Labor of Love - My Christmas Carpet Bag

My mother makes cool stuff. Unfortunately for her this Christmas, that meant lovingly acquiescing to a handmade bag request that then snowballed into making 3...soon to be 4....of the same bag in quick succession. I chose this home dec fabric with cities from all over the world on it. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. The buttons have a reddish hue which really sets off the antique looking black/tan color of the fabric and because she's so clever and detailed, the zipper tab at the end is my first initial...brilliant! I've been carrying it around now for almost two months and keep forgetting to post about it. It is a bag of awesomeness and makes me think of my momma every time I look at it :)

Stockings!

I have been a total slacker in the Christmas stocking department. None of my kids had designated stockings til this year. I felt I could no longer bear the shame of stocking-less-ness. That, and my oldest kept pestering me about it. :) These two stockings are for my boys: very simple and easy. I plan to embroider their names on them, maybe by the year 2018. Ha!!

Bad Pictures of Aunt Marla's Awesome Apron

I once again brought out an Amy Butler pattern from her book "In Stitches" which I have used on several other occasions (here and here). It is a pleated half apron and this Robert Kaufman print is one of my favorites!

Aunt Marla's Monogram Tea Towels

I made these for my Aunt Marla for Christmas. They are like the ones that I made here. I like how they turned out and it was fun to make them for someone other than myself!

Christmas Scarf

As part of my sister's Christmas present, I crocheted this super simple and warm scarf. I haven't crocheted in a while so I was rusty at first but it's just like riding a bike!

Amy Butler - Blossom Bag #2

As soon as Amy Butler's new book "In Stitches" came out I bought it and sewed myself a Blossom bag and matching pleated coin purse (see here). I loved how it turned out so much that I made this one for my mom for Christmas. It may seem strange that I am posting it 2 months in advance BUT since I can't keep secrets and my mom wanted to see it early, here it is! For some reason this material was a bit cantankerous and I snapped 3 needles in the process but it turned out alright in the end :)

P.S. Have you ever had a project where no matter how many times you ripped out a row of stitches you just couldn't get it straight? Attaching the outside flap was a nightmare on this particular project for some reason and despite trying and trying again (and almost breaking my sewing machine a couple of times) I just could not get it under control. I guess the idiosyncracies are what make it unique :)