Soft Toy Carrier/Mat

The Lego Bags are still going strong. So strong that one is being used to hold a bunch of Lego sets for the school's big fundraiser tomorrow night. The crochet t-shirt bag is also being pressed into service. It's the perfect home for the pile of crafting supplies. Both are part of a silent auction to benefit the school's PTC. (We're too frugal to pay to license the letter O.) Someone else is finding colorful plastic bins to hold two more sets of stuff, and the teachers are putting together a couple of book baskets.

Which left a pile of educational and preschool toys. Knowing that I had a pile of cute animal print fabric at home, I volunteered to make a bag for that. I found a pile of quilting fabric for the outside and a sheet from my grandfather's medical practice for the lining. (He had lovely linen sheets that softened with age and are still quite thick. It was light therapy, using giant lamps to treat skin and respiratory ailments, so nothing in the way of bodily fluids in his office.)

I decided to make a playmat bag, similar to the Lego ones, but without the plastic signs for stiffening. I did add one layer of stiff painted canvas in the center, to help things stay a little neater. I'll leave it up to the bidders to decide whether that's enough. The center fabric, a chalkboard theme, is left over from the sashing of a retirement quilt for our retired and now out of retirement interim principal. The cats and dogs and dinosaurs were purchased with an eye to making clothing for the girls. I think there's one finished skirt and a dress that got cut out but never sewn. I'm glad to see the fabric get used before they completely age out of it.

I really don't like velcro, so I went with a giant button to fasten the sides up. The handles are wide grosgrain ribbon doubled up for strength. My one concern now is that it is too gender-neutral and might be perceived as being too babyish. Then again, the toys include Wonder Pets and Thomas the Tank Engine Colorforms, so it may play beautifully to an age group that hasn't gotten too gender segregated yet. Now to buy the block and tackle off the winner to use in our house!