Boxy but good*

-like Volvos?*

 Before starting on the Christmas presents I took time out to make something for myself. I always seem to have several knitting and stitching projects on the go. Now I might have spent some time finishing them, but instead I decided it was more fun to sew some box bags to put them in ;-)

I used this tutorial as my starting point, but couldn't resist doing my own thing. First of all I quilted them instead of adding interfacing. My handle is shorter and narrower than in the original and I added binding strips to the seams on the inside, handstitching them closed to make a nice finish and make sure yarn or needles don't get tangled up in fraying raw edges.

Once I had finished the first two, and deciding that they were a bit smaller than I wanted, I had a bit of a rethink, and came up with the solution of adding square end pieces. It was a bit fiddly to sew, but I manged, and I ended up with bags that are just the right size for a couple of balls af yarn and a half finished shawl.

Once all my bags were finished and the UFOs tucked out of the way, I set to work on the Christmas pressies. I'm not overdoing it this year: some placemats and table runners, that's all. More about them during the weekend.

*Quote from the 1990-film Crazy People, starring Dudley Moore - somehow this phrase has just stuck in my mind since way back, kind of like the British "Naughty but nice"-commercial for cream back in the 80s... Now if only I could remember some important stuff ...