Measure twice, sew once

Or even: measure once.

I got the purple/red/yellow hand-quilted bag put together, with a lining and topstitched and everything, before I actually picked it up by the handles and learned that they were spaced too far apart, which made the bag sag weirdly. So I had to dig out the seam ripper, take the handles off, and reposition them.

Outside of that, the bag went together smoothly. I really like this patchwork pattern, and may use it on a larger piece. This one is about 14" square with 4" sides and bottom.

Speaking of larger pieces, I finished putting my granddaughter's froggy quilt top together. There are 3 spots where like colors touch (not counting the green border), but otherwise, it looks smashing (and truly, the kid isn't going to notice those 3 spots anyway)(nor will anyone else). It's about 60" x 80" which is a tinch smaller than the *standard* twin quilt measurement I found, but it'll fit her bed just fine. I just have to buy backing fabric and batting, and then send it out to be quilted.

I have 10 more blocks done for the mish-mash quilt top, and a bunch more Moda Charm Packs to play with (3 Maypole, 2 Summer Fun, 1 Fresh Air, 1 Hannah, 1 Simplicity)(ebay is my love and master), and I'm going to start piecing another bag today. Of course, since I made one Christmas quilt, I have to make four more, and surely my enthusiasm will wane long before I finish, but for the moment, I'm having fun, which means we won't be eating at the dining room table for awhile.