Bags for Beads of Courage

A week or so ago, I read this post at City Stitches about an organization called Beads of Courage. I think this is a fantastic thing. While kids are in the hospital being treated for serious illnesses, they receive a bead for each milestone they reach, treatment they receive, in some cases holidays they are there (birthdays, 4th of July, etc) to encourage them.  This collection of beads can serve as a reminder, a communication tool, a motivator, so many things. 

Beads of Courage accepts donations of handmade beads (and even has some tutorials on how to make them!) to give to their patients. Of course, I don't make beads, but I can sew. There is an opportunity for that, too! Where to put all those beautiful beads once they've been collected? In a bag, of course! The website has instructions for how to put together a bag, and even has BoC labels you can request.

If you're familiar with Craftsy, there is also a user there who has posted a PDF pattern for these; this is what I used. Here are my first two, aren't they cute??? 

The frog seersucker fabric on the left is adorable, and I made that one first out of whole pieces to test out the pattern. The bag on the right was my first attempt at using the improv chevron block tutorial here. I've seen lots of quilt blocks being made this way and thought, why not? The fabric is all Eric Carle Very Hungry Caterpillar scraps that I had from making my oldest niece a comforter way back when. I love the print with the little guy crawling out of the fruit. 

These were fast finishes, and satisfying for that reason as well as the intended use. I just need to add on the ribbon so they can be cinched closed. I had a nice evening of sewing, and I'm sure I will make more of these in the future, especially with more of those caterpillar scraps!