1st book group meeting...

we had our very first book group meeting last night which i hosted, i have affectionately called us 'the nerd roster'. i was a little bit nervous about having to lead the discussion on water for elephants, so i printed out some internet discussion questions like the nerd i am. the book talk went better than expected, and then it quickly took a left turn into other random topics of conversation...let's just say my face hurts from laughing so much. thank god no boys allowed in this little group.

because i was introducing a whole bunch of girls who didn't all know one another i thought it would be a nice gesture to give everyone a little book group gift to kick off the reading season, again, i am a nerd. so i decided to make personalized tote bags for everyone.

i went to the fabric store and picked out a few fun prints...


and then a few matching buttons...


i also went to the craft store and got a couple of these small canvas tote bags, small enough to fit a book and a bottle of wine (the key ingredients for any successful book group of course)...


i made stencils by printing out the first initial of all the girls in the group. i like american typewriter font at the moment so it's what i used...


then i used those letters as the pattern to cut out my fabric with...


before you cut out the fabric be sure to use some interfacing to stiffen the fabric a bit, it gives it a little more structure when you're cutting and sewing them onto the bags...


and then i used a zig zag stitch on my sewing machine to applique the letters onto the bags. i also hand sewed the corresponding buttons to each bag...


relatively painless little project, and i was happy to give the girls something to let them know how much i appreciate the beginning of our once a month get togethers.

for next book group we are reading olive kitteridge by elizabeth stout.