In March I was thrilled to find out I had been selected to participate in the PLAID and Martha Stewart Crafts Mother’s Day Campaign…and would be receiving a GIANT box of crafting supplies to make a DIY gift for Mother’s Day!  I shared an unboxing video of all the generous items sent to me here, and like a giddy kid in a candy store began brainstorming ideas to make something wonderful, beautiful, and special with all my loot.

Then, a week after I received all the supplies, my mother had a stroke and was hospitalized.

……….

I was in shock for some time.  It was difficult to get a handle on the situation, as my mother lives alone and far away (Tokyo, Japan, to be precise).  Though it was a mild stroke (a rare spinal stroke, actually), she lost feeling in both legs and was unable to walk.  Her doctor would not release her until she was going somewhere where someone could be with her 24/7 and prevent falls, support her, take care of her meals and errands, and take her to her physical therapy appointments, etc.

There was no one else.

So I packed a suitcase and hopped on a plane to Tokyo 4 days later.

I couldn’t bring most of the wonderful crafty items sent to me; the pressurized cans couldn’t be taken on a plane of course; and what I could fit still put my suitcase overweight.  I didn’t know if I would have time or the mental ability to even put together anything craft-related while I was there, but I was determined to at least try since I’d received so much, and I’d committed to contributing.

………

Once in Tokyo I found that my mother was able to walk a bit on crutches due to the physical therapy she’d had daily in the hospital, and she would be continuing outpatient PT twice a week, as well as weekly doctor’s visits and blood tests.  I discharged her and then came to stay with her in her apartment.

Over the past couple weeks she has been working at strengthening her legs, and is even beginning to walk a few steps without crutches.  But once I have to go back to the States (early May), she will have to take care of herself, and grocery shopping (or any shopping really) is going to be very difficult on crutches with weak legs and difficulty balancing.

Here in Japan you use shopping baskets at the grocery store; the carts they have are just little wheeled frames that you load the baskets onto.  Then at the checkout stand the cashier scans each item and places it into a new basket, giving you some plastic bags.  You take the basket to another counter and then proceed to bag all your items, then return the basket.  Baggers don’t exist here, and nobody is there to “help you out” of the store or anything.

This would be an impossible task to accomplish while on crutches.  So I began to think of something that might be able to help my mother while she is still limited in mobility.

I came up with a shopping bag, that the cashier could place directly into the new basket before she scans each item; once she does she can place each item directly into the bag, thus saving my mother the work of bagging everything herself.  The bag would be sized exactly to fit in a standard-sized shopping basket, with elasticized sides to hold it tight onto the basket.  (How annoying is it to deal with your own eco-friendly shopping totes at the checkstand that won’t stay upright as you place items into them??!)

Then, the person at the register would zip up the bag – and here’s the great part – my mother could then put it on like a backpack.  This would ensure she would not be unbalanced and would still have both arms free for the crutches. And then, when she gets stronger, she can just use it as a shoulder tote.

The elastic sides get tucked into the bag and the long zipper goes all the way around the top to secure everything and make the bag compact.  (Great for folding flat for storage!)  And the straps unhook too!

Perhaps this is something that might be useful for you too?  Well, here’s how to make it!

How to Make a Stenciled Convertible Shopping Tote/Backpack

You Need: