A while back ago I saw my friend Megan sporting the cuuuuuu-test little bag she made. And when I say saw - I mean I was formulating a plan on how to swipe it from her. But it turns out, Meg tells me - is my friend Ayumi of Pink Penguin has a tutorial for the Lunchbox bag and I could make one myself. So excited to be able to make one too, though I still toyed with The Great Lunchbox Bag Heist of 2010.
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So I’m putzing around Pinterest. And when I say putzing, I mean I’m on Pinterest for my 3rd or 4th time that day… and I spot a Lunchbox bag made by Erin and immediately show Lori (or maybe Lori saw my pin or I tagged her on the pin, I can’t remember - it was all very exciting + plus I’m forgetful), and the next thing we know we’re swapping fabric! Lori sends me some of her Sew Cherry, and I send her some of my Happy Mochi Yum Yum. And then I GO TO TOWN and start on a Lunchbox bag making frenzy! Lori, in Utah, and I in Oregon - we were sewing together via our iPhones - texting each other and sending pics as we’re sewing. It was the next best thing to being actually together. Sometimes I marvel at how technology, in all it’s high techness - can be all about friendship, and goodness, and being the closest we can get to beaming ourselves places.
Lori and I said we’d send each other 5 fat quarters, but she went all Oprah on me and sent me a package-full-o-goodies! Sew Cherry fat quarters, an apron kit with her Sew Cherry and apron pattern, a tomato pincushion kit (her tutorial here) and one of her signature Big Cherry candies… it was all so weepy cute and generous.
Lori even made me a needlebook!
The lunchbox bag in Lori’s Sew Cherry fabric:
In Denyse Schmidt’s fabric (for Joann’s). One thing Lori and I did different from Ayumi’s pattern was to do our straps in one fabric vs two. A bee flew in my bonnet, and I got an idea to put the twill tape that’s wrapped around the Moda pre-cuts inside my handles to make them beefy. I LOVE my handles with the twill tape inside! Now all my bags will have a little Moda happiness inside each bag. I have been saving this twill tape over the years and have amassed quite a large volume of it. Which is scary to think I’ve used, acquired and bought that much fabric Yay, good for me that I’ve sewn so much!
Here’s one in Pam Kitty Morning fabric. Turns out Lori and I made the same one! Probably because we love Pam so much and we were channeling her. I did make my PKM bag a little smaller - I was playing around with different sizes. Because I love to nest stuff - my self diagnosed Matryoshka-itis.
Here’s one in my Happy Mochi Yum Yum fabric. So to drag everyone into our web of Lunchbox bag making frenzy goodness - Lori and I are both doing a giveaway of a 5pk fat quarter bundle (plenty to make a Lunchbox bag), plus I’ve added my new signature candy - a box of Botan Rice Candy (mochi candy) and a pack of Doublemint gum (WTH?).
I’ve loved Botan Rice Candy ever since I was kid (our class had gone on a field trip to San Francisco’s Japan Town for the day), especially since you can eat the “Saran Wrap” paper wrapper that’s outside the candy. There’s also a pack of Doublmint gum - you can hop over to Lori’s blog and read about it’s meaning.
To enter, leave a comment (maybe you’d like to share what your signature candy is?) just before Midnight-ish Monday (2/20/12 PST), and I’ll announce the winner Tuesday morning. And by morning I mean around lunch-time. Be sure to hop over to Lori’s blog for a chance to win a Sew Cherry bundle (and candy) from her! Happy Lunchboxing!!
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February 21, 2012 Edited in:
Winner, winner! The fat quarter bundle of HMYY give-away has now ended. Thank you all for joining in on the give-away! Using random.org for comments 1-551, the winner of the bundle is: #415 (which ironically is the area code for San Francisco) - Robyn!
Thank you everyone for your kinds words (and making me hungry for candy!) and playing along with Lori and me. And thank you most of all to Ayumi - sweet, sweet Ayumi, for sharing her beautiful pattern with us. I got a lot of comments about the Botan Rice Candy, and I don’t know if this is a West Coast thing - but you can find it in the Asian section of your local grocery store. Even in my teenie little Scandinavian town of Astoria - I can find it at my local Safeway and Fred Meyer. Oh Lewis & Clark, you came 200 years too soon and missed out.