Эта сумка в подарок от меня к вам, Таня.

Some years ago I had my hip joint replaced by an artificial implant (yes, on the same side as my recent ankle replacement). That surgery required a long time of bed rest. To keep myself occupied, optimistic and away from self pity I would embroider small pieces of cotton fabric with very simple motives and lovely colors. I drew them with a pencil directly on the material and started stitching. I do not know a lot of embroidery stitches, just some basic ones, and that craft was never my genre, although I do admire it greatly. I had nothing special in mind with those flower patches, I just did them for some fun.

After bringing my workroom in order and reorganizing it a bit some months ago, many forgotten things resurfaced, among them those embroidered fabric pieces. I found them actually quite pretty and incorporated them in two totes during the last week.

My husband hikes about every two months with the ISRAEL PLANT INFORMATION CENTER - ROTEM, which is responsible for the documentation, research and education of the wild flowers of Israel, it is a joint project with the Jerusalem University. He befriended a woman from Ukraine in his group on account that he speaks quite good German, and she studied German at University in her home town and loves the language. So on their outings they sit together in the bus and talk in German, among all the Hebrew around them. This bag is a gift from me to her and at their upcoming excursion next Thursday my husband will present it to her - she is a real flower lover and I am sure she will like this tote. 

This is the other one, the oval patch embroidered with running stitches and a lot of French knots. Both totes are made with strong and durable cotton fabrics, not the lightweight kind. They are fully lined, and equipped with three pockets, one of them zippered.