Confessions of a Craft Addict

As soon as she was ready, Miss L has worn white leather Keds. Just the basic, lace-up style, replaced with an identical pair as she’s outgrown them.

Until this year.

I noticed the Keds were a bit snug (which is to be expected after wearing them about six months), so we headed to the shoe store after the first of the year in search of a replacement pair. I picked up the same shoes in the next size up, only to be told by my daughter, “No, thank you.” Instead, she insisted on trying on a pair of sneakers. White with Velcro straps and little pink butterflies on the side.

Big girl shoes.

She loved them so much, she wanted to wear them out of the store. (I said no.) They look so big (which I’m sure has nothing to do with the fact that they are a size 10) and the fact that she had an opinion — an opinion! — about which shoes to buy makes me even more aware of the fact that she’s growing up so darned fast.

Among Miss L’s Christmas gifts was a new bento box. She’d started the school year with one but it came home from lunch bunch one week missing one piece, rendering it useless since it now can’t stay clipped shut.

I bought a replacement at a cute little store full of cute Sanrio products the day after Thanksgiving and immediately added a new bento bag and matching school tote to my Christmas-sewing list. I finally ended up getting to work on it the week after Christmas. It was an immediate hit with the little one (and received raves from her teachers after she returned to school).

The pattern for both (I’ll eventually get around to photographing the bento box bag) came from the Japanese sewing book Kids’ Bag & Goods. Sarah helped me figure out the math on the tote bag. While the book showed the finished measurements for the main panels, it didn’t have starting measurements — and having everything in centimeters was making my eyes twitch. The finished product looks pretty close to the one in the book, so I guess we figured right!

I used three fabrics: the strawberries on blue (maybe a Lakehouse fabric?), a red Kona cotton and a red-and-white gingham (I think from Michael Miller). I quilted the red cotton before making the tote bag. A bit more work but I think it looks super cute and totally worth the effort. And the tedium. Sewing a grid on fabric is not the most exciting thing I’ve ever done, for sure.

I did have one minor oopsie while working on the tote bag: When I was turning it through the lining, I ripped the lining about two or three inches from the gap up into the bag. I figured I’d just sew it shut but one of the folks at the retreat suggested making a little heart-shaped patch to cover it. It turned out to be the perfect idea and completely obscures my goof. Plus I told my daughter she was taking a little extra love from me every time she went to school, which resulted in a huge smile and an extra hug.