Zebra and a dress

Remember these pillows I sewed for my in-laws using old curtains and 50% off fabric?

I had some extra that I thought I'd put to good use.  I found this pattern at Wal-Mart for two dollars and I had to snatch it up.  It contains four sizes (newborn to large) and since Andrea is a small I thought I could use this pattern to make dresses for her in the future as she grows.

This was the finished product.  (I should have ironed it before I took this picture!)

She wore it to church yesterday.  It's still a little big, but she'll grow into it.

All this sewing has got me in the mood to sew more.  Then I saw this bag that came with a free pattern:

I've been looking for a small purse like this ever since my mom insisted I retire my six year old ratty bag.  Not only have I not been able to find anything as perfect as my old bag, but I needed something. . . cheap.

Fat quarters are $.99 at Wal-Mart and although the pattern called for two fat quarters I couldn't decided between the green fabric and the blue flowers.  So I bought both.  I eventually decided to use the blue and pink flowers but I may make a second purse or some bibs for Andrea with the green.

You may be wondering about those zebra stripes, but I wanted something really fun for the inside of the purse. . . I have such a monotonous life right now that I decided to take a risk and choose a fabric that I normally wouldn't.

Even this flower print was a little different for me, but the longer I looked at it the more I liked it.

I love how it turned out.  It's the perfect size.  The pattern strap was shorter than I like, and I didn't want deodorant rubbing on my beautiful flowers, so I measured the strap on my old bag and cut the new strap to the same length.  The strap cost me  $1.60.  Sweet. I could have used leftover fabric from the purse to make a strap but wanted something sturdier.  $1.60 was worth it.

 

The most expensive part of the bag was the magnetic snap which was $2.50.

 So the grand total: $6.10!