Latest batch of chemo caps

No news or observations to share -- I've got my head down, ignoring the world, while writing the first draft of what's tentatively called A DEALER OF DEATH (Helen Binney #3) -- so all I've got is a picture of my latest collection of (27) chemo caps to be donated this summer. Yeah, I do lean toward shades of blue when I choose the yarn. The other colors are generally from yarn donated by a friend.

Author's got a brand new bag

I'm going to the RWA conference in a couple weeks, and I am NOT a good traveler. I start out all organized, and I've got my ticket and my picture ID and everything that needs to be laid out for security checks (like my laptop), all ready. But somehow, by the time I get to the checkpoint, I can't find anything, and I'm struggling with my luggage while being too stubborn and cheap to get some help.

But this time will be different! (I'm always saying that, but I really believe it this time.) I've got a brand new bag, with a main pocket for my ticket and ID and knitting and whatever odds and ends I need at hand while at the airport, and an outer pocket that's exactly the size of my wee little ChromeBook, making for easy access, either for the security check or for actually using it.

It's quilted, made out of scraps in colors that will match any shade of khaki pants I happen to be wearing in warm weather. It's also got an extra-long strap, for wearing the bag messenger-style, freeing up my hands for juggling my luggage.

Front (on top) and back (with ChromeBook peeking out):

Now I have to make a winter-colored one, since I made my last winter one a couple weeks before I got my ChromeBook, and it's about 1/2" too small to hold it.

Holiday cards

A few years ago, I got some adhesive-backed magnet sheets, and went hog-wild making fridge magnets. Since then, I've saved my favorite cards each Christmas, for re-use as magnets. I have a teeny-weeny fridge (just a little bigger than dorm-sized), or I'd have more.

They're easy to make, and fun to arrange on the fridge. All you really need is the magnet sheets (check out Magnet Valley, which is where I got mine) and a pair of sharp scissors. (The 20-mil thickness is fine if you're just affixing the cards; you might want the 30-mil if you're embellishing with things that are heavier than the card stock.) I like to use a rotary cutter (don't use a fresh blade, because the paper will ruin it; an old blade that's not sharp enough for fabric will work fine on this project -- I always keep a few old blades on hand for paper and miscellaneous products) for really straight/square edges, and a gridded, see-through ruler, like the ones from Omnigrid, which helps with cropping.

I usually crop the card, and then cut a piece of the magnet sheet about a quarter of an inch smaller, and then affix the magnet to the card, making sure to keep the  magnet hidden. As long as the magnet is smaller than the card, it doesn't have to be quite so perfectly aligned as if you cut the two pieces to identical sizes.

If I have left-over scraps of magnet to use up, I do the opposite, affixing the magnet to the back of the card, taking care to center it as best I can, and then crop the card (and magnet, if necessary).

If you don't have enough cards (probably because your fridge isn't a member of the itty bitty fridgie committee), or you want to have a bit more of a color theme, you can make some filler magnets using a favorite wrapping paper. I find that they're not as durable, though, and are more susceptible to the coating of grease that tends to accumulate on everything in kitchens.

NOTE: I did not get compensated for the mention of any products here, and did not receive any free products. I just really like Omnigrid's rulers, better than others that are out there, and the products I bought from Magnet Valley were as advertised and shipped in a timely manner. 

How to make a t-shirt pillow

To make  your own t-shirt pillow, you'll need:

• t-shirt
• fusible web or fusible interfacing
• scrap of fabric larger than the pillow's dimension
• thread, pins, scissors or rotary cutter
• sewing machine
• iron
• marking pencil
• pillow form

Start by deciding what size pillow you'll be making. Measure the design from top to bottom and side to side. The larger dimension is the minimum size for the pillow. I recommend adding a couple inches on each side of the image, to give it a bit of a frame, rather than having the design bump right up against the edge of the pillow. You may not have that option, depending on where the design is and what shape it is.

The burgundy pillow below has a very wide but short design, so the pillow needed to be about 18" square to accommodate the width. There was plenty of fabric on the left and right of the design to get to that size, but the design was printed only about 3" from the neck of the t-shirt. The pillow would have looked odd if the design was at the top of the pillow, rather than centered, so I added a strip above the design, and then folded and stitched the fabric an equal distance below the design to make it look like there was a seam there too.

The black pillow above was more straightforward. The design was about 9" x 11", so I decided on a pillow size that was 14" square, which gives me 2 1/2" of framing on the sides and 1 1/2" of framing at the top and bottom.

I use a 1/2" seam on the pillows, so you need to add twice that (1") to the finished size to get the ideal cutting size. For the black pillow, that meant a 15" square. T-shirt material can stretch when marking and cutting, though, so I like to add a little bit to compensate for that, and the extra can be trimmed away later, so for the black pillow, my goal was to cut a 15 1/2" square.

Make sure the design is centered in your square. The easiest way to do that is to simply fold the t-shirt in half vertically. Then measure half the square's size (7 3/4" in my example) from the fold on each side and mark a vertical line. Unfold the shirt and re-fold it horizontally, and do the same thing. If you want to be more accurate, one option is to take a piece of paper (a paper grocery bag is good) or cardboard that's larger than the size you plan to cut, and then cut a square from its center, the size of the square you will be cutting from the t-shirt, forming a frame that you can place on top of the t-shirt and move until it's centered properly. Then mark around the inside of the frame. Another option, if you're a quilter with a quilting ruler, and you know how to fussy-cut fabric images, is to follow the same fussy-cutting procedure, but with a marker to draw a square of the desired size from the front of the shirt.

For cutting the pieces, I like to use a rotary cutter, because it's less likely to distort the stretchy fabric, but scissors will work if you're careful. First, cut away the neck binding and sleeves. Then, cut along one side of the t-shirt, from the armhole to the hem, so you have a flat piece of fabric. The main thing to remember is that you don't want to risk cutting into the back of the t-shirt when you cut the square from the front of the t-shirt. Cut the marked square from the front of the t-shirt and set it aside. 

Next, you will cut the back of the pillow from the back of the t-shirt. I like pillow backs that fold over each other (envelope style), so there's no need for a zipper, and yet the pillow cover can be removed for washing. If you want to use a zipper or permanently sewn-in-place cover, just cut a square from the back that's the same size as the front square. 

For an envelope style pillow, start by cutting the t-shirt's back into a large rectangle, the width of the front square WITHOUT the extra added for stretching (15" in my example) and the full length of the back of the shirt. Next, figure out how long each of the sections of the back need to be. They overlap, and the amount of overlap is somewhat random. I usually add about 3" to the size the pieces would be if there was no overlap. In other words, take the size of the pillow front WITHOUT the extra added for stretching (15" in my example), divided it in half (7 1/2") and add 3", more or less, rounding up to an easy number to remember (11" in my example). If  you'll be turning under the edge, add another inch, so it would be 12" in my example. Most of the time, I add the inch to only one of the two sections, since I usually leave the t-shirt's hem in place and use it for the finished edge of one of the backing pieces. It saves me time, and the original hem is usually neater than anything I can do myself. For the second piece, without the pre-finished edge, turn under half an inch along one long edge and stitch it down. Two rows of stitching about 1/4" apart will help to keep it from rolling.

Before you sew the pieces together, I recommend stabilizing the front piece. It's generally not a problem if the smaller back sections stretch a bit, and the stretch can make it easier to stuff the pillow, but you don't want the front to stretch out of shape. You can either interface the pillow front, and then line it, or simply fuse the pillow front to a scrap of fabric. Either way, you'll need to cut a square of the interfacing/webbing and a square of the scrap fabric. These squares should be the size of the pillow front WITHOUT the extra added for stretching (15" in my example).

Follow the manufacturer's instructions for the interfacing/webbing, and fuse it to the back of the pillow's front. Be careful not to use too hot an iron or  you will melt the shirt's ink. If you used interfacing, rather than fusing the design directly to the scrap of fabric, pin the fabric square on top of the interfacing and baste the layers together about 1/4" from the raw edges. Otherwise, the friction of stuffing the pillow may damage the interfacing. Trim any excess of t-shirt material that extends beyond the interfacing/lining.

The next step is the only tricky one, which is to figure out which of the two backing pieces will be on top when it's finished. For the black pillow, I needed to interface and line one of the pieces, since there's a second design featured there. I wanted that piece to end up on top when the pillow was finished. Usually, I want the pre-finished shirt hem to be on top, although in the picture below, I needed the other piece to be on top for design reasons.

