I’m having a special party on Sunday. My new-to-me sister is coming to Ohio for Christmas with her granddaughter. My children, grandchildren, and our circle of friends are gathering at my home to meet my sister, her eldest daughter, and her younger daughter’s daughter and son-in-law.
When any of our friends has a party, everyone brings food. As I am not a cook, I am filled with gratitude to these friends for making the party doable for me. To thank them for all this work, I wanted to make a little gift for each of the ladies to take home.
Thanksgiving a year ago, I made a bunch of Bendy Bags (designed by Lazy Girl Designs), and then at Christmas last year, a couple more. I love these bags and carry one in my music “toolbag,” but they take a couple of hours to make. I needed something a little quicker to make.
Earlier this year I made two “Tulip” bags, a design from CloBird Designs. The most valuable technique I learned from those bags was the half-zip installation.
The thing about the Bendy Bag is there’s some waste—like two triangles that, together, would equal a 10″ square of fabric, already bonded to fleece. Hmmm. What does one do with all those valuable triangles? Joan Hawley may be a Lazy Girl, but she’s no dummy girl. She designed the Sweetpea Pod pattern, which deftly uses up all those extra triangles of fabric. And I was happy to see the pattern used the half-zip technique.
Honestly, these little pods are genius. Think of all the uses! If there are any leftovers after Sunday’s party, I’m going to snag one to hold earbuds in my purse. It could easily be made with a hook to attach to your keyring. Put your driver’s license, a $10 bill, and a lipstick in the pod, and you’re good to go.
I’ve been having lots of fun making pulls for the zipper tab. I bought some furnace glass beads on eBay a while back, and one of those on a headpin is very easy to wire-wrap onto the tab. And in their jewelry-making department, Jo-Ann’s has cute “Handmade” charms which are easy to attach with a jump ring. So even when I make several bags from the same fabric, each one is different. I love that!
I hope my guests on Sunday love these bags as much as I do.
