Monday 29 April 2013

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.

 

4 comments:

  1. My you have been busy, how lovely to take all these handmade gifts with you on your trip, have a wonderful time I'm sure there will be plenty of photos to show on your return xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Tracy. Yes, I have been busy but I've enjoyed it, even all that bias tape I made for the drawstring bags!

      Delete
  2. Wow, it looks like you've been in a sewing frenzy. All your handmade gifts are lovely and I'm sure everyone will love them. I'm so excited for you! Post lots of pictures of your vacation.

    Have a great time Margaret!

    Virna

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Virna! I hope that by this time next week I will have my suitcase packed!
      Sewing isn't finished yet, though - I'm off to make a slip cover for my ironing board. Some friends are coming to stay in our house while we're away and I don't want to leave my rather stained ironing board for her to use.

      Best wishes
      Margaret

      Delete