Professional Tote

I finally completed my Professional Tote; it had been cut out since June. I'm a procrastinator and don't like to follow patterns!  The 14 pages of instructions for the Professional Tote by The Creative Thimble seemed intimidating before I began.  However, it turned out the instructions were nicely detailed and easy to follow.

This is the front of the tote.  Between the handles there is a zippered pocket with another pocket behind it.

There are pockets on either side of the bag.  I have an umbrella in one of the pockets and the other could hold a bottle of water.

 

The back of the bag has one large pocket with a magnetic snap closure. 

The top of the tote has a separating zipper.

 

Inside there is a large zippered pocket in the center of the bag.  On one side there are pockets for my cell phone, camera and some pens.

 

The other side of the inside has 2 open pockets and a pleated pocket with a pocket flap with Velcro.

I learned a lot using this pattern and will incorporate some of the features in future bags.

Besides the The Creative Thimble website, I found two blogs which were very helpful in constructing the bag.  Colleen's Space has  step by step photos showing how the tote goes together.  There She Sews! has a detailed tutorial on how to install the separating zipper on top of the tote.  (The pattern had called for a regular zipper, the separating zipper makes access to the interior much easier.)

Flowers and Bees

Usually I take a lot of photos of my flowers but they haven't been looking good becaue the weather had been hot and dry.  However today, the blanket flowers were looking happy and photogenic.

Charming Tails

Yesterday some  friends and I visited a few quilt shops near Saginaw. On a lark, on the way home we stopped at the Bethesda Thrift Shop. I collect Charming Tails so I was excited to see they had about 100, new in the box, Charming Tails for sale. Of course, I had to purchase a few to join the gang at home.

Not only were the prices low but it was Senior Day, so I saved another 25%! My final cost for 5 cuties was less than the regular price for one.

AQS Quilt Show

I attended the AQS Quilt Show in Grand Rapids this past week. This is a photo of some members of my quilt club.  We joined a group from The Front Porch Quilt Shop, in Frankenmuth, on the two day trip.

There were over 900 quilts on display. I have lots of photos but the information in the show booklet said I could not post them on a blog :(   The quilts were stunning. There was an exhibit of Egyptian quilts and another of Japanese quilts. There were demos and speakers. Classes were also offered but I hadn't preregistered for any. Of course, I had fun shopping at the 250 booths in the Merchant Mall section :)

Pumpkin Wall Hanging

My best friend, Linda, just celebrated her birthday.  I had planned to make her a pumpkin wall hanging using this kit.



However, I find I can't follow directions.  I also kept changing fabrics and ended up only using one piece of fabric in the kit.  This is my finished project.

I pieced the background using assorted beige scraps  from my stash.  I padded the pumpkins.  The leaves nearest the pumpkins were also padded and they are only tacked down so they are 3-dimensional.

Instead of sewing the tiny vines, I found some lime green ric rac leftover from another project.  I dyed it with tea and then used glitter markers and glitter glue to add some sparkle.

Aunt Romaine's 100th Birthday

Today, we went to a 100th Birthday Party for my Aunt Romaine. She is amazing, she still lives in her own home and is very sharp mentally.

I made her a lap quilt to keep warm while she watches TV and knits or crochets.  I got the idea for the pattern at Loft Creations.

I used scraps from my stash and some fat quarters I received on our bus trip to Shipshewana.

The backing fabric is an apple and pear tree print.

Recycled Birdcage

I purchased this bird cage at our church's Mission Store
for $2, thinking it could be  a fun project.

I spray painted the cage with gold paint and added some silk greenery, a bird nest and a couple of birds. I'm pleased with the result.