Two quick updates -- A second recycled t-shirt bag and new buttons for the Clock Towers

You may remember a few weeks ago I tried my hand at working with recycled t-shirts.  I finished one bag and had nearly enough for a second bag.  So, back to my drawer I went and scrounged up two more t-shirts that had seen better days.  Here is the second bag from recycled shirts.  I've been seeing a lot of grey in the stores this spring so I decided to make the top of the bag in shades of grey.  This also enabled me to put the darker colors at the bottom where the bag is more likely to get dirty.  I kept the ends visible on the top of the bag but buried the ends (where I changed color) on the bottom.  Again, because the bottom of the bag sees more dirt.  I may string some beads on these tails but the bag is already pretty heavy and it may not work.  Maybe I'll look for some wood beads rather than glass.

The bag is lined in the same fabulous floral as the bag below.  The handles were my one expense and were a significant one at that.  These handles are distributed by Jimmy Beans Wools, a great online knitting source.  They're made by Grayson B.  I've used them on probably 10 different bags.  Very high quality but not cheap.  I think these were about $35.  But, when the bag wears out, you cut the handles off and re-use.

So what am I going to do with the first bag?  Well, I'm saving it for one of my son's teachers.  He has three different main teachers.  They got lace scarves for Christmas so I'm doing bags for the end of the year.  More on the remaining two bags another time.  I finished one of them yesterday and it's great but I have reaffirmed my dislike of wooden handles.  Another story for another time.

Here's a shot of the new buttons I found for my Clock Tower tape measures.  I think they make a huge difference in the finished product.

All 11 tape measures are ready to be sewn and finished up.  I bought 15 tape measures so I have 4 extra to embellish in another way.  I think I'm going to do a couple of them as basketballs.  I have a fair amount of orange wool and I thought I could do the lines around the ball in a black satin stitch on the machine.  Cute, yes?  And, I guess I'll need a baseball as well since all three of my boys play.  Stay tuned...