The bird bag I showed you last time was very gratefully received by my coworker. And the buffalo plaid hoodie is comfortable and cosy and I was wearing it constantly the last couple of days.

I have now added another garment to my wardrobe….

This is a mashup of a sleeveless summer top that I invented a couple of years ago and the dolman sleeved top with the ruching from last year. I literally taped the two homemade pattern pieces together and ran this up.

The flared hem drapes nicely at the sides. I narrowed the waist area slightly and made the sleeves three-quarter length.

I accidentally started cutting the front neck without a seam allowance so the neckline is a bit deeper too.

Note the new haircut – shortest sides ever – a proper undercut! And professional colour!

My other finish was a backpack made from fluffy pink chenille. Not your average bag! I had a remnant of it, and paired it with a fleece remnant for the lining. Pulled a couple of coordinating zippers out of the stash, and some curtain grommets. The only thing I needed to buy was a couple of large silver D rings.

It took me a while to figure out the best number of grommets and I was concerned that the two thick layers might be a problem, but it all came together well. There are two very large inside pockets so that everything doesn’t just get mixed up in there.

My last conundrum was a strap and in the end I decided to use some acrylic DK yarn, made into icord with my little machine, and crocheted into a chain with my biggest hook.

Ta dah!