Geez, I finally sewed something again

I finally dusted off my sewing machine and made a gift bag for a friend's birthday.
(Jen, if you're reading this, look away....at least until I give this to you this weekend!)



I first came across this gorgeous grape fabric by Martha Negley for Westminster Fabrics.
Jen is a wine aficionado, so I figured she might like this.
Initially I just thought I'd make a simple drawstring bag, but my projects always tend to get more complicated, so I decided to make the Slouchy Yard Bag (tutorial on Lazy Daisy Cottage).

That meant another trip to the fabric store to find more designs in the Autumn Medley fabric line, and I ended up liking this Bright Mix even more.
So the grape fabric that started me on this project became the lining

I got the grape vines in the green colorway (it's called Burst Twigs) for the interior pockets.

I decided to use a wide purple satin ribbon for the handles.
I'm hoping maybe she can reuse the bag for light shopping.

Inside, my favorite gift to give friends right now: a soy candle from Bottlehood.
Bottlehood is a San Diego company that takes trash (bottles from restaurants, bars, etc) and cuts them into reusable bowls, vases, pendants, goblets, lamps, and candles.
They also make flattened bottles into cheese boards and spoon rests.
Eventually they hope to even turn glass into countertops.

They use unusually shaped bottles, and/or bottles with permanent designs (etched designs versus paper labels).
Most of the bottles are rather manly designs, like Stone Pale Ale's Arrogant Bastard.
But I love the harder-to-find Dolce wine bottle for feminine gifts, with its gold swirls and cascading grapes
I love supporting recycled projects, mom and pop businesses, and local businesses.
Bottlehood sells at San Diego Farmer's Markets, and also have a shop on Etsy.