Sewing: Totes Magotes

As promised, there was actual sewing going on at my place last week. I started this project Monday and completed Thursday night. Five (count 'em) bags done and ready for gifting (well, all but one of them).

Jill and I visited some fun Dallas cousins this past weekend, and we wanted to give them a little thank you gift for having us. Jill bought some LUSH products (man, I love that place!), and she asked me to sew each of them a tote bag.

I wasn't sure I could get them done in time, but I managed to make the three bags we needed, plus one for Jill and I. It was exactly the request I needed to get back in the sewing groove.

Deer Valley by Joel Dewberry

I used less than a half yard for each tote bag. A good chunk of my stash is fat quarters, so for each bag, I pressed two fat quarters, and used essentially all of the fabric.

Amy Butler Midwest Modern

Each bag is reversible, but I chose the side that looked the best for gifting.

Valori Wells and fabric from Joann's

I'm planning to make several more for gifts, including one for part of a giveaway here in the next few weeks (hint!).

Jill's bag - Amy Butler Midwest Modern

Here's the bag I couldn't part with:

I just love the Erin McMorris fabric, and in combination with some of my favorite Amy Butler prints, it's awesome. I justified keeping my favorite by also realizing that since this was the first one I made, it had the most mistakes. That works, right?

Food Friday: Marmalade Muffins

Jenny and Rhonda came over for brunch a few weeks ago. We were too hungry and "in the moment" for pictures of the food, but we had mimosas (also could be part of the reason for lack of pictures), veggie omelets, fresh fruit, and these:

The recipe is from Pioneer Woman's Cookbook. There's no marmalade in the muffins, despite the name. You zest oranges into the batter, and brown sugar and orange juice makes a syrupy glaze. I lessened the amount of brown sugar in the glaze, and I didn't miss a sweet drop. The muffins come together quickly and are very tasty, moist muffins. They don't taste as good a couple of days after, as they get a little soggy. To avoid this, eat quickly!

Progress: Fruition

Shawl progress shots always look a little blobby to me. Unblocked lace scrunches together, so that you can just barely make out the pattern. This is especially true when using a handpainted or highly variegated yarn.

My Fruition shawl (Waves of Leaves pattern) is about halfway done. I'm really enjoying the knitting, as I'm always excited to see the next color. I've got five hanks of undyed worsted yarn in my closet, and I keep seeing a color and thinking, "ooh. That's what color I'll dye the worsted."

It will probably be a while before I do more dyeing, but if you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it. It's messy and fun. Plus, your yarn smells sweet (even two years after dyeing, mine has a faint smell!).

I've been sewing the past few evenings, in preparation for a quick trip Jill and I are taking. I'll have three to five sewing FOs to show you, on the double!