.@VickiBatman - traveling #accessories by author Marilyn Baxter #MFRWorg #RLFblog #fashion #shoes

Clapping hands as one of my very favorite short fiction--and now, long fiction--writers, Marilyn Baxter, is with me today and is showing off her craft: shoe bags!

The whole idea of shoe bags came about because I was going to Ireland in the fall of 2013 and had combed the internet for every bit of packing advice I could find.  One article mentioned putting your shoes in shoe bags to (1) protect your shoes from scuffing and (2) protect your clothing from any dirt that might be on the shoes.

I was packing light and I only planned to take the walking shoes I would wear on the plane plus a pair of black oxfords in my suitcase.  I had an old Reebok shoe bag from when I'd bought a pair of Reebok walking shoes back in the 80's.  I hunted through my closet and found it only to discover it was rotten and pulling apart at the seams.  I can do basic sewing and I had some fabric on hand, so back I went to the internet to Google shoe bag patterns.

The first one I made was actually a reusable shopping bag I had made several years before after seeing a blog about making them.  I just shortened it and added a casing and ribbons at the top.  It isn’t fancy, but it did the job.  Then I found several patterns and combined the parts I liked best of each into my own pattern.  

Christmas was approaching and I was trying to decide on gifts for my best writing buds and since our RWA chapter, Heart of Dixie RWA, is often referred to as the “Cult of the Shoe,” I decided to make them shoe bags.  From the photos of the one with my fancy sandals and the photo of the group of shoe bags, you can see I’ve refined the project and fancied things up. 

I pick colors I know the person will like, and I added the zebra stripe applique with a button at the toe.  So far, I haven’t had a soul be disappointed.  And several members of the “Cult of the Shoe” now travel with their Stuart Weitzman and Marc Jacobs shoes lovingly protected by my shoe bags.

 Maddie Prescott has a plan to get a baby – a withdrawal from a sperm bank – 

but Jack Worth has his own plan, and he’d rather it be a direct deposit.

Find Direct Deposit at: Amazon

Find Marilyn at:Facebook