Thursday, May 29, 2014

De-stashing, Creating and Packing

In my on-going attempt to de-stash supplies from my craft studio I made a couple of drawstring bags.
I used an old shirt for the top one.  I loved the colors of it so much that I couldn't let the fabric go to waste.  I used ribbon in my trim stash for the drawstring.  The other bag is made from a fabric scrap. 
I made a crochet chain with some brown cotton yarn for the drawstring on that one.  

I think they could be useful for lots of things.  However, I'll soon be using them as shoe bags in my suitcase for a three week road trip I'm going on with my daughter.  They'll work great to keep pairs together, keep the shoes clean, and keep surrounding clothes clean as well.  I have some fabric bags I've saved from sheet sets I've bought too (the sheets often come in bags made from the same fabric and have a drawstring at the top).  All together, I think I have enough for all the shoes I plan to take.


I've been thinking a lot about the supplies I have, ideas of how to use them, and things we could use for our trip.  One night, it hit me.....I'd knitted a market bag years ago that would work great to hold dirty laundry in my suitcase to keep it separate from the clean clothes and help my suitcase stay organized.  I happened to have another large skein of Handicrafter Cotton yarn that would work perfect for another bag.  That way, my daughter would have one too.  I mentioned the idea to her and she loved it.  That's all I needed to get started.  One week later and here it is...


I knitted it with a circular, size nine needle.  I added a few extra rows of knitting below and above the section with holes and at the top, above the handles.  It's nice and stretchy and should work out great.
And, best of all, my daughter loves it!  :-)  Oh, yeah...and I have a little less yarn in my stash.
Although, it didn't use the whole skein.  So, I still have enough left for something else.


My daughter finished up her Spring semester and is now home for the summer.  She's been busy sewing like crazy!  She loves to sew!  And, she's excited to make things to wear on the trip and over the summer.  In less than a week, she's already made two skirts and has a dress almost complete!
I'm planning to do a little sewing too.  I hope to have some stuff to post soon.

We usually camp in our RV when we travel.  However, we'll be taking the car on this trip and staying in hotels.  We don't like to drive for lots and lots of hours at a time.  So, on the way to our main destination and back, we've broken up the trip with lots of stops in fun places and to spend time with family in a couple different places.  We'll be traveling through nine states!  I'm excited and a little nervous at the same time.  I'm hoping it'll be awesome and that we'll make lots of great memories!

10 comments:

Delighted Hands said...

The bags are very cute! Great work on the knit laundry bag! The trip will be wonderful-the prep is already fun!

Art and Sand said...

Is this road trip a music field trip?

Jo@awholeplotoflove said...

What lovely useful makes, I hope you have a super trip.

mamasmercantile said...

Exciting times. The drawstring are beautiful and I adore the market bag, such a clever idea for laundry. Have a great weekend.

Anonymous said...

I love love love bags!! be they draw string or market-- you did fabulous work on both and I love what you are planning to use them for as well.
~Dawn

blueadt said...

I love your shoe bags.

I use a pillow case for dirty washing & it gets thrown in with the washing as well.

Mereknits said...

It sounds like you are going to have a fabulous three weeks. Great idea for the shoe bags and the knitted laundry bag.
Hugs,
Meredith

Laney said...

I have some bags like that I use for my dog biscuits when we go on our walk, keeps all the crumbs in one place!! have a great road trip :)

The Polka Dot Closet said...

That sounds like such a fun trip! I love your knitted bag and yes tons of bags for tons of uses when traveling!

Carol

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

Oh what a great trip you have planned! I love driving and taking out time seeing things along the way! Have fun! And I love your bags...the market bag is gorgeous. I might try making a few shoe bags with my sewing machine! Great idea! Hugs!