Gotta love all these bags!

There is something extremely satisfying about finishing stuff ... even if it is just small projects. Here are my finishes this week:

1) Friendship Star Pants Bag for Amy @ A Quilting Sheep. One of my earliest blogging friends to whom I just wanted to say, 'thanks' - she let me choose the colours - hope you like it when it arrives, Amy:

2) Missouri Star Quilt Company charm bag from this tutorial. This is for my dear cousin in Maryland who'll be having her 60th birthday in a few weeks. The bag is made from her Mom's vintage fabrics which Lora gifted me in 2011:

I used the same fabric for the base, lining and handles :

3) Grocery bag dispenser from this Moda Bakeshop tutorial for a friend at work:

And small stuff is really all I can do. There's still no way I could FMQ a quilt - stippling this little 18" x 18" grocery bag dispenser just about exhausted my poorly arm tonight :(

But 3 little finishes in a week? Getting to play with lots of different fabrics?   Testing out the arm? Yeah, I'll take all of that! Linking up with Amanda and Sarah.

bags ... bags ... bags!

I promise to stop banging on about my recovering from a broken arm eventually soon but what I love about this hobby is if you can't make big quilts or don't have the time or energy for making them, you can make little things. And I don't know about you but I get just as much pleasure (and more quickly!) from finishing these.

It was DH's birthday this week. Let me tell you - he is not a big spender ('just as well married to you,' I hear you shout!) and never asks for anything. I struggle most years to get him anything 'special enough' as he's completely happy with a book, a CD or a shirt.

Because he was sooooooo wonderful looking after the injured patient that I was, I treated him to an iPad. So I just had to make him a little bag to go with it:

Also this week, my friend, the golfer, who took me out shopping when I was off sick, collected her Pants Bag and an iPad case (well, there were scraps left over that I wouldn't have used for anyone else):

I've made a  few of these iPad cases now (could also be used as make-up bags?) from this tutorial. I can't wait until my Quilt Bee ladies come and visit at the end of the month to show me how to do a fancy zip. At the moment, I just sew mine - same size - onto the fabric - works perfectly well but looks a bit ''unfinished':

And I finished a carrier bag holder for my niece from this tutorial in the Moda Bake Shop:

They all loved their gifts. And they each took just an hour (or two in the case of the Pants Bag) to make. I am so happy! What quilty stuff has put a smile on your face this week?

Linking up with Amanda Jean @ Crazy Mom Quilts and Sarah @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict.