Purses and Yoga Mat Bag - From Christmas

So... I finally have some pictures of the purses and one of the yoga mat bags that I made for Christmas. This first one in aran colored yarn with a red bow, I made for Sue, my sister-in-law. The inspiration for the purse came from these designer purses. I found a pattern on Crochetville, but mixed it up to get a shorter, wider bag. I bought rattan handles from Joann's and painted them a warmer, darker brown. I also made the same purse in heather gray for my sister Betsy. The yarn for both is red heart... which means that I spent less than $5 (handles included) to make each purse. Not a bad deal.

Here are some pictures of my sister Sheila's yoga mat bag made from this great pattern. I hope she's able to use it. Here are some different angles. For this one, I also used Red Heart. It's super-washsable... which is great considering how much it rains in Scotland (where Sheila lives). The texture of the yarn is not very soft, but being that these are bags, I figure that it is mor important that they are sturdy! If you are a crocheter, I really recommend both of these projects for gifts. They are useful, easy to make, and work up quickly... plus, the materials are fairly inexpensive.