A bag... and a book!

I finally got around to making another 241 tote, this time for myself... and it just makes me so very happy.  Really, though, how could these fabrics not make a person cheerful?!  You can see my first 241 tote here.

It's my new everyday bag for summer.  I made the handle extra long so I can wear it across my body, and I added interfacing to the handle, so it will hold up well to everyday use.  Other than that, I just followed the lovely pattern instructions.

Fabrics are Echino insect in Natural by Etsuko Furuya cotton/linen, Bella Mini Dot in Sunspray by Lotta Jansdotter, and, of course, a bit of Robert Kaufman yarn dyed linen/cotton (this time in Black).

And (here's the "book" part), I'm so excited to finally share this news!  I'm a contributing author to a book called Sew Gifts!  Yes, an actual book, folks!  It will be released this October by Martingale Press / This Patchwork Place.  I discovered the Martingale wholesale catalog in my mailbox recently with this preview of the book, including a photo of my bird-on-a-branch pillow project.  I haven't seen the actual flip-through-the pages, bound book yet, but I was able to review the proofs of my project pages and was super happy with how they turned out.  Once I have an actual book in my hands (can't wait!), I can promise there will be a giveaway... or two... or more!

Catching up... plus a roly-poly winner!

My kids had their last day of school on Friday, and all the craziness that goes along with the end of the school year during the preceding week(s).  Included in that craziness were a couple of parties to celebrate construction beginning on a brand new green schoolyard to replace the massive blacktop "parking lot" that functioned as a play area at our school for so long.  We are very excited about this!!  And I'm happy to now officially be on Summer Break... but I'm also waiting for that first "What can I do?" -- the equivalent in our house of "I'm bored!"  I'm trying to prepare with stacks of regular books, audio books, workbooks, and lots of crafty and outdoor activities.  And I still haven't even started to sort through the massive stack of school work that came home last week.  Oh well.  All in good time.  We've left that all behind for almost a week anyway, and have traveled to Michigan to visit my parents and my sister's family, including my new baby niece, who is just the loveliest, sweetest little thing.

I managed to fit in a little bit of sewing in the last week of school, but not much.  I stitched up this big tote bag for my daughter's Kindergarten teacher, then the class room parents filled it with summery and beachy-type things for an end of the year thank you gift.

Finally, in case you're wondering who the lucky winner of the roly poly pattern giveaway was... it was Angie, who said. "my fav side is the grey with the tiny asterisk."  Congrats to Angie!!  Rachael from Imagine Gnats will be contacting her shortly with the pattern link.  And thanks so much to everyone who commented and visited during the roly-poly blog tour!  It was so much fun to participate and to follow along and see all the amazing roly-poly creations.  If you missed any, check out Rachael's roly-poly-along wrap-up to see them all.