On the Go Bags Book Tour + Giveaway!

Lindsay Conner of Lindsay Sews and Craft Buds and Janelle MacKay of Emmaline Bags have released a new book--On the Go Bags—15 Handmade Purses, Totes & Organizers (Stash Books)--and they invited me to contribute a project! You cannot believe how excited I am to have one of my new design projects, the Cart or Stroller Caddy, published in their book. I can check another item off my bucket list!

The book is available this month at CTPub.com (affiliate link) and January 7th on Amazon! Add it to your holiday wishlist now. Want to win a copy of the book? Read the review and all about the giveaway at the end of the post.

When Lindsay first told me her idea about the book, I had the perfect project in mind. When my children were little and used to ride in the grocery cart seat, I would often have a difficult time managing a grocery list, coupons, and snacks and toys for my child. I found that my child's stroller also lacked the convenient storage I needed for smaller items. I needed a hanging organizer that would fit over the handlebar, so one afternoon, I sewed together the pocket organizer I had been imagining in my head. I never got around to sharing the organizer on my blog, but when Lindsay asked me for a project idea for the book, I knew it was the one!

Why I Blog...

A couple of weeks ago, Carrie from Right Sides Facing asked if I'd like to participate in a blog hop where I would have to answer some questions regarding why I blog. This particular post topic has been overdue for me for a long time, and I actually have attempted to write about my reasons for blogging for sometime now. Apparently, I unknowingly played a small part in Carrie starting up her own blog (read about it HERE), and now in return, she has encouraged me to open up a little more about why I blog. Thanks, Carrie!

I know I have said a few times in the past that sewing and blogging have changed my life, but I've never gone into great detail on the specifics of "how".  I'll attempt to explain a few of those reasons for you now.

Why do I blog?

Baby Sleep Sack and Giveaway!

Today I'm participating in the Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop (affiliate link) Lullaby Line Pattern Tour!  Get ready to melt when you see the sweetness on my blog today!

This post contains my affiliate links for Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop.  All opinions are my own.

As many of you know, I am good friends with Lindsay from Lindsay Sews and Craft Buds.  Well, Lindsay recently had a baby boy, and I needed a good excuse to go visit her so I could hold the baby! I sewed together a quick sleep sack using one of the patterns from the Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop Lullaby Line and then headed out the door to deliver the gift to little Elliot!

I think he likes it! Yay!

Baby Elliot is such a precious little one who is just 3 weeks old in these pictures.  He already weighs nearly 10 pounds, so I decided to sew together this 3-6 month sized sleep sack which only took about an hour to finish.  I used some left over Super Hero Shannon Fabric's Cuddle from a previous project I blogged about and added some black ribbed knit for the neck and armhole binding.

The Sleep Sack Pattern was a breeze to follow with its step-by-step written instructions and color photographs to use as a guide.  Installing the zipper was even a cinch!  The pattern even comes with a footed sleep sack option for bigger kids (sadly, my kids are already too big for that though!).

I know I will be using the Sleep Sack Pattern as well as many of the others, like the Baby Gown, Body Suit, Pants and Shorts, and Baby Hat, from the collection whenever I need a quick baby gift for a friend or one of my husband's co-workers.  The entire collection of 6 patterns is a great deal for just $35, or you can buy them individually.

Be sure to visit all the other bloggers from this past week (including my other good friend, Sewing Mama RaeAnna) to see more squishy babies and adorable little clothes for them.  You'll be glad you did!

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And don't forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win one of three $50 gift cards to Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop!  Wow!  That will buy you a lot of terrific patterns!  To keep up with all the latest pattern releases, be sure to follow the Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop Blog.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks to Lindsay for taking pictures and allowing Elliot to be a model for me today.  I think he's already testing out the sleep sack!

Have fun sewing!