The Pink and Orange Secret Project

Several years ago, Sis helped pick the fabric for our Linus Weekend Project for the first time, and talked Mom and me into a combination of pinks and oranges.  They were pretty fabrics individually, and very bright, but we just weren't sure they went together.  But Sis is much more trendy and fashion aware than we are, so we went along with it, and in the end the quilts turned out quite pretty.

Fast forward a couple years, and I was in a LQS while they were having a sale.  I saw a pink and orange fireworks kind of fabric - and it turned out there was a whole line of pink and orange fabrics that went with it.  This particular store also had a lot of patterns for bags, and I'd been eyeing them for quite a while.  So I decided to jump in, picked out a pattern for a purse, and the store owner helped me pick several fabrics from the pink/orange line so I could make a purse for Sis.  I'm glad the owner was there to help - she is a very bright, bubble person and those bright colors still seemed overwhelming to me!  I'll admit that I was a little skeptical about whether this combination would be pretty or just garish, but she was awfully confident and I brought everything home, then promptly stuck it in a drawer and let it sit for over a year.

Coming up to Sis's birthday this August, I had NO ideas for what to get her.  Then I thought "hey, I should pull that out and make it!"  I didn't have a ton of time left to get it done, but the pattern was very well written and really just went step by step.  And I really do like the finished product:

For my first try at a bag - there were a lot of new things, including working with the fusible fleece, the handle and ties, the fabric-covered button - this turned out fabulous (if I do say so myself)!  Again, major credit goes to the pattern Bow Tucks Tote by Penny Sturges for being broken down into easy steps, having good pictures and being easy to follow.  (I should note - I tried reading through it several times, and just didn't understand what I was going to do.  But when I jumped in and started at step one, and didn't worry about the future, it all worked perfectly!)

I was so pleased with how it was coming out, and had no idea what to use the extra fabric for, so decided that daughter D should also get a bag for her birthday, which comes 8 days after Sis's.  With not enough fabric or time to make the full pattern, I went for something a little simpler:

 D's does not have an inside pocket or ties, and is a little smaller - but is still perfect for some of the little piles of stuff she likes to carry everywhere!  Here are the two bags together:

Since I also wanted to include a gift card, I thought they each needed a wallet.  The funny part - D helped make the wallet for Sis, then went outside to play - I "watched" her on the swing set while racing through a separate wallet for her.  Each came with some gift card goodies inside (by the time I took the photo, Sis had already loaded in some other stuff):

I'm feeling QUITE smug about this - it was well received and I was properly fawned over, and now I'm wondering whom else needs a bag?  Or maybe we need one for each season?  Oh, the possibilities!