My take on the 'Throwdown' bag

I was recently visiting the Tiny Seamstress blog, when I noticed a friendly little competition. The challenge was to design a bag based on simple bag pattern brought to you by Tiffany of Tiny Seamstress Designs. As long as the basic bag and dimensions were the same, we have free rein. Fun! I'm always up for a great sewing challenge!

Here's what I came up with:



I've been considering making a bag for Peanut for some time. As he gets older (he's almost 3!!!), he's starting to walk on his own as opposed to constantly being harnessed in the stroller. Plus, he doesn't really need a diaper bag chuck full of stuff - a snack, a juice box, a couple diapers and he's good to go! He loves helping out and enjoys carrying things for me. Lately he's been carrying his own bag of books to the library, but all my totes are just too big for him. So, I thought it would be nice if he had a little backpack for our outings.



I decided to do a bit of quilting for his bag as well as applique his hand on the front. (He has a little obsession with tracing his hand lately, so I thought he would appreciate that detail :)) I also did a little stippling on the pieced part of the bag (my own recent obsession).



The back has two simple corduroy straps that are sewn to the top of the bag. I attached ties in the side seams of the bag and the ends of the straps to make a couple little bows. I did it because I thought it looked cute. Hopefully it's practical too. :) Also, this way we have the option of tying the two straps together for a single strap to go over his shoulder if he gets tired of the backpack.

He already loves his backpack and can't wait to try it out!

An amazing giveaway!!!

Judi over at Green Fairy Quilts is having a stupendous giveaway to celebrate her 100th blog post. She is giving away four and maybe even five of her lovely products including a quilt pattern, quilted bag, and more!

The "nice" side of me wants to share this great news with everyone. The "naughty" side of me wants to selfishly keep this fabulous news to myself. Shocking, eh! Well, Judi was nice enough to throw in 5 entries to anyone who blogged about her giveaway, so I guess I feel better ;).

Also, take some time to read about the charity Judi and her husband have organized. I wish I had a quilt laying around to donate, but I can barely stay on top of my own sewing projects lately. Maybe as my piles of fabric scraps and little kiddos grow, I'll have the resources and time to donate to this worthy cause.

Go check it out!