Feeling clever (ish)

My patchwork group have recently bought a second hand Accuquilt Go! Cutter for group use.  We are hiring it out by the month, and I happened to be the first hirer!  I have looked at the different fabric cutters in the past, but not been persuaded to buy one, as I think that, for me, they would not get enough use to justify their initial outlay.  Interestingly, I have know several people who bought one, and then sold it on, as they didn't get as much use out of it as they'd expected to.  However, to hire one for a month is a different proposition altogether! 

The problem was that while the cutter itself has a handy carrying handle, the dies were all in a carrier bag.  

Here they are.  There is a really handy 2.5" strip cutter die, but it's 24" long!  Very unwieldy.  Liz suggested it might be an idea to get a trolley or suitcase to put everything in, which I thought was a good idea.  Then I decided a bag would be easier to cope with than a suitcase, although none of the supermarket type bags are long enough for the strip cutter die.  There was nothing for it but to make a bag.

Not the most attractive of bags, but since it's made of curtaining fabric and lined with the same, I'm hoping it will be durable.  The wrap around handles should give a bit of extra strength too. But then I thought we needed a list of the contents, so it could be checked off on return.  A laminated sheet inside?  A laminated sheet tied to the handles?  A luggage label tied to the handles? And then I decided.  

I cut a piece of the handle fabric, zigzagged it on the side and wrote the contents with a permanent pen!  I've left some room for future purchases to be added too.  Basic, but functional! 

And what have I been doing with the cutter? 

I used the Value die, which has 4.5" and 2.5" squares, plus 2.5" half square triangles to make this star. I quite like the triangles which have seam allowance on the side, but still glad the machine's hired, not bought.