Another Tote or two or three!

 

Still waiting for my background fabric to quilt for the hex piece!  Sigh......so now that the deck is finished...and I only have to paint the front porch (which I won't do until later this week), figured I would get some totes made for June gifts. 

this isn't the best picture of the first tote.  Picture is quite dark.  This was a deconstructed screen printing that I did rubbings with Neocolor and Gelato pastels. using one of my hand carved stamps.  this was back in 2017!

I sandwiched the fabric and free motion quilted around each stamped piece.  I think it turned out decent.  I almost decided to over dye to give more color but changed my mind.   

Inside lining...a batik I had in my stash.  I wanted to jazz it up so added the dark purple zipper with the pale purple.  Leftover from my hex project!  HA

I made this piece several years ago for the Quilters Around The World quilt group for our series 'Uniform' in September 2015.  Hmmmm  

I don't have a picture of the finished piece but you can see in the tote below where I added some embroidery machine stitches at some point.  I'm not sure why I did!  Funny, I was on a hex kick back then too.

So glad I added the embroidery stitches...it brightens up the piece.  Funny, Bob liked this tote best of the 3.  Hmmmmm

The lining is printed and looks nice inside.

I can't find a picture of this original piece.  On the back of the 9"x 12" piece had a date of 2008!!!!!  I know it was one of my dye pieces and experimenting with free motion. 

I wanted to jazz it up with the blue zipper...

The inside is some hand dyed pieces I had left. 

As I was looking through my blog for pics of the fabrics I used for these totes, I saw some pieces that I know I have stashed in a glass case in our LR or in my sewing room in storage!  Think I need to get some of them out and get making more totes!  HA

And my sewing machine is just sitting there!  STILL waiting for my background fabric!  Quilt Shop was ordering 3 yards for me of a Moda fabric that I think will work for the hex piece.  That was 2 weeks ago this past Monday.  Yes, I'm getting antsy!  But I did play with some free motion quilting designs on some junk fabric.  That's going to be the next hard decision!

More Totes

 In between volunteering at our friends group at the library, I have been back making upcycled totes for friend's birthday's.  I have the last one ready to be sent out tomorrow...that is if the snow doesn't accumulate anymore than it has today!!   So I have done some sewing...not much knitting but hope to get back to that after the Holiday's!  I still have a few last minute gifts to pick up and need to get kids gifts in the mail that live in Ohio & Indiana.  Until then...still worried about the girls and trying to be a nutritionist! 

This was a quilt I sketched on quilted fabric.

It was from a drawing class by Hilary.

Inside lining

A few finished projects!

Still trying to make sure I do some type of art work or sewing or whatever daily!  I may not reach my goal 7 days a week but I'll be happy to just have a few days of making some type of accomplishments!  

My friend was looking at buying a little bag for her great grand daughter's teen BD.  I couldn't see her buying a tiny little bag for over $10 so I said I could make one for her.  Heaven knows I have tons of quilts or vests to cut up!  Donna said she likes blues so I found one piece I had already quilted and leftover hand dyed fabric that I quickly quilted up.

Trying to find the right binding was harder than picking out the fabric.  HA  I bought this fabric years ago while in Florida with my Q Bud, Susan.  I've used most of it up but had some pieces leftover.  BUT...I couldn't decide if I wanted the binding to match or....

not match!   I decided I liked the 'not' matching better!  Just added more to the bag...my thought!

I had some pretty purple floral print for the inside of the bag.

So this was the finished little tote.  It's 8"x6".

And I found in my stash a little silver heart to add to the zipper pull.  It looks gold here but it's really silver. 

Now to hope the teen likes it!  Have to run...I'm taking time out of my 'hour' to do art work!
 

Cuttin Time Again!

For Christmas gifts this past year, I made several 'upcycled zippered totes' from cutting up some of my quilts.  This past week I decided to make another six  totes ,so I started cutting up quilts!

These are the pieces cut into rectangles ready to find lining and facing fabrics.  Another good use of clearing out fabric, right!

I was trying to get a production line going but changing threads caused me a little extra work but it all worked out in the end.  I finished all six by Saturday last weekend.

 I'm headed to Ohio this coming Thursday, along with my daughter, to meet up with my sister and three of her daughters and her grandson/his wife/and their son!  Yep, there will be 11 (10 adults) of us in the grandson's home!  Plus 3 dogs (no, I' not taking mine...sniff, sniff).  God Bless Mitchell and Tiffany for having us all stay over!   Anyway, I thought the little totes would be a nice gift for all the women!

This was a large stitched shibori quilt I made in 2013.  I do have some of the quilt left to make another bag or two from! 

A lot of hand stitching on this one!

This was from the practice free motion quilting I was playing with a few weeks ago!  there was quite a bit of stitching so what else to do but make a bag from it!

This was another small quilted piece that I had hand stamped and free motion quilted.  It was the perfect size (8.5"x 6.5")!

The back of the quilted tote above has this orange quilted piece!  This was from another large quilt I made years and years ago.  

I just thought the orange looked really good with the colored leaves on the front!

These three were all made with the same quilt cut up!  I did all the hand stitching on this patchwork quilt and I think looks nice in a tote!

Click to see stitching

This was the finished quilt with all my hand stitching...this was in 2021.  I was going to make a pillow but that never happened so....a good one to cut up too!  HA

So the little totes (finished size is around 8" x 6") are all ready to put in a bag for the family woman to take one!  I made six thinking I would have one leftover so everyone would at least get a choice...turns out one of my nieces is also arriving on Friday from Florida!  Whew!  So now they'll just have to grab!  HA