Bags for Africa

I might not have blogged for a couple of weeks but I have been busy! I think I have now finished making all the gifts I'm taking to family and friends in South Africa. With less than ten days to our departure, I am beginning to feel excited! Fortunately, my husband and I take separate suitcases as we fly back a week apart; as it is, he wants to know if I intend taking any clothes as the pile of things to take is growing steadily without any clothes added to it!

So, here are some more bags that I've made:

Drawstring toy bags for my granddaughter, a great niece and great nephew, as well as one each for expected twins!

I call this the 'Bundu bag'. The fabric has animal prints on it and I've made it for a friend who, together with her husband, has recently opened a restaurant called 'Bundu Bistro'.

The Bundu Bag is embellished with a yo-yo and a cute hippo button.

I have another friend with whom I went through high school. She loves all things Celtic and I've made her a make-up bag out of some Celtic fabric I've had in my stash for a few years. The other make-up bag is for my daughter-in-law.

The zippered pencil cases are for my grandson and great nephew and the little princess wrist bag is for my granddaughter.

I have also made another friend a simple tote bag and yet another friend some criss cross coasters as a birthday present. No photos of those as I think there is a bit of 'photo overload' in this blog!

For a change of pace, I attended a knitting workshop at one of our local churches yesterday. We were shown a number of different patterns for knitting squares for blankets and I tried this one. It's knitted in one piece with decreasing on every alternate row to make the corners.

The final corner is sewn together to make a square. There's always something new to learn and it was fun meeting with some different people.

 

On Safari

Two of my friends in South Africa are very keen on visiting game parks to see the wild animals. I've had some fabric in my stash for a couple of years and, with a trip to South Africa next month, thought this was a good time to get it out and use it!

The fabric is by Makower and there are two designs which are meant to be used as borders. I made two bags: this one is from a commercial pattern, Kwik Sew 3133, but I added some Thermolan as interfacing to give the bag a bit more body.

The second bag is a bit smaller:

Both bags have internal slip pockets trimmed with the outer fabric:

Each bag also has a matching zippered purse attached to a snap hook on a narrow strap:

Yesterday I went into Hobbycraft and found this fabric on the sale. I've made my grandson a pillow case as he loves road signs!

I know that many people would have been working in their gardens today as the weather has at last turned spring-like, but I like sewing and am pleased with what I have done in the last couple of days. I'll just have to get fresh air some other day!

A change for me

This is something I don't do: make more than one bag the same out of the same fabric. However, someone ordered these out of this specific fabric, the only difference being that one was to have short handles and one long handles. In fact, I have now made four tote bags out of this fabric and it was after seeing one of them that this person placed her order.

I managed to line the bags in different coloured lining, so that has also made a difference. They each have two internal slip pockets and a plastic grid firm base. They close at the top with a tab closure secured with a magnetic snap. Each bag has a matching zippered purse which hooks onto a snap hook.

I actually had to order more fabric just to make the handles of the second bag so I now have enough for another bag or two if they are a bit smaller. But I think I need a break from this fabric and will use the rest of it when the time is right. The outer fabric is called Giant Butterfly batik (colour is Toxic Tan!!) from Fabricland. I think it is lovely quality fabric. I hope the recipients of these bags enjoy using them.