When you need to give a little thank you gift, this quick, fun little item is just the ticket. It’s the kind of thing that won’t make the recipient feel beholden, like the offer of a kidney or your firstborn.  It’s a dishtowel, sewn with washaway (water soluble) thread into a bag that holds apples or whatever, but only temporarily.
My friend Pat did me a great favor and I needed to thank her.  Your lives are probably as tightly scheduled as I mine, so you will understand that when I decided at the last minute to take a trip to North Carolina, there were complications. One of these complications was that I had to find someone to take my turn to bring dessert for 20 ladies at my monthly church circle Bible study. My friend Pat was that someone.
As a thank you, I brought some crisp North Carolina apples for her. But I needed a nicer presentation than a plastic WalMart sack so I embroidered and sewed this bag from my oh-so-handy stash of vintage gingham trim dishtowels from All About Blanks. I keep a hefty supply all washed, starched and pressed in my sewing room and find so many uses for them.
This bag is reminiscent of my tangerine bag. The directions are in that post. I should have read them rather than doing it from memory. Grandchildren Robert and Laurel were due anytime that afternoon so I was rushing to get this finished and didn’t get it quite right.The tangerine bag is nicer but for a single use bag, this works.
The embroidery design, Filigree Apples, is from Embroidery Library. In order to give the apples some visual depth and interest, I used variegated red DMC machine embroidery thread. I was pleased with that.
Included with the bag was this note:
Our tangerines are just now ripening, so soon I will be making up more fruit bags. Do you have a favorite go-to thank you gift? If so, please share!
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