Cross Stitch Firefly Tote Bag!

Now this is an awesome way to repurpose a project! My crafty friend Lisa took what was intended to be a monogramed tote bag, courtesy of Martha Stewart, and converted it into this adorable Big Damn Heroes bag. She's donating this to our local Can't Stop the Serenity Screening's silent auction. Personally I think it's going to be a great seller!

Cross stitching on the canvas bag was doable, but it isn't as straight and easy to work with as an aida cloth or linen, so Lisa had to make a few alterations to the patterns. More specifically, all the 1/4 and 3/4 stitches had to be taken out because it was impossible to make them on the bag. It also took longer to stitch on than your average piece of aida cloth and I'm pretty sure Lisa is going to be having nightmare's about River's hair for many nights to come.

Despite the challenges I think this turned out wonderfully. I think that items that are not just geeky, but also useable are the most appealing when it comes to the silent auction.

Below is the Martha Stewart Tote - Monogram - Embroidery Kit used as it was originally intended. The straight stitches of the monogram would be easier to stitch, but I like Lisa's repurposing of the bag much better.

You can pick up these bags via the link I've given. However, we actually found them on the clearance shelf at our local Michael's store for just $12.99. If you're interested in stitching one yourself, you may want to shop around a bit and see if you can find a bargain. The Firefly character patterns are available for free here on Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins under the My Free Patterns heading in the left sidebar.

Did you see the items I'm donating to this year's Can't Stop the Serenity? Check out my Firefly inspired stitching here.