Crafty gift exchange

Wednesday night, my friend organized a group of 10-12 crafty women and we had a most amazing gift exchange. It had to be handmade, and I was stymied by the unique and interesting gifts and the talents of my friends! Even my sister, who claims not to be very crafty, made a beautiful silk flower arrangement. (Um, when do *I* get one of those for my house?!) ;)

I used Amy Karol's "bend-the-rules" book and the pattern for the Charming Handbag, along with some Heather Bailey fabrics I had left over from the purse I made for myself. I was really happy with the way it turned out, and to top it off, instead of making a bow with the ribbon (on the side of the purse), I made a La Fleur Debris (I love that name!) from the mini pattern by Heather Bailey, and added that with a safety pin so it can be removed and used as a pin on a hat, scarf, sweater, etc. as well.

Happily, it was a hit with the person who received it, so I'm thrilled! I was extremely happy to come home with a plate of scrumptious lemon-raspberry cookies plus chocolate peanut butter balls. YUM. I had been craving Reese's Cups, so that was absolutely perfect. And I got the lovely snowflake platter, a small spatula (which I needed, as mine have all been confiscated by the cardboard kitchen) and the recipes to boot. What a blast!

The purse

I have these moments when I just can't wait to sew. It drives me nuts to not be able to just attack a project at any given hour of the day or night. So, I woke the other morning and started a purse. I had the pattern from Sandi Henderson and a bunch of Heather Bailey Pop Garden fabrics sitting here, and though my sewing skills are not as awesome as my friend Gayle's, I did manage to create a lovely market bag. Lots of lessons learned here, but since I am forcing myself to overcome my fear of making things from real patterns, I was proud that I turned out a real purse.

I adapted the pockets to hold a pen, cell phone, and other stuff, instead of just being one huge pocket. And I added a key fob since I love having that on my purse right now, and that was simple to do. Don't ask about the magnetic snap. The dang thing didn't come with instructions, but I realized once the purse was finalized that I didn't install it correctly. Oh well. It will work for a while; then I'll just have to either rip the thing apart and fix it or live without it.

It's big, but it should be the right size to serve as a Mom Tote while on vacation! And when people ask if I made it myself, for once I can say "YES". (And then they will see the lame stitching and realize that my skills are still building. ;)