A quick project

I have all my blocks done for the Flying Wonky Stars baby quilt I am making for our friends, but had another project I wanted to do while the baby slept today.

Two fun gifts our daughter received for her first birthday (7 months ago) were a set of alphabet blocks (with the Russian alphabet) from my sister

  and a set of wood blocks that, when assembled, made a Russian cathedral (I gave her that).

The problem is that she's too young for either.  I have let her play with the cathedral blocks, but at 19 months, she not really interested in carefully stacking the blocks according to daddy's instructions. She basically stacks two or three on top of each other and then knocks them over: great fun, but I'm sure at least one of these blocks will go missing, and when she's old enough to want to make the cathedral, it will be missing a tower or a wall or something.  The alphabet blocks are so cute, but she likes to chew on them, and the paint comes off a little...probably some kind of safety hazard, right?  Well, she can still play with them with supervision, which she occasionally does.

Anyhow, I decided to try my hand at making a little drawstring bag to hold the blocks- my first non-quilt-related project (outside of hemming pants or curtains).  I found an easy drawstring bag tutorial on Ashley Connelly's blog The Creative Place, and I am really excited with how it turned out and how quickly it went.  Here's the final result:

I used a cute little cat and mouse fabric called Purfect Mischief from Connecting Threads (it was/is on clearance for $2.95/yd), and for the trim I used an old purple fabric from my stash...don't remember the name.  The lining is a crimson fabric (forgot to take a pic of it, and am too lazy to do it now) also from my stash.

The funny part is that I WAY underestimated the size I would need.  Actually, I figured it might be a bit small for either set of blocks, but I decided that, since it was my first bag, I should just follow the directions and let this one be a trial.  It was very simple to do, and took about an hour and a half.  So nice to start and finish a project in one sitting!


UPDATE:  I had so much fun (and mom and baby went outside to play) that I made another bag.  This one is for the cathedral block set, and it measures about 11" x 14", and the blocks fit just fine!

This time I remembered to take a picture of the inside of the bag...Doh!  I could have taken a pic of the inside of the other bag!!!  Oh well :)

There you can see the blocks in their new home :).  This bag is just the right size to make as a drawstring backpack for my little girl and her doll.  Will have to add that to the To Do list!
It feels like my Flying Wonky Stars baby quilt is going to have to wait patiently for another few days while I go on a start-and-finish spree with another bag and a new fitted sheet for the baby's bed before it gets any more of my attention.