Has it really been two weeks?!

I knew I was behind, but really now - two weeks since my last post? Time flies when you're less than productive, I guess. I get these headaches now and then, and when I have them I don't feel like doing much except vegging on the couch, trying to avoid political ads. Is it November 5 YET??!?

Anyway, I did manage to get a few things done. For example, I finished the last two washcloths for my mom's card club gifts:




And I put together a couple of knitting project bags out of some pre-quilted fabric I got at Joann's last time it was on sale:

I just kind of cobbled them together, with no real pattern. I've seen the smaller ones made up at craft shows, etc. and it was really easy to make. The bigger one is (very) loosely based on a bag I saw here, but hers is a lot nicer. If I make another one, I might try to more closely replicate that one. Handles would be nice, but I can always add them to these somehow. I can be creative when I have to be. :-)

I realize now that I meant to use the other side of the quilted fabric on the smaller bag. I made it out of the separate pieces I'd originally cut for the bigger bag. It's hard to tell from the picture, but there are 3 rectangles of fabric sewn long sides together. You can see the seam on the left edge, below the zipper. The other side of the fabric is a smaller, all-over print and I thought the seaming would be less obvious with that. I like the black zipper better, but I didn't have any short black ones in my stash, so I used a cream one instead. I'm not taking it apart because:

A) It's Done!!
B) It's usable.
C) It doesn't look that bad the way it is.
D) It's a royal pain to rip the black thread out of these babies.

I did one more thing since I've been MIA - a commissioned quilt block for one of my co-workers, for her father-in-law's quilt. Actually, I only got part of it done. There's a paper-pieced Scottish thistle flower on a black background in the center, which is what I did over the weekend. Then it will have borders with the family's names embroidered on it and plaid cornerstones with all the colors in it. Unfortunately, the sister-in-law who is organizing the project wanted everything done on a white. So I'm going to make another center with a white background. We think it will look better on the black, especially given the borders and cornerstones we plan(ned) to use, but we want to keep peace in family, too. I'll take pictures of both when I get the other one done.

The only question I have now is: What do I charge for this?? It's one ~12" block (maybe two by the time I'm done). I purchased the paper piecing pattern, plus about half a yard of fabric, for a total of about $4. I won't use all of the fabric I bought and the rest of the fabric is coming from my stash. It took a couple of hours to put the center together. Or it would have if I hadn't screwed up and had to rip out three pieces of the one sections (add a seam allowance, stupid!). I haven't done the embroidery yet, but I guess I'll base that price on the number of stitches. I know a professional embroiderer, and can ask what the going rate is per thousand stitches. But overall, I have no idea. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! I think I'll go check e-bay for quilt blocks.....