If the terrible weather's making you want to burn your beach towels you could cut them up instead, and make one of these cool bags. Crafty Chica has a tutorial on her site which shows you how. It's really straightforward and you don't need anything other than a big beach towel (with a wide trim), pinking shears, sewing machine, needle and thread.
Obviously the overall effect will depend on the towel you choose. The one used for the tutorial is pretty funky. If you follow the pattern correctly you should actually get two bags from one 40x70 beach towel. Find out how it's done after the snip...
Supplies: 40- by 70-inch beach towel with wide trim, pinking shears, sewing machine, thread, pins.
Directions: Fold the towel lengthwise. Cut the trim off one end of the towel and set aside, this will be the handles of the bag. At the other end, keep the trim (this is the bottom of the bag) and cut about 12 inches up (this is the top of the bag). Toss aside the excess, you will not need it. Unfold the towel and hem the raw edge by using the zigzag function on your sewing machine (to prevent fraying). Sew again with a regular stitch. Fold the towel again in the same fashion and sew the sides and bottom. Using the trim from the other end, cut it in half so you have two straps. Stitch the raw ends using the zigzag function. Sew one strip on the inside of each side of the bag so you end up with two handles.
Note: Use the excess towel to make another tote!
