Hoot! Hoot!

Here's the quilted tote bag I made for Armando's fiance. I did a few things differently on this tote. The first was that I made the straps one continuous piece that wraps around the entire length of the bag, front to back. I think it looks better this way. I also added a pocket to the outside. I aligned this with the bag and then quilted it separately so the quilt lines are continuous. Then I tucked it under the two straps and sewed it along the sides and then sewed the bottom down. I like this addition best. This version is the best I've made so far. I hope it holds up well!

Jordan and Kady

Michelle, Shawn, Jordan and Kady all came over to spend the evening with us and enjoy some kabobs on the grill, as well as a very tasty and beautiful strawberry shortcake that Michelle made. I gave Jordan and Kady their bags and got them to "pose" for a few photos. Michelle attempted to get them together in a picture but I was too busy laughing at Kady's attempts to put her arm around Jordan to get their posed picture together. First Kady, standing in front of Jordan, tried to wrap one arm around the front of Jordan, then she tried putting her arm up and over Jordan's shoulder, and after a few more unsuccessful attempts, Michelle came over and helped get Kady all situated, but by the time I snapped the picture they were circling around each other and ended up as a jumble of arms and legs falling to the ground! It was quite the scene. But I did capture a few cute photos of the girls with their bags. I hope they enjoy them!

Quilted Tote Bags

Last weekend after I finished HEP's quilt, I made a quilted tote bag from the scraps. It was simple to make and turned out looking pretty cool. I've been using it to carry my lunch and book to to work and one of my co-workers, Armando, asked me if I would make one for his fiance. He gave me $20 bucks to get started. I am really flattered by this, but am also nervous about making it because I've never made anyone anything for money and I want it to stay together. So this weekend I worked up a couple of small totes for Jordan and Kady, the little girls of our friends Michelle and Shawn (who just happen to be coming over for a BBQ tonight), to practice. I didn't actually quilt the first tote I made because I wanted to have a pocket inside and I didn't want to have to hand sew it in. But since I want the bag for Armando's finance to stay together if she ever needs to wash it, I wanted to try quilting the bags for Jordan and Kady. I think they turned out super cute this way and I'm confident they will stay together because I washed them when I was finished making them and they stayed together just fine. The smaller pink and yellow one is for Kady because she's the younger (and smaller) of the two and the blue and multicolored plaid bag is for Jordan. I bought them each a little book to go in them because I don't think they'll be all that excited about just getting a bag :) Anyway, I love the way these turned out and I feel much more confident making Armando's fiance one. I will end up having to hand sew in the pocket for hers, but it'll be worth it to have the bag actually quilted.