear him saying, "My railroad crossing pillow! You worked on it!" with such glee that I knew every stitch was worth it. And it didn't matter if it has lumps. :-)

My Son's New Bag for Cards

These playing cards were just everywhere and I wanted something to contain them. Something cute, of course. So my son picked out this Curious George/Firetruck fabric from the stash, and I stitched up some scraps to make this bag. For fun, I added a Velcro closure, train patch, and loop for hanging on a hook!