Sewing gifts...

For Christmas, I did some sewing and quilting projects to give as gifts to my sister and sister-in-law. My sister-in-law, Lindsay, always talks about going to their small group's houses for dinners and get-togethers. My brother Ryan said she didn't have a caserole dish carrier - and I use  mine alot - so I decided she needed one. :) I found the tutorial at 2 Little Hooligans, but made a couple changes - such as with the velcro.

I also made a tote for my sister, Emily, who is learning to knit. I found the pattern on the Moda Bake Shop blog and modified the sides with a wonky design. I gave her the quilting supplies and made the bag to carry them all in. I decided to use my own pattern for each of the sides.

I wish I would have taken pictures throughout, but was trying to whip this out in a few hours so didn't find time! All you do is cut two squares the same size and lay them on top of each other. Use your cutting tool and a straight edge and make two angled cuts (don't need to measure them) through both pieces. Pull the opposite middles of each fabric and sew together. Do the same thing cutting from the other direction and sew the opposite sides together again to make this kind of design.

I found the tutorial for Emily's tote on the Moda Bake Shop, but used my own pattern for the sides and used the inside-out option to help it stand better. In the inside, I put places to hold her knitting needles and a pocket to hold her smaller knitting supplies. Quilting around these made it a little difficult, but I'm glad I put them in there to help her organize her supplies.