Sew it All Away

Sew, I've been sewing a little bit.  It started out with a free pattern/tutorial for a sleeping bag for L.O.L. Surprise! Dolls.  Do you know what LOL Dolls are?  It really isn't important to this conversation.  What matters (wait, I'm pretty sure none of this matters, but we carry on, nonetheless) is that I decided to sew some for the two youngest nieces.  Of course, you see this is where the auntly dilemma begins, as I felt if I did that, I ought to sew something for the youngest nephew, and if I was going to do that, I ought to sew for others.  I decided that zippered pouches would be a good choice.  I found a few free patterns on the same site but ultimately decided upon one from a different site.  I started with the sleeping bags, and when that didn't kill me and I seemed to have something decent to show for my efforts, I moved on to the bags.  My first pouch turned out well, and so did the second, and then it was time to make the ones intended for gifts.  Then one of the first trial projects became a gift for my mom.  I sewed and sewed, and sewed and sewed some more.   

The pouches substituted for stockings and I filled them with random goodies like lip balm, tissues, hand sanitizer, and candy canes.  I meant to put the sleeping bags in the pouches too, but I forgot them in another pouch at home.  I also forgot to capture a photo of them before I gave them all away.   

Most people didn't realize I had sewn the pouches, but someone who did mentioned she could use some.  I knew I would be sewing more, and soon.  I just didn't realize how many more I would be sewing.  Next thing you know, I'm sewing goodie bags for brothers-and-sisters-in-law.  I made a few changes along the way.  I added a little handle.  I changed the placement of said handle.  I varied sizes.  Here you can see some of the bags I have sewn and some (I momentarily lost one) of the sleeping bags (small knit dog included for scale, I guess, but you probably don't know its size, either).  I think I made thirteen of the zippered pouches. 

I had fun.  Most all of the fabric came from the remnants bin, so it was a relatively inexpensive endeavor.  I scored a good deal on the zippers.  I learned.  I tried different types of fabrics.  I used special, prized fabric that had been waiting for its turn.  I mailed off a bag filled with treats that will arrive only one day late.  I gave gifts I did not have to wrap and that could continue to be of use once the contents were gone.  I did not burn myself on the iron.  I'm going to go ahead and call this a win.