Thursday, December 20, 2007

The Wine in the Gray Flannel Suit


I took a break from annoying and ambitious Christmas presents tonight and stopped for a drink with a friend who will be away over the holidays. When I got home, I started putting together my gifts for work tomorrow and realized that I had 3 bottles of wine for my 3 lawyers, but no gift bags to put them in.

Went upstairs, rummaged in the stash and the trim drawer and came up with some elderly gray wool suiting, a swatch of dark green dupioni silk and some old hair ribbons. 2 hours later I had 3 gift bags that certainly won't look like any other gift bags the boys will get this year.

These were really simple - I just cut squares of the wool in the approximate shape of the bottles, added a band of green across the top (most of which would be tucked down inside the bag), and then sewed 6 buttonholes across the bag while it was still flat. Then I pinned it, tried it around a bottle which I just happened to have in the workroom, and sewed the side seam. I cut a circle for the bottom and added it, not particularly evenly, I'll admit. Then I threaded the ribbon through the buttonholes, folded the green band down inside the bag, and pressed the whole thing. Added the wine bottle, tied the bow and the boys are done. Maybe they'll even share the contents.

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