It's a Log Cabin (and Beach!) Kind of Week...

I didn't realize it until about halfway through this week's projects, but apparently I was in a Log Cabin kind of mood. I started out using scraps to make hot pads for two of my neighbors. They've been so helpful and welcoming since we moved in that I wanted to give them a little gift.
Ever since seeing Leanne's hot pads over at She Can Quilt and Svetlana's coasters (which I originally thought were hot pads) at S.O.T.A.K. Handmade, I wanted to make hot pads. This was the perfect opportunity!

So I started with Log Cabins and then cut them on an angle for a more playful look.

Here are all four of them (two for each), pieced. I did two Log Cabins and two Courthouse Steps and then cut them all on an angle. Now I just need to quilt and bind!

Then, onto Fabric Friday. I have a huge crush on this print from Amy Butler's Daisy Chain collection for Westminster Fabrics.

So I bought some. I went shopping for fabric for a boppy for my sister, who is having a baby in September. (A boppy is a C-shaped pillow for supporting the baby and propping the baby up while breastfeeding.) I almost bought this fabric for her but ultimately went with something different. But I liked it so much, I bought it for myself, for another project I had in the works. 

This!

You see, we're headed to a week at the beach on Sunday. Right about Thursday night, I decided that I needed to make a beach bag. I'd seen this bag, using a quilt-as-you-go technique, over at Sew Take a Hike and put it on my idea list a while back. Well, it seemed like the perfect beach bag. So I pulled out my scraps and started piecing. But I just wasn't feeling it. Then I got to the quilt shop and saw the Daisy Chain fabric. And suddenly I was feeling it! I came home, pulled out an entirely different pile of fabrics (mostly Westminster/Free Spirit) and started piecing again. 

Close up of the front:

I pieced and quilted stripes for a big pocket on the back, and then used my new favorite fabric for the bag back, the handles and the lining. Yum! It just looks...beachy...doesn't it!?!

 I also put pockets on the inside, though they didn't photograph well. (And hey, there's a shot of the rose pink doors at my house!)

I will say this. The bag is ridiculously large. I always go sort of blindly into bag/purse making, trying to decide the perfect size, the perfect handle length, etc. I purposely made this one big, because hey, I have 2 small kids. Between towels, diapers, sunscreen, my e-book, snacks, wipes, etc....I'm not sure it'll all fit. But I can't wait to find out!

Linking up to show off my new beach bag 

at Confessions of a Fabric Addict's Can I Get a Whoop Whoop. 

Enjoy your weekend!

p.s. To my sister: If you like this fabric that I didn't buy for you, I'm happy to go back and buy more. Really. Another trip to the fabric store, no problem! :)