Five minute lavender bags.

 When you get post like this - a lucet (cord maker - I haven't tried one before), some jewellery findings and a bag of dried lavender, it's hard to know where to start!

I decided to make some speedy lavender bags to calm me from the excitement of opening the post.  If you have the right things to hand, you can make them in under five minutes each, so a real crafting quick fix!

First I half filled an organza gift bag (you know the sort, just pennies each through eBay or other wrapping providers).  I was half tempted to stop at that point, until I remembered that the first thing that either of my DD's would do when they came across them would be to open them to investigate the lavender, and I might never manage to re-fill it!  So I carried on with Plan A!  A line of machine stitching to keep the lavender in place, then a swift swipe with a rotary cutter.  My bag was about 3" x 4" at this point, so I cut a piece of fabric 5" x 8" and hemmed one of the short sides.  Then with the right side of the fabric facing up, I folded the hemmed side just less than 1/3 of the way across the fabric, before repeating the fold with the unhemmed side.  All that was needed now was a line of stitching across what were now the short ends of the folded fabric.  Turn the bag back to the right sides out, slip in the lavender sachet, and you have the perfect item to grace your knicker drawer.  Of course, you could also spot that the left-over end of the bag looks a bit like a flower when you draw the ribbons up, and stitch that on and even add beads to the end of the ribbons for extra pizazz - but that might just be gilding the lily (or, in this case, the lavender).

I've only done two bits of 'real' sewing this week.  I made a wall hanging for an online friend, and also started my quilting group's challenge to start a 'sew a row' quilt.  Mine looks very pink and girly, but the orange should give it a bit of a lift.  If when I get to the end of making the rows (and it's going to average a row a month, I think) I decide that it needs sashing, I think that I'd opt for lime green, at least, if I had some on hand I would.

I hope that you've managed some happy sewing time too!