My niece's birthday

Today is my neice's 9th birthday. It is a special day that I hold close to my heart. The sweet girl came into this world in Norfolk, VA when I was in my 2nd year of graduate school. My brother and sister-in-law were nearby in Norfolk while I was in Richmond. I remember it like it was yesterday. It seems like it was yesterday.

In honor of her day, I am featuring a present that I have been working on for her- a sweater bag. The sweater came from a sweater that was in the goodwill pile in the attic. The orange corduroy lining came from the thrift shop and the orange and white print came from Joann's. I used my new rotary cutter and a coloring page that I print from the internet to get the horse pattern. The horse was then zigzagged onto the sweater. The long strap is meant to be hung past the waist so the bag can be used for books, clothes, etc. I also made a change purse or makeup bag to go along with the sweater bag. eeeek! Makeup! Time flies.

Things I would have done differently now that I have the experience:
-Put some interfacing behind the sweater to make it more stiffer
-put a zipper inside the purse
-check the pattern that I cut out well before zigzagging (I noticed a few cuts in the fabric AFTER attaching to the purse)


She has been taking horseback riding lessons so I hope that she likes it. If you see her, don't tell her about it cause it is going to be a Christmas present. I didn't get it done in time to send to her on her birthday!