The Challenge: Make something to use for a picnic, like a basket or a tote, etc. A square quilt. 50”x50” is the standard picnic size measurement, but any size square works for this hop!
For this hop I created a fun little tote that turns into a picnic blanket OR small picnic table cover. I found the tutorial for this little tote HERE.
The pattern suggests using canvas (which I did) and while that works, I think if I were to make it again, I would definitely use some sort of interfacing to give it a little more structure when it is in the bag form. Check out the video at the bottom to see how it works. The video was taken while the phone was strapped to my head with my headband lol, so it isn’t the best.
I took the photos in my beautiful growing garden. My other passion includes gardening and preserving nature’s bounty. I built a whole new garden space this spring and it is full of life now.
I have harvested strawberries, blueberries, garlic, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots and banana peppers so far. My onions, black beans, cranberry Vermont beans, green beans, tomatoes and other peppers are coming along really nice.
Like I mentioned above, I love to can and preserve the food that I grow. I won’t start talking about how the food we eat is filled with more and more of what we don’t need, as I still buy and consume a lot of those things, but I am trying to learn and move to eating more homegrown and homemade things. I even started my very first sourdough starter and I am excited for that journey as well. My family is going to be the hardest to transition as my children are very picky eaters and my husband likes what he likes.
The photo below is my new garden/canning favorite: zapples! Zapples are zucchini chunks that are seasoned with cinnamon and brown sugar (and citric acid to raise the ph so they are safe for canning) and they taste just like hot apples! My children loved them and my husband ate them and actually thought they were apples before I told them they were not! WIN!
The video below shows you how to put the bag back together once it has been a blanket.
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Tuesday July 18
Continue to bloom by choosing JOY ~ Julia
Your bag is really clever and pretty, and your garden is amazing!
Your garden is flourishing! What a cute little bag/blanket combo and those zippers are the perfect touch.
What a clever bag/blanket. I love it! You could even just be carrying it as a tote and have an opportunity for an impromptu picnic. Your garden looks wonderful. We just harvested our first cucumbers last night and I made a salad for dinner. I love picking the veggies and eating them one hour later. My problem is that my young adult kids “trimmed” the overgrown tomatoes and probably went too far. We’re still getting veggies, but they gave me a heart attack. I lost more than half of the produce! Kids!!??#&*?@!
What a fantastic bag! I love the way it can be used as a blanket then zipped back up. And those zippers are pretty!
Your garden is beautiful! I love the beans you are growing. When we had acreage I planted many varieties of heirloom beans (they are so pretty!) and did not have any luck with them. I think I planted too late in the season and it got too hot in south Texas.
I have not heard of Zapples – what a great idea.
How neat about the zapples ..I never heard of that before.
And that tote blanket is awesome!
Sew cute! I love that bag/blanket–very clever! Your garden is lovely–I hope you can keep it up for a long time–that is the best was to get good food. 🙂 I quit canning several years ago, and I sure do miss that deliciousness, but I don’t want to put in the work anymore.
That’s simply a fantastic bag. I’ve seen ones that are squarish so this round is a special size. Congrats on creating a wonderul picnic bag.
Julia, you never disappoint with your creativity and inspiration. I love this bag idea! Watching how to close it was great and made it easier to understand how it works. Your garden looks amazing! Our garden started out good, but then went downhill from there. I think the heat just got too much. My sister has a food storage/emergency prep website that she shares lots of info, including gardening. Her gardens always produce a lot. I’m going to send her your link so she can see that apple/zucchini recipe. Thanks for sharing your picnic with us!
Clever blanket, tote bag. Your garden looks beautiful! I’ll have to look up zapples, they sound like something I should do with my zucchini coming in. Thanks for all the great ideas!
What a great idea! I love that your picnic blanket is the tote and you can carry it wherever you go. This would also be perfect for new mothers who don’t like putting their young ones directly on the floor.
Your garden is just beautiful and doing so well! Kudos!
Two lovely items in one…very clever.
What a marvelous idea! I like it’s dual purpose role. The garden looks fabulous, too. I’m so sad that there are so many things I can’t eat these days, because I would definitely try the squash apples! Maybe if I peel them AND take the seeds out, I could make it work. I have a deal with a friend of mine – we bought the canner together, and I buy or prepare things, but she does the actual canning. Our last effort was a good buy we got on chicken, but I think it’s about time for some veggies! Thanks for sharing your project and your garden.
Thank you! Wonderful thing about the zucchini is it is peeled and cored so no seeds or skin! You can make it to can or just eat right away!
Ooops, wrong e-mail!
That is an amazing bag! Thanks for showing us around your beautiful garden! So lovely. We too started a garden this year, but we have much to learn. Not photo-worthy, but I sure do love walking outside to go and pick some dinner! We’ll have to try making some apples.
What a nifty little picnic bag. I love your garden!! And the zapples look delicious. 🙂
Very clever bag and your garden looks amazing!
Beautiful quilt and tote bag. I also like to use canvas and interfacing for totes and bags. They do make for good stability.
Great job with the video. Even greater job with the veggie garden. That bag/picnic blanket is amazing. I really love that your zipper matches the straps perfectly.
Oh perfect! Such a handy picnic blanket! Love your veggie garden… I’ve been dreaming about planting mine out come spring.. I love growing veggies and canning as well! Your garden looks so lovely and healthy, and you’re getting so much beautiful produce from it! xx