Sisters. I’ve never had any. Until this past summer, when my brother got married and I gained an awesome sister-in-law, Sarah.

Let me tell you about Sarah. She is the best.

THE. BEST.

You know how little kids go through that stage where they copy everything their older sibling does? If you’re not familiar with this concept, let me demonstrate using a Full House example:

Anyway, I’m 30+ years old and I think I’m going through this stage with my new sister Sarah because she’s just that cool. If Sarah likes classic white dishes, nude nail polish and Tieks, then so do I. Cue the Tanner-style copycat efforts referenced above.

Sarah is a proud alumni from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and has introduced me to all of the wonderful things about her alma mater – including the lovely lakefront views, the central Wisconsin State Capitol building, cheese-a-plenty and the iconic terrace chairs.

When it comes to universities, of course my loyalty will always reside with my own alma mater – Miami University – because, let’s face it, it’s the best. But visiting Wisconsin so often and spending time with Sarah has definitely caused me to develop an appreciation for UW Madison that I never thought I’d have.

For a long time, I’ve wanted to make something UW related for Sarah, but I didn’t have a chance to make the idea come to life until recently for Sarah’s birthday. The red and white striped fabric sitting on my shelf since last Christmas always made me think of the UW mascot, Bucky Badger, and his signature sweater stripes.

Sarah lives near the university attends a lot of UW events, like football games. So I decided a Zip & Go (which I’ve previously written about here and here) would be a great idea since it’s the perfect bag for outings where only the bare minimum (phone, money, ID, lip gloss) is needed.

I created my own “W” appliqué and love the way it turned out. It’s actually a layered appliqué – one for the background shadow, and one for the red “W” in the foreground.

I did have a few instances where I thought… wow, these stripes are feeling pretty obnoxious. They made my eyes feel a little dizzy. But I know this bag will truly blend into the crowd on game day! Even though this bag is called the Zip and Go, I think it’s more appropriate to call this specific one the Zip and GO BADGERS! Ha.

One more thing – “Sew something for my sister-in-law, Sarah” was on my list of 100 No pressure Projects, so I have officially crossed another item off the sewing bucket list. Woohoo!

Thanks for being my favorite sister, Sarah!