Patchwork and my first zipper!

I wanted to make a grocery bag as a Christmas gift, and I thought it might be fun to make it in patchwork. I am pleased with the result, but I have learned several things:

• when working with patches, the final product comes out MUCH smaller than the sum of it's parts. I forgot about seam allowances!
• it is hard to make all those little seams match up. Boo.
  
• Interfacing is cool, but hard to put on the back of a patchwork piece. I think if I were to do this again I would interface the lining but not the patchwork - it came out a little wrinkled because it didn't lie completely flat.
  

So, although the final product is pretty, it's too small to put groceries in!
Then, I attempted to make a bag with my first zipper! It was easier than I thought it would be.


Last weekend I went down to Providence to spend the afternoon crafting with Carole Ann (you can see her cool stuff here). I am working on making a braided rug, and after several false starts, I think I've figured out how to work it so that it's really reversible. I'll write more about the process and post pictures soon...but I haven't had too much time to work on it since I've been thinking about/making Christmas presents! (Yes, I know...Thanksgiving was yesterday...but if I want to be done on time, I have to get started soon!)
I have been making several snowmen as gifts for my grandparents, and I'm going to make a paintbrush holder for my brother's girlfriend, who is a painting major at RISD. In my immediate family, we pick names from a hat and buy presents for just one person...and this year I got my dad, which means I have some serious thinking to do. I'd like to make him something, but he's a hard guy to give things to...any suggestions for brilliant gifts for the man who has everything? I think I will make him a set of microwaveable handwarmers...he teaches skiing in the winter, so that should be handly for the ski lift.

Happy crafting!