I haven’t been to a sewing retreat or conference in a while, but when I did it was fun to bring a gift for my roommates! The handmade touch makes it even more special, but it isn’t entirely necessary.

Because it’s been a while since I participated in one of these fun events, I may have gone a little overboard preparing for the event, Pour L’amour du Fil, in Nantes, France this month. A friend of mine at my church is my quilting buddy, so when she invited me to tag along with some others to the sewing expo I couldn’t say no!

To bring a little U.S.A tradition to the French sewing event, I made “Swag bags” for everyone. There will be four of us staying at an AirB&B nearby, so I made 3 of everything to gift.

I used Jeni’s (In Color Order) tutorial for her popular drawstring bag to make the actual swag bags. The fabric is by Makower, and I found it on a recent trip up to Tissus Reine, one of my favorite fabric shops here in Paris. Each bag has a different interior, a basic from Quilter’s Treasures.

Inside, I have some fabric Granny’s Pins coasters (unfilled and with batting, they can be coasters!), cute Bohin needle minders, some cute measuring tape from Modial Tissus (another fabric shop), and a key fob I made using a tutorial from Woodbury Way. My key fobs are a little narrower because I couldn’t source the size key rings as in her tutorial. I also attached some knitting/crochet markers to the key rings that have a sewing theme. So cute.

Overall, I think it’s pretty awesome!

These bags in a bunch really are so fun. I love them!

Happy Quilting!