Here's the trick to getting it right. Lay the front of the pillow on the pinning table, right side of the fabric up, and oriented so that the design is also right side up. Then, lay the piece that you want to be on top when you're done, wrong side up (in other words, the right side of the front fabric and the right side of the back piece are facing each other), along the upper edge of the pillow, matching the raw edges on the sides. The finished edge will be in the middle of the square. You can see that first piece (with the yellow backing) in the picture above. 

Next, place the piece the remaining back section, wrong side up, along the bottom edge of the front piece, matching the raw edges and again having the finished edge in the middle of the square. In the picture, I have one corner of the bottom section turned down, so you can see the three layers -- pillow front, top back section and bottom back section. That corner should be aligned with the right edge of the pillow when you have the three pieces laid out.

The rest is easy. Pin the layers in place. Stitch 1/2" from the edge along all four sides. If you have a zig-zag stitch on  your machine, you can go around the edge a second time with a zig-zag, or just do a second row of straight stitching 1/4" from the edge to minimize the raveling.

All that's left is to turn it right side out and fill it with a pillow form.

Green tomato jam

I had a lot of green tomatoes this year, thanks to early blight. The plants had died, and the tomatoes would have rotted if I'd tried to let them ripen, so I chopped them up before the blight affected them. I like to make green tomato mincemeat from my great-grandmother's recipe, and I made a large batch, but I still had 4 pounds of green tomatoes left, and I really didn't need any more mincemeat, since I had plenty for a couple pies for each of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I went looking for alternative uses for the tomatoes and came up with green tomato jam. It's sort of like ginger-flavored honey with bits in. (I love the British "with bits in" phrasing, and it seems appropriate, because the jam has a passing likeness with marmalade, a Brit favorite, which has citrus bits in.)

Here's what I did, modified by what I wish I'd done (namely, use a food mill, which I don't have, to remove the seeds and get a smoother texture for everything except the lemon peel):

2 lb green tomatoes, chopped (and de-seeded if you don't have a food mill) and frozen, then thawed and thoroughly drained overnight to remove excess liquid. Toss the liquid (or use it to water the garden).
2 cups sugar (might start with half of this, to see if it's enough, and only add more toward the end, if necessary)
1 cup cider (to replace the tossed liquid and add some pectin)
1 stick cinnamon, broken in half
1" piece of ginger root, peeled and diced into tiny bits

Toss all of these things into non-reactive pan and bring to a boil for a few (maybe three to five) minutes, just to heat everything. Cover and let sit for several hours (or overnight) to absorb the ginger flavor.

This is what I didn't do, but wish I had: run through a food mill to remove seeds and skins. Alternatively, if you removed the seeds before freezing the tomatoes, then you could whirl the partially cooked stuff in a food processor until reasonably smooth. There would still be some skin bits, but that's okay.

Return to pan.
Take 1 lemon, and peel the zest (just the yellow part, not the white part). Cut the zest into itty-bitty pieces. 
Add the lemon zest and the juice of the lemon to the tomato mixture. (You could do this before the first cooking, but I like the texture of the little lemon bits, sort of like marmalade, so I prefer to keep them intact, not pureed.)

Bring it to a boil and just keep boiling it until it reduces by at least a third, possibly more. It never really gelled like jelly, but reached the texture of warm honey, and when it cooled it was a little more solid, like cold honey or cold molasses. Process or keep refrigerated.

It's EXTREMELY sweet. Really, a lot like honey. The sugar could be cut back. I cut it down from the original recipe, but I added cider, which is also pretty much pure sugar, so I should perhaps have cut back even more on the refined sugar. 

The places where I found the recipes to get me started all suggested using it with cream cheese on crackers. I do think it would be best with something savory to balance out the sweetness. I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to use mine, because I'm not much of a cracker eater.

All Dinos Eve

I made several versions of this simple square-in-square quilt for my nieces, finishing the last one just recently. The fabric is from the 1990s, when I started quilting. You can see below that the two main prints (orange and black backgrounds) feature brightly colored dinosaurs going trick-or-treating. The border stripes, purchased at the same time, I believe, have more traditional cats and ghosts. 

Pumpkin pie in a jar

I've been obsessed with jam/jelly-making lately. One day, when the crabapples weren't quite ripe, and the green tomatoes (to be made into jam) were frozen, and I didn't want to spend any money, I decided to make pumpkin butter. Except with butternut squash, because I had a bunch of them, including a couple that had blemishes, and wouldn't keep for long without cooking them.

