Grocery Bags

Wow! It's been a month since I've posted. What a slacker!

Actually, I haven't been working on too many different things right now, because I'm in the process of making a wedding dress for a friend. There will be plenty of pictures once it's done :)

But here's a project from the spring. I've been working on various grocery bag designs, and one of the things I try to do is to make the handles a different color from the bag, so they're easier to fill.

I made a set of 6 for my brother, and asked him to report back how they work and if he manages to break any of them. I needed a good product tester :) 

 On this set I tried something new. I took a one-inch strip of denim and fused it to the top before making the hem. This is one of the weakest parts of the bag - the joint between handle and the top edge - so I think strengthening it there will help. The rest of the bag is a medium weight twill, and the handles are cotton.

 Look at the nice french seams, too =)

Lunch Bag

I finished the main part of a shopping bag this morning, so I used it for buying lunch.

Who needs handles, anyway? ;)

I ran out of this colored yarn, so I'm planning on making a cloth edge and handles for it. In the meantime, it works great like this because it has large loops.

I plan on making more of these, and I'm loving the self-striping sock yarn. This is Kroy Socks FX, which has a decent amount of stretch.

And I will resist tagging this under "finished projects" or making a new category for NEARLY finished projects =)

Gardening

What do you get when you mix gardening, recycling and origami?

Newspaper seed pots!

These are holding some more fruit seedlings, most likely apple. At least I marked one in the fridge, so I know it's a honeycrisp. The others will be a mystery!

I'm going to start making more for our vegetable garden soon. There are several different tutorials for making these, and when I find the link again I'll post it.

In other news, my apple tree is 1 year old this weekend! It's now living outdoors as long as we don't freeze.

It also has new friends in three Bosc pear seedlings.

< disclaimer >
These fruit seedlings are not being grown to full size for bearing fruit. The best way to propagate fruit trees is by grafting, I believe. This is a fun experiment, which I will likely train as bonsai in a few years.
< / disclaimer >

Just had to add that :)

Maybe in our grand landscaping plan we'll find room for a few more standard fruit trees. My orange is limping along, but it needs a fence so that the deer don't keep snacking on it.

Green for Groceries

First off, I've finished TWO Christmas presents, and I have one more at about 75%. Woohoo!

Secondly, here are two fantastic sewing ideas:

A simple, yet pretty-looking market bag. I've been searching for the perfect re-usable grocery bag to make. I've tried crochet- too thick and bulky to carry many at a time, and I've tried the fabric version cut out from a pattern of the original plastic ones, and that worked alright, but didn't pack nicely. I think I'll try this basic idea. And it's reversible!

Next, from the same site we have the reusable produce bags. These I'm very excited about. We've been using so much plastic since we've been eating more fruits and vegetables. And now I know what to do with the leftover 50+ yards of tulle from our wedding, even after I make a petticoat or two. Not to mention the spools of ribbon! My favorite projects are things I already have ingredients for :)

I'm wondering how either of these might work as gifts... too practical? Anyone have suggestions/thoughts? As a receiver I would be ecstatic, and the author talks about giving them away often. Maybe I'll try a couple for myself and see how well I like them.