Show and Tell - recent sewing projects

I'm pretty happy with how these bags turned out, and I just had to share!

This bag I made for my cousin Katie, who is coming to visit us with her Mom during spring break.  I used this pattern, but I adjusted it a little.  Katie is 13 and wanted a new bag to use for this trip and at school.  The original pattern had the top band piece being cut 13 inches wide, but I was afraid that was to narrow for school books and folders so I cut my pieces 14 inches wide.

This is the yoga mat bag that I was commissioned to make.  I really hope she likes it, she picked out the main fabric and then I added the two others.  This is also the first bag I've made using fusible fleece, I think I like this much better than interfacing, for most large bags.  I even used it for the strap, which makes it a little padded. 

Can you get more inapropriate?

Janet I keep forgetting to tell you this story, so instead I'm posting it.

On Wednesday my husband came home form work (with a major corporation) in shock after a meeting with his boss.  He had managed to keep the meeting to 5 minutes and on topic which was a miracle.  FYI him and his direct boss don't really get along.  Anyways, as they were leaving the conference room his boss asked how his back was doing, and hubby says his back is really bothering him that day.   The limp is usually pretty obvious.

Now for the weird part, his boss then proceeds to tell my husband that this is what happens from too much sex, it just ruins your back.  My husband was shocked.  He and his boss do not talk about their personal lives much less make comments about their sex lives.  We're not sure if he was just trying to make a badly done joke or if he was serious.  Although luckily my husband refrained himself from replying "jealous?"

She couldn't tell us this months ago?

For the first part of the year we've been struggling with Daphne's reading.  None of us, her teacher included could quite figure out what the problem is.  She has an incredible vocabulary and instead of reading the actual simpler words she is substituting harder words.  She also can't always read the same word she knows, however she is still doing really well with her independent school work.    The worst was that she is testing below where her teacher thinks she should and far below where we see her reading.  We just couldn't seem to figure it out and were,getting frustrating all around.

A couple weeks ago they brought in a special tutor to try and figure out what is going on and how to best teach her reading.  One of he steps in this "investigation" is to rule out hearing and eye sight.  So today I picked her up from school and took her to the nurse at a local elementary for her eye test.

Now please remember, we have asked her about her eyesight.  We've asked can you see this better here, or here, can you this, do you ever have trouble seeing etc...and she kept answering in ways that made us not worry.

So back to the test.  As the nurse is adjusting the light and getting ready Daphne starts telling the nurse that she has great eye sight, "especially when I close this eye"  shutting her right eye.  I just groaned, and thought of course, she had to tell us this now, instead of a month ago.  As soon as she said it I knew what the results were going to be, and sure enough she tested as barely near sighted in the left and near sighted in the right.  This makes so much sense, because in their testing the material is on the table and she has to point to each word, but when she reads with us, she holds the books up closer.

So now tomorrow we have an appointment with the eye doctor and I'm hopeful that this could be the key.   I'll let you know!

Yeah I got a comission for a yoga mat bag!!!

That was really all I had to say so I thought I'd add these fun pictures I took just up the road from our house a while ago!

My Twilight DVD came today!!!!

You wouldn't think I'd be this excited, but I am.  You'd think after watching it 4 times in the theatre it would be boring, but it's not.  

Who knew when my friend made me read her book that this would happen!

Oh well I guess my sewing projects won't get any further tonight!

I finally made myself a new purse

I loved this pattern when I first found it and knew I'd have to make it.  I was so excited with how this purse turned out, and better yet it was easy.  I already have a couple other fabrics set aside to make more.

My new yoga mat bag (or I've finally been sewing again!)

I bought my own yoga mat finally for the yoga class I've been going to.  I decided that this was a great reason to use the fabric I've been hoarding for myself.  I even have enough left over to make myself a matching tote bag.  I based my bag on Amy Butlers free pattern, but I thinned the handle, put drawstring  on the top and put it together completely different.  The only thing I wish I had done differently was to make it a little smaller around.

I've even gotten the bag I made for the One Heart One World giveaway in the mail.  I was really happy with how it turned out and I'll post a picture once the winner gets it. 

I kind of felt bad doing it....

You should have seen some of the peoples faces as we tested their $20 bills with the counterfiet detection pens at our last Girls Scout Cookie booth.  They were really shocked, and some even seemed insulted, at least until we mentioned that Girls Scouts in other areas had been getting counterfeit money for cookies.  We probably should have checked more of the money but we stuck with the $20's because they were the scariest, especially as people would buy 1 box, and then get the rest back in change.

Oh and we got so lucky, we had an amazing booth sale, our preliminary count was that we sold 407 boxes of cookies in 4 hours, but that doesn't include our Cookies for the Troops.

It's a sad sign of the times

What is this world coming to when one of items our troop has to have at our booth sale is the special pen to check for counterfeit money.  Check out this news story from Bremerton Washington.  Not to mention how closely we need to watch the money boxes, because there are cases every year of people grabbing and stealing every year.  We also had to teach the girls to leave the money we were given out on the table till we count the change because we always have people trying to (intentionally) tell us they gave us more money than they did and that they need more back in change.  One lady even sent her child back five minutes later trying to get more money back, when they had given us the exact amount.

It's just frustrating.  I know some of these people probably think they aren't really hurting anyone, just a large group that can afford it.  The truth however is that each troop buys their cookies and has to pay for all the cookies we received.  We are even responsible to pay for what doesn't sell.  So yes all these people are directly hurting our girls.  Any amount that has to be taken from our profits, limits what we can do with the girls.  It limits whether we can send them all to camp, will we be able to continue paying all the girls way to the council events, can we afford service projects etc...

Ah, sorry about the quick vent but it's just so frustrating.  How can people steal, let alone steal from little girls.

This looks like fun

I love bags.  Lately that is about all I've been wanting to sew.   So I was really excited when I saw the Mystery Purse Sew Along at Lola...again.  I added a link on the sidebar of my blog for the event.

I had just been trying to decide which new purse I should make, I just couldn't decide.  There are too many great patterns out there.  I like all the tutorials at Lola...again, I like the Signature Style Tote , I just found this Ruffled Tote and coin purse that looks really cute, and then there was this adorable Buttercup bag.

So you see my problem!!!

That's why the mystery sew along is perfect, I can just sew and be surprised at the end.  Although I'm still looking through my fabric and planning out the rest of the bags.