Generally, butternut squash can be substituted for anything made out of pumpkin. I read somewhere that butternuts are actually sweeter and more flavorful than even the sweetest pumpkin, but I think there are proponents on both sides of that debate. All I know is that I find butternuts easier to grow, and I don't have room for both butternuts and pumpkins. So, butternut is my preference.

I did some research and found a bunch of pumpkin butter recipes online. The gist of them all is to mix the squash/pumpkin, a very little liquid (squash releases some when it's heated), sugar, spices and maybe lemon juice, and simmer until the vegetable pieces are mushy. Apparently, pumpkin butter is particularly popular in Portugal, and is more of a chutney, with raisins and nuts mixed in. I was also intrigued by a pumpkin-apricot jam and some spreads that were a hybrid of pumpkin butter and marmalade, with citrus bits included.

I wasn't prepared to spend any money or go to the grocery store, so I limited myself to what I had on hand: squash, sugar, and spices. I also had lemons, which were called for in the recipes I read, probably as a sop to getting the squash high-acid enough for water-bath canning. It's not considered safe to use this method of preserving squash, not even with the added lemon, so I planned to simply refrigerate the butter or freeze it. I didn't need the lemon juice for its acidity, and I doubted the lemon juice flavor would be noticeable in such a highly spiced concoction, but thinking of the marmalade-style versions, I decided to add some lemon rind bits, which hold their flavor better than the juice does. The little bits got more mushy than the usual chewy marmalade bits, but they're a nice little burst of lemon flavor.

Final recipe:

8 to 9 cups of butternut squash, peeled, cored and diced (or you can substitute two 29-oz cans of pumpkin puree)
Shaved peel of 1/2 lemon, just the very outer zest, not the bitter white part, cut into tiny bits
2 Tablespoons pumpkin pie spice from Penzey's (or the pumpkin pie spice mix of your choice)
1 1/2 to 2 cups of brown sugar (most recipes suggested 2 cups, but I like it a bit less sweet; you can start with the lower amount and add more at the end if necessary; I tried to go even lower, but needed a bit more than the 1 cup I started with)
1 cup water or cider

Toss everything into a slow cooker on high for an hour or so, then turn it down to low until the squash is mushy. Use an immersion blender or whisk or just a wooden spoon to smash it into a smooth consistency. Taste and adjust the sugar and spices, as needed.

Lay two wooden spoons or two metal knives across the top of the slow cooker and put the lid on top of the spoons, to allow the liquid to escape, and continue cooking on low until the butter thickens to a really dense texture, thicker than applesauce. Do a final taste test and any necessary adjustments. Ladle into clean jars and use within thirty days. If you want to keep it longer, use freezer-safe jars and freeze the butter.

Makes 4 to 5 cups (roughly half of whatever amount of squash is used)

P.S.: Ignore the "Classico" on the lids. I save and reuse those lids for things that are NOT processed, because I find the rings annoying for daily use. You need to use the official lids if you're processing jams, but as noted above, pumpkin/squash should be kept refrigerated or frozen, not "canned" and left on the shelf. Of course, at the rate I'm eating this stuff, it wouldn't go bad before I used it up anyway!

Cheapskates make their own pillowcases

My budget has taken a series of hits in the last month – like car repairs of the "when we went to fix the X, we noticed that Y and Z needed replacing too" variety, and a hot-water heater that failed – so I'm going into hyper-cheapskate mode.

Before I glued my wallet shut, I'd been thinking that I needed some new pillowcases, because I'd already been in fairly-frugal mode, and mine were worn out. There are some things that I believe are worth the extra money for top quality, because the quality really makes a difference, and pillowcases are one of those things. A quick look on-line tells me I'd be looking at somewhere between $20 and sky-high for just one pair of pillowcases. Definitely not in the budget right now.

But it got me to thinking. I don't need fancy pillowcases, and I had this one fitted sheet that was really worn in the middle, right where I sleep, but was fine along the edges. Whaddya know – the unworn edges were just about the same width as a pillow case. I now have three "new" pillowcases, with the extra added benefit that the cotton has been broken in nicely (which is another reason why I hate to let go of a favorite pillowcase; they get so nice and soft after they've been washed a few dozen times). I saved twenty-to-infinity dollars, and I don't have to feel guilty about throwing stuff into the landfill.

