Walker Bags

I decided I needed a walker bag on my rolling seat walker.

I usually use a cane to help keep my balance when walking as I was diagnosed with vertigo several years ago after I fell and herniated a disc in my lower back. (However I've learned since then, despite the maneuverability of the cane, it can also not stop me from falling if I catch the rubber tip on a stair lip. I crashed several weeks ago at a girlfriend's house and scared her! Oh, my sore knees!) At the same time, I was told I had arthritis in my spine (okay, so that explains the pinched nerve and fire down my leg when I stand or walk too long, huh?) and an extra vertebra. Mom always said she goofed on me -- I was her first pregnancy experiment! She said she should have named me "Grace" instead! *giggle*

I take my walker with me to places where I might have to walk or stand quite a bit. I love having a portable place to sit down when I poop out in pain and the guy(s) might not be done looking. I looked on Pinterest for ideas on how to make one and decided to design one from a quilted black and white crib bumper pad I picked up some time ago junking. I cut out two rectangles the width of my walker back, sewed the ends together and down the center to make two pockets. Next I held up the bag to the walker and guesstimated where to sew the ribbons on.

I was in a hurry to get my walker bag done as I was going shopping with friends the next day, so I sewed ribbons on it to hold it on temporarily. The ribbons won't hold heavy loads, but I thought it might do to hold a water bottle. I will make sturdier handles later with fabric if the need arises.

The basket under the seat also got an fabric insert because previously, when I've used the walker as a shopping cart, I would lose small items through the wires. It worked dandy! See photos.

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You might be interested in reading these posts:

• Brace Bling
• Never Alone
• New and Improved Walker Bag
• Why I'm Refashioning My Wardrobe

I'm a Sewin'

My maternal grandmother said she always saved quilting comforts and crocheting afgans for the winter-time as she stitched, cozy in her snug home, while the cold windstorms howled across the prairie. She made many quilts and afgans for family members and friends alike. I have a butterfly quilt she made for me the year I graduated from high school and two afgans when I married.
Some time ago I saw a blanket idea on Wendy Russell's "She's Crafty" TV show and decided I wanted one too, only mine would go with my current theme of black and white checks. Wendy and her guest cut out nine 15" x 15" squares from the front and back of plain sweatshirts and stitched them together to make a baby-sized blanket.

Armed with a supply list, I went shopping for sweatshirts at my local thrift stores. However I ran into a couple of problems -- most of the shirts I found were printed on the front which I did not want and as most of the shops priced their sweatshirts at $5.00 or more, it didn't seem cost effective to get the size blanket I wanted. As in clothing, one size does not fit all, so on impulse, I checked the price of second-hand velour blankets and they were marked $3.00 each. I was able to eventually find enough to make not only my checked blanket, but also another one pieced together with bits leftover from my black and white blanket between two red and green ones.