Finally Done!!!

These three lovely bags were made for a dear friend of mine. Little did she know that it would take me the entire summer to finish them when she gave me the fabric in May!. The heat, the kids, the camp schedule, the heat again.....need I say more.

Anyways, the bags are based on my "backsack" bag I sell in my Etsy shop. It's a drawstring closure for the most part. I added a button to the third bag because I made it wider and a little shorter in height.

The fabric was provided by my friend and it was pre-quilted with a backing. So I had to figure out how to handle the pockets and unfinished edges. I treated it like a quilt and put a binding on all those edges.

I varied the shape and size of the pockets too. Now to make more for the shop!

My New Model

Here's my new model- Miss Gracie.

I made her a "buttercup" bag and she insisted on modeling it.

Miss Gracie says you will be seeing more of her on this blog since she has an exclusive contract with me, her mom.

By the way, if you like the bag you can get the pattern here. So far I have made two of these. Maybe I'll get to make one for myself one day!

Have a great day!

Healthy Banana Bread/Muffins

I have been baking banana bread since I was around 10 years old. We always had tons of bananas around since my dad drove a delivery truck for a local banana distributor and would always bring home bags of them. It wasn't a very exciting job until he told me stories of how once in a while the bananas came in with tarantulas in the boxes!

My recipe for banana bread has evolved quite a bit since those early days with mom and dad. It seems every time I make it I add something new. Lately I have been sticking to the following recipe where I have tried to make it a little more healthy by adding some whole wheat flour and flax seed. It is one of the few things my son will eat that I bake so I love to pack it with nutritious ingredients. I also use this recipe to make muffins which are great to pack for a snack for work or school.

Healthier Banana Bread/Muffins

makes 2 loaves or 1 loaf and a dozen muffins

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

4 eggs,beaten

2 tsp. Vanilla extract

3 large mashed bananas

2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 TBLS. ground flax seed

1 cup oats (old fashioned or quick)

1 cup shredded coconut, sweetened

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350.

• Combine sugar and oil in a large bowl. Add eggs, vanilla and bananas, stir well.
• Sift together both flours, baking powder, baking soda & salt. Add to banana mixture and stir well.
• Now add flax seed, oats, coconut, raisins, cranberries, nuts & chocolate chips to the mixture
• and stir until combined.
• Spray loaf pans with non- stick spray such as PAM and/or line muffin pan with paper liners.
• Fill baking pans and bake muffins for approximately 20 minutes and loaves for 45 to 55 minutes, until tester (toothpick) comes out clean.
• Cool on rack for 5 mintues and then remove from pans and place on rack to cool completely.

Hope you get a chance to try it. Have a great day!