The up side of insomnia...

I probably shouldn't have spent all day eating nothing but pecan brittle...but it was so good, and I didn't feel like going out to forage for lunch, and besides I was being polite because it was a homemade gift from my new boss.

And at the end of the day, I shouldn't have gone to bed without finishing my gift-wrapping project, telling myself I'd finish in the morning. Those and whatever unknown factors might be at work have me up in the middle of the night, drinking peppermint tea and finishing the wrapping project. And now I'm showing it to you.

Last year our son-in-law's mom sent them some reusable fabric bags. We loved them, loved the whole idea. I ran out and bought tons of fabric (I'm good at buying tons of fabric) and then forgot about it until Thanksgiving. So I haven't made nearly as many as I wanted to, but some is better than none.

Not only are reusable bags environmentally friendly (assuming they will be used for years) but they can handle really awkward packages. In this case, a bottle of champagne, a large can of Poppycock, and some chocolate. Because of the standing items, I even made these in the shape of a grocery bag, with four sides and a bottom. I gave each bag a built-in tie; I turned the upper edge inside and ran two lines of stitching as a channel for the yarn. The overall effect is a bit lumpy, but I didn't have to (a) wrap each item separately or (b) buy paper gift bags. The rest of the bags I'm making are flat, so they go together much faster than the one you see here.

Now if only I could get a few hours of sleep before I go to work....