A New Reversible Bag

I haven't made one of these reversible bags (this, too) since we were in Moçambique. Yesterday I got it in my mind to make one, despite our very busy day. The original tutorial is here, but I like to personalize designs. This fabric came in the mail a few days ago, and I've been anxious to use it.

I thought about asking Morgan to draw a beehive for me to make an appliqué, but rather than reinvent the wheel, I searched online for a pattern and found this. (Where would we be without the cliché?)

While we were in Moz, I had a horrible time with the embroidery attachment on "Clara" (my machine). Last week a revisited the course at the store where I purchased it, & I've come to the conclusion that the problem lay in the Moçambican electrical adapter, rather than user error. 

(Yes, I'm sure that's it.)

Now that I've learned to troubleshoot, I'm having a grand ol' time with embroidery.

I probably should have made this font a bit larger. I feel that it's competing with the bees, rather than complementing them.

The bee lines I just drew with chalk and stitched over them

This yellow floral makes me happy to just look at it! I can't wait for spring, and this bag represents my longing.

The original tutorial doesn't include a pocket, but because I like to have little places to stash things, I use this very helpful and easy tutorial for adding a zipper inside the lining.

While my family and our friends played Settlers of Catan last night, I opted for sewing, instead.

Once I get an idea in my head, I must act on it right away.

They didn't seem to mind a bit, and it was quite entertaining to overhear the competition from the next room.

What a perfect evening: 

Friends

Family

Homemade Chili

Dessert: Lemon/Blueberry Bread with Homemade Ginger Ice Cream & Freshly-whipped Cream

Edifying Conversation

A Fun Game

& 

Sewing a new project!