Cell phone bags

Yesterday's typhoon passed quickly with no more damage to our area than lots of leaves and branches and chestnuts all over the road. By afternoon the rain had stopped and the wind never developed into anything threatening (in our part of Japan. A couple tornadoes in other parts).

I spent the morning sewing and then did some errands in the afternoon.

Besides doing my quilting I spent a short amount of time up in the sewing room making some cell phone bags.

BrendaLou sent me some bag making patterns after I commented about them on her blog. She said she had been teaching some young girls how to make these bags and since I'm always looking for easy patterns that I might make with a couple kids, I asked if she'd be doing a tutorial. No tutorial but she offered to send me the pattern printed out on interfacing. And what a fun pattern! Little printed greetings on it like "Smile" and "Have a beautiful day," etc. BrendaLou sent enough for I think 9 bags so that I can teach quite a few children. I had to try it out yesterday and made one for myself and one for a cat lover friend.

The black and white bag is made from a Japanese hand towel called a tenugui. These are found all over Japan and are long rectangles of cotton cloth. They get tied around people's heads, are hung around the neck, are used as rags etc. Sometimes the weave is very loose so they can't really be used in patchwork but this one that I had around the house was of good quality and just the right length. The cell phone pattern calls for a long piece of fabric that can be folded over a couple of times to make inside pockets.

I also pulled out the last of my Laurel Burch fabric to make a bright colored cell phone case for a cat lover friend. More about her tomorrow.

Thank you so much BrendaLou! The pattern is wonderful and the cellphone bag is a delight to make!