Re-useable gift bag

I know I have a pattern for making something like this somewhere. The bags I'm thinking of might actually be in Weekend Sewing - are they weekend or travel bags? - but I've loaned that book out to a crafty friend and don't have it near by. So I just made it up as I went along. This, mind you, came with it's own challenges.

I wanted something simple, easy-to-sew (i.e., minimal seams and shaping) and I even drafted pattern notes to make sure I was on the right path.

I started with two panels, hemmed them around three sides and made casings at the top for drawstrings. Sounds good so far, right? Yet, when I assembled the pieces I got it wrong, backwards and wonky. Oh well, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, or apple-pear juice as the fabric would suggest, right?

So I stitched the whole thing together from the outside (wrong sides together) - three times to give it a semi-purposeful quilted edge look. And, unfortunately the drawstrings don't actually draw anything closed. They just run thru the fabric on each side of the bag so you have to push the fabric around until it closes. So much for my (sewing) pattern drafting skills, but I'm still a beginner so I'll cut myself some slack here.

It's a small bag so it works. The print is cute so it works. I'm happy with my apple-pear juice - it's delicious.

And the contents of the bag you might wonder? Three gorgeous dish towels from Orange Tree Imports for my SIL's birthday.