Something for ME!

I admit, I usually go to grocery stores that offer free plastic bags, which I then use as trash can liners (all of our trash cans except the big one in the kitchen can take the grocery bags), dog poop bags, and occasionally lightweight packing material (I'd rather use something free than pay for packing peanuts, which really I'm not that fond of, anyway).  And if we build up an excess, then we take them back for recycling the next time we go to the grocery store.

But I sort of have an uneasy truce with plastic grocery bags, and I've started going to Aldi at least every other week, and Aldi doesn't offer free bags.  Now, I can usually snag a box or two from when they unpack their items, and I often keep a stash of bags in the trunk to reuse for that very purpose.  But I've seen all these cloth reusable bags across blogs, and I really wanted to have some for myself.  Especially after I made the wine labels bags for my friend's birthday.

So I was digging through the stash for other reasons, when I ran across this great pear print.  It's got to be five or more years old, and I don't even know why I bought it in the first place.  But it reminded me that I had decided to turn it into cloth grocery sacks.  After I made my friend's bags, I had decided that broadcloth would be a better lining than another cotton print - still sturdy, but definitely lighter weight.  And I had bought some "vineyard" cotton broadcloth when JAF had it half off a few months ago.  Sewing ADD kicked in, and I just had to sew these now!

If I remember right, each bag takes about 2/3 yard each of main and lining fabrics.  So I was able to get two bags out of the pear print.  I also managed to screw up my cutting more than once, which necessitated a seam down the middle of one of the outer pieces, one bag being more narrow than the other, and center seams in the lining of both bags.  Oops!  Guess I should stop cutting when it gets late....But the final products look great!

And this shows the lining fabric a bit.  It doesn't exactly match by any stretch, but I think it looks pretty good together.  I'm happy with them.  And I can't wait for the next time I go to Aldi!  (Or Shop-n-Save, which offers free plastic bags but is all self-bagged, making it easy to use your own if you'd like....)  And I think I'm going to make some wine labels bags for myself, but use broadcloth for the lining....

PSA: Don't forget to run your cloth bags through the wash on a regular basis - you don't want any nasty bacteria growing in there!  I plan to throw these in the wash with my cleaning rags, which get washed and rinsed on warm and dried on warm or hot.  (Otherwise, I'm a wash cool, tumble dry low kind of girl....)

A little gift sewing....

Thing 1 had a birthday party to attend a few weeks ago, and his friend loves lizards!  We looked in vain for some sort of a stuffed lizard for him, and then Thing 1 thought that a pillowcase would be fine.  Then we searched in vain in the fabric stores for a suitable fabric - I know I've seen cute lizard fabric in the not too distant past! - and came home to find the perfect flannel print and coordinating solid in my stash.  Go figure!  I made this up the night before the party, and both the boy and his mom loved it!

And one of my friends was having a birthday, and she's expressed interest in the past for using cloth grocery bags.  I know that she hasn't gotten around to making herself any, so I thought that would be a perfect gift for her birthday!  (As well as using up some of my stash....)  The outer fabric is a wine labels print that I picked up on clearance at JAF years ago.  The lining is the same fabric, but on a tan background.  I think it's pretty hilarious for grocery sacks.  Hopefully she likes them!

And I realize this one isn't sewing, but it's pretty darn cute!  Thing 1 loves penguins, so I found a penguin cake mold at Amazon.  This is the prototype for his birthday party cake.  It didn't take too long to decorate, partly thanks to the large white belly.  And it's a smaller cake - doesn't use the whole box mix.  I think I'll have two for the party.  Anyway, Thing 1 loved it!