If you want to make your own pillowcases, it's easy enough for a beginning sewer. It took me about an hour, total, to make three of them. All you need is an old sheet with about 2' of still-good fabric along each of the edges, a sewing machine that sews a straight stitch (nothing fancy required, but you can pretty up the cases if you have embroidery options on the machine), scissors, a few pins, a measuring tape and thread. Oh, and an iron. An iron can be your best friend when you're sewing cotton fabrics.

Short version of the instructions for advanced sewers (in this case, "advanced" just means you know what a French seam is, and have stitched one before): Cut or tear rectangles that are approximately 20-22" wide by 70" long. Fold in half, right sides OUT, to form a rectangle that's 20-22" wide by 35" long. Turn under the short ends by approximately 4 1/2", then turn the raw edge under an additional 1/2". Stitch these 4" sections down, about 1/8" to 1/4" away from turned-under raw edges, to from the opening of the pillowcase. Then sew French seams along each long edge to join and finish those edges. You can also use two pieces that are 20-22" wide by about 36" long, and simply add an extra French seam along one of the short edges.

Longer version for beginner sewers:

First, remove the elastic along the edges, and cut along the seam at the corner pockets, so the sheet will lie flat.

If you're not afraid to tear fabric, that's the easiest way to get straight edges for your pieces. Starting with the lengthwise edges of the sheet, tear a piece that's 20-22" wide, depending on what's still good on the sheet and the size of your pillow, by the length of the sheet. You should be able to get one piece that's approximately 70" in length from each long edge, and a shorter piece, at least 36" long, from each of the top and bottom edges. These sizes are approximate and generous. You can get away with narrower and shorter pieces, and a smaller turn-down at the pillowcase's opening, if you don't have enough fabric or want a tighter fit, or you can go larger for an over-sized pillow.

Take one of the long pieces, and fold it in half, with the right sides OUT and the wrong sides inside, touching each other. I know; it will look funny, if you've never done a French seam before, but do it anyway. Iron the bejeebers out of it, so it's nice and smooth, and all the edges are lined up neatly. Pin the side seams only about halfway from the folded edge up to what will be the opening of the pillowcase.

Turn under the raw edges at the opening of the pillowcase by 4 1/2" and iron them to create a nice crease along the pillowcase's opening edge. Fold the inner raw edge another 1/2", so the raw edge will be hidden inside the turn-under. Make sure the 1/2" turn-under lies flat, and the fold at the opening of the pillow is still flat and unwarped. This is the deep hem you'll see at the opening of a finished pillow case. Pin it in place, and stitch close to where the 1/2" is turned under (about 1/8" to 1/4" away from the edge). Do this for both of the edges of the pillowcase's opening. If you happen to have a fancy sewing machine with embroidery stitches, and you want to fancy up the pillow case, now is the time to do it, before the sides are stitched together.

Pin the remainder of the sides together, making sure that the edges at the pillowcase's opening are neatly aligned. Now we're going to do the French seams. If you want an overview, you can check out this tutorial. I usually skip the trimming step after the first seam, but if  your seam allowance is uneven, trimming is a good idea.

Stitch both sides, with a 1/4" seam. Again, this will look funny to anyone who's used to making clothes with a 5/8" seam, but bear with me. And, yes, you should be making the seam with the RIGHT side of the fabric out, and the WRONG side inside.

Go back to your iron, and turn the pillowcase inside out. Iron the bejeebers out of those 1/4" seams you just made, so that all of the layers are pushed to one side of the seam (not opened, like you'd do for dressmaking), and then iron them flat, as if you were ironing the pillowcase in order to put it on the pillow, inside-out. Pin the seams in place, and stitch them again, this time approximately 1/2" from the edge. The end result is that the raw edges will be enclosed between the first 1/4" seam and the second 1/2" seam.

Turn them right side out, snip any stray bits of thread and iron the bejeebers out of them again, and you're done.

For the pieces that are half-size (20" x 36"), the procedure is the same, except that you'll also stitch the short end, opposite the pillow case's opening, the same way that you stitch the sides. In that case, pin (RIGHT sides out) and stitch two long edges and one short edge with a 1/4" seam, turn everything inside out, iron, and stitch all three edges with a 1/2" seam. You'll probably find that the corners aren't as neat as when you can simply fold one end of the pillowcase, but it's not really noticeable once the case is on the pillow.

