Necktie Wine Bag

I saw wine gift bags like this during our recent visit to Walla Walla and resolved to try the technique myself.  It's pretty easy: sew sections of four neckties (points up) into a tube, leaving a small gap between two sections to let the drawstring escape.  Attach a drawstring sleeve to the inside and thread a cord through.  Stitch a straight seam across the bottom (RST) and cut off excess fabric from the inside.

Because the neckties are already lined, the inside part that shows is nicely finished without any work on the sewer's part.  The bags I noticed in Walla Walla had corks strung on the ends of the drawstrings, which I think is a nice touch.

You can click this photo to see a larger image.

Baby Blanket

Look what I made!  Not the baby - that was Emily's nearly-year-long-project.  No, I made another blanket for our nephew John to lie on (and spit on and what not).

Again, the size is about 36" × 36". Batting is layered between flannel pieces within the stitched circles, but the middle of the blanket has no batting, which keeps it thin and light.

The opposite side has a dappled yellow pattern.  As you can see here, John has his doubts about this design choice.  I figure he'll get used to it.

The pattern is from Simple Gifts to Stitch by Jocelyn Worral.
You can click either of these photos to view a larger image.