Gift Bags

I've been eating it up in Taiwan the past week and have been in a constant state of "stuffed".  I guess that explains why I haven't been able to lift my fingers and work on a blog post.  I spent last week hanging out with my grandma...going to the market, and now that Andy's here, it's been a constant stream of sightseeing, friend-seeing, and relative-seeing.  But, more on that in another post.  

I finished up my bags and brought them as gifts for all my aunties.  They loved the bags!  Here are the finished products (all fabrics are from Ikea):

The gray bag (note my new props - the teak dining set!)

The navy version.

I followed the instructions on this blog and learned how to make a zippered pocket.  

It will definitely be useful in other projects! 

View of the inside

The funky fabric version

First time I have seen fabric with....goats... It's a little weird, but I figure it's on the back side, so not so bad right?

And for grandma, I made a little wristlet since she no longer carries big heavy bags.

I might want to make myself one of these too!

And now, it's off to bed for me.  We've been having a blast here in Taiwan - will update on it soon (I hope)!  I leave you with one final picture of the new man in my life....

Redemption

Sorry I haven't had much of a chance to blog this week as I've been busy with my many jobs (mainly United Way and babysitting).  In between those, I've been working hard to finish up some orders before I head out to spend a week and a half reveling in the snowy east coast sans sewing machine.  Yes, that's right that's 11 whole days with no sewing!

I admit I was glad to be done with the pajama fiasco and forget about the whole thing.  But I think I have redeemed my seamstress skills in my latest project.  My sister's been really wanting a tote bag for awhile.  She put one on her wishlist for the secret santa game that her group of friends were playing (my sister is 14 in case you are wondering who still plays secret santa).  Unfortunately, the story goes, that she received a rather unattractive tote bag that she promptly returned to the store and received a whopping $5 store credit for.  So, I decided I would make her a really awesome tote bag for Christmas.  It's two months later, and I've finally made good on my promise!

I told her to search around for bags she liked online and I would design mine with that in mind.  This is the bag she picked:

Here's my rendition:

I think it's fabulous! But I don't know if I'll make more of these...I nearly killed my machine due to multiple layers of VERY thick fabric.  I don't think she's very happy with me.  Although if I did kill my machine, it would give me a good reason to upgrade...hehe.

Well, I'll be off to Jersey tomorrow! Here are some of the things I'm looking forward to....snow (i'll probably be the only person up there actually wants it to snow), bagels, hot pot with the family, ny style pizza, tax free clothing and shoes, hitting up the city to catch up with some friends, Chinatown....the list is too long!  

Au revoir! I'm off to the land of snow now!