As a final note, I don't recommend making your own pillowcases out of quilting fabric, or fabric you might find in a thrift store or at a flea market. It's not as high a thread count as the fabrics made specifically for sheets, so it's not as soft as you might expect, and if you could find a high enough thread count, it would be more expensive than simply buying good pillowcases. On the other hand, you can also make pillowcases out of top sheets that you aren't using, perhaps because the bottom sheet wore out first. You'll have to do the math to figure out how to maximize the available fabric, but you should be able to get three or four pillowcases out of a top sheet.

Go bags

I love the concept of "go bags," also known as bug-out bags. The basic idea is to compile basic supplies in a single, easily and quickly accessible bag, that you could grab and go in seconds, in the event of an emergency.

I first became aware of them some years ago when a friend was undergoing cancer treatments. He would sometimes go see his oncologist for what he thought was a routine visit, and then be admitted to the hospital (a good hour-long drive from home) for anywhere from one night to a week. We created a Go Bag for him that contained the basics he'd need for an overnight stay, so no one would have to fetch them for him. It included things like an extra pair of socks and underwear, a light blanket, a pack of playing cards, non-perishable snacks (nuts, granola, raisins, crackers, hard candy), a book (or magazines and puzzles).

Their use isn't limited to emergencies and survivalist fears. I keep a Go Bag packed with the basics for traveling, like duplicates of favored toiletries and a few pairs of brand new underwear and a notebook for story ideas. When it's time to pack, I just throw the Go Bag into the suitcase, along with whatever stuff I need for that particular trip. If I traveled more, I'd keep a week's worth of my daily meds in a pill dispenser (it's definitely a good idea to have that prepared for an emergency type of Go Bag), but I travel so seldom that it's not worth the effort to remember to swap out the pills every few months.

The picture above is my Go Bag for little knitting projects. I can keep it packed and just grab it when I'm heading out for a doctor's appointment or anywhere else I might end up sitting and waiting, with nothing to do. Mostly I make chemo caps, so I customized this bag to be the right size (roughly 12" square) for enough yarn to make two or three caps (each cap takes several hours to knit, but I like having options for colors), plus the knitting needles, a ruler/gauge, print-out of the directions (in case of brain fog; I've made so many of these, I could recite the directions in my sleep, but sometimes I blank out on the lace pattern on the edge), and a pair of non-pointy scissors. Inside, there's a pocket that's just the right size to hold the double-pointed needles that are used toward the top of the hat, where the circumference is too small for the circular needle that's used on the rest. I hadn't planned on a handle until it dawned on me that it's a lot easier to grab the bag that way. By then, it was too late to put it at the top, so I just added it to the side. I kinda' like it there, actually, since it's out of the way when I'm zipping and unzipping the bag.

The little bit of yarn near the zipper pull is functional, not a random thing. I don't know why, but my cats like to run with finishing needles (which I suppose is better than running with scissors, but still not something I encourage). They don't do it with the knitting needles themselves, but if I don't hide the finishing needles or tie them down, they disappear within twenty-four hours of buying them. Even though the needle is three or four inches long, it's hard to find at the bottom of a bag, so for easy access, I thread a bit of left-over yarn through the needle, knot it at the end, and then loop it around the zipper pull's opening, and then stick the needle inside the bag.

Pillows from t-shirts

This is a pillow I made out of a t-shirt.

Clutter-free!

I've been working particularly hard recently, and decided I needed a reward. I went for something that was both a treat and something that would help me to keep working by improving the ergonomics of my desk set-up.

My monitor wasn't high enough for proper viewing, and it was irritating my neck. I could have easily propped another packet of paper under it, since the one I had wasn't enough:

But then I saw an ingenious idea for making at monitor stand out of a pre-finished shelf and four door-stops, and I HAD to have one:

I love that I can even slide the keyboard under the shelf, and have a huge cleared area to work on things that don't involve typing. All for a grand total of about eighteen bucks (and calling in a favor from a friend to drill the holes for the feet).

Christmas wrapping

I sometimes make gift bags to put my little quilts into. This is one made out of the left-over scraps of backing material from a Christmas quilt.