A day of fun in the sewing room

Yesterday afternoon, I decided to go through some of my boxed up sewing stuff and see if I could stand to part with any of it.   I wound up throwing out quite a bit of old paperwork I'd saved, and I put a few things in a yard-sale pile.  But this one pattern that I found kept tugging at me........so I set it aside on my sewing machine...then drafted it on EQ7 so that I don't have to hang on to the paper pattern.  That's it in my banner today. 

Later, I decided to cut a few triangles and play around with it for a bit.  I got a layout that I liked, so I sat down and pieced it together.  After cutting out a tail to applique, I pinned it to the block, pinned the block to my bedroom curtain, and went to bed contemplating what I'd do with the pretty little thing once it was finished. 

I considered a pillow, and then I remembered that a new friend that I have made down at the nursing home is having a birthday this coming Sunday, so I thought that it would be fun to tease her by saying that I'd gotten her a cat for her birthday.   I rejected the pillow idea and decided to make her a bag that she can tie onto the back of her wheelchair to carry around the little things that she wants to keep with her.     With the ties, she can adjust it to just the right height, and if she ever wants to carry it like a regular bag, she can just untie the way they're tied front to back, and just tie them into loops like totebag handles.

I used a ribbon fabric for the inside, signifying the fact that it is a gift, and I included a long, sectioned pocket that can hold an ink pen, a cell-phone, and keys or wallet (or little notebook, maybe?) 

I put an outside pocket on the back side of the bag, but wish that I had made IT snazzier looking.

I hope that she likes it !  She's around my age and has lost both legs

below the knee, to diabetes, I suspect.  She was the

first person to befriend hubby and myself when he went

into the nursing home.  She taught us the ins and outs of the place, hurrying

back to her room to loan us a  marker to use

to label his clothing so that it wouldn't get lost.

She just really went out of her way to be helpful.

I love seeing her cheery face when I go back there to

visit, and yet, I look forward to the day she

tells me she's "gettin' out !"