Yoga Mat Bag

I decided this would be the winter of yoga - I've been hitting the classes pretty hard and just got my own mat (yes, extra long). I didn't have a pattern for a yoga mat bag, but I just sewed a tube, attached a circular bottom and folded over the top for a drawstring.

My extra-long mat is heavy and I didn't want the strap to rip the fabric - this was the trickiest thing to figure out. I attached the strap close to the ends of the mat so it would pull on the ends of the bag instead of loose fabric. I also reinforced it with pieces of the strap on the inside of the bag. On the top strap I tried this technique to avoid pulling on the fabric around the strap. We'll see how it holds up.

I also wanted to be able to bike with the bag, so the strap is a bit longer for an over-the-shoulder. I'm kind of pleased because the bag is super comfy.

The fabric appealed to me as kind of vintage-modern. It's Anna Maria Horner. She has lots of lovely stuff, and a fun blog.

Felt Slippers

November's Martha Stewart had this pattern for felted slippers. 

The sizing template was way off. My first attempt at a size 8 was about a size 6.

They were meant as a birthday present for Elizabeth. The tiny pink ones went to her roommate Milonga so Elizabeth could have an appropriately-sized blue pair.

Financial Crisis Fun

Making Pillow Covers from Curtains
Our living room needed some pillows and more color. I had some leftover Amy Butler fabric (the patterned pillow)and decided to make the additional pillow out of the fabric I'd hemmed off of recently purchased Ikea curtains. The white seemed a bit boring though, so I added embroidery based on patterns one can find in Sublime Stitching (a really fun book with lots of great patterns, thanks for giving it to me, Sharoni).

Updating a Coat
I bought some fun vintage buttons when I was in Middlebury, Vermont this April at a vintage store called Bejewelled. My plan was to update a tired, yet almost irritatingly durable black coat I have had since time immemorial. The global financial crisis and the onset of winter precipitated putting this plan into action. It wasn't much of a job, and it isn't a groundbreaking idea, but I thought I would share anyway.