Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Quilted Tote Bag for Mouthy Stitches


The 2nd round of the Mouthy Stitches swap proved to be quite inspired!  Lovely swap mamas Cindy, Hadley and Susan picked a simple tote bag pattern which we all had to make to and it was so much fun. Such an interesting swap to take part in where everyone was following the same pattern.

Once I got my partner details I got down to a little bit of stalking. My mama chose well, because my partner's likes were quite close to my own.


I decided to go with a Drunkard's path pattern and a scrappy look and pulled out some of my brightest and prettiest scraps to work with. I played around quite a bit before settling on this layout which I mentally dubbed the "pacman" look - those incomplete circles really remind me of the game for some reason.


I then pondered how to quilt it, and what type of back to do. Eventually I decided to echo the circles on the back but to change it up a little, placing it within a scrappy square frame.




That decision about the back led me to the quilting decision for the back - echo quilting inside and outside the square, with some hand stitching around the circle. 


This in turn gave me my decision on the front quilting - I went with quilted circles travelling outward on the front.



When it came to putting it together, the dimensions worked out better than I could have hoped. The outer circles sat just on the corners on the front (its hard to see in the photo!), and the outer line of quilting on the back sat just on the back corners.




For the lining, I inserted a flush lined zip pocket (thanks again to The Bag Making Bible) using a strong teal fabric with contrast orange for the pocket lining. I carried the lining fabric through to the straps, to finish off the scrappy look for the exterior. All in all, I was pretty happy with this bag!


Last thing to be done was the little key fob. For this, I decided to do a mini circle in a circle and handquilt around. I found a scrap of one of my favourite prints and used a variegated perle cotton to finish it off.


The package is gone off in today's post and I'm hoping my partner will love it as much as I do....all that remains is to watch obsessively for the postman now to see what I get in return!

37 comments:

Laura said... 1

how pretty

Toni said... 2

Your tote is gorgeous, Sarah! Lucky partner!

Fran said... 3

That is absolutely lovely!

Kelli said... 4

Wow! I really love it! I'm sure your partner will too. And if she doesn't, she can send it to me! ;)

Jessica Kelly said... 5

Great tote Sarah! Lucky partner :-)

Di said... 6

Beautiful. It is so nice seeing so many different but gorgeous totes popping up on the blogs. Di x

Canadian Abroad said... 7

You should be happy with the bag - because it is gorgeous!

Cindy said... 8

EEEE!!! It's spectacular!

ana-ane said... 9

Ha quedado preciosa


ane

Susan said... 10

You are onto a winner ther- it is a wonderful tote! Wish it were coming to me!

Archie The Wonder Dog said... 11

It's fantastic!

Linda Coleman said... 12

fab bag Sarah

CapitolaQuilter said... 13

nothing simple about that tote. I love both the front and back lucky partner

Annabella said... 14

Oh yeah, we get something back!! It's a great tote Sarah and I love the fob - you have a lucky partner for sure.

Helen said... 15

Wow Sarah! What a stunning bag!

If I could make something that beautiful I would terrible trouble parting with it!

Your partner's a lucky Mamma!

Trudi said... 16

It's a beautiful bag Sarah! Looking forward to seeing who gets this one!

Unknown said... 17

Super cute bag! I know your partner is going to love it.

Judith, Belfast said... 18

Beautiful S! Well done! Jxo

Rhonda the Rambler said... 19

**squeeeel** love this bag!

Dianne Neale said... 20

Oh this is one of my favorites. I hope it's coming my way!

Katy Cameron said... 21

Pretty, love all the curves!

Mrs Flying Blind... said... 22

So beautiful xxxx

my4lilgirls said... 23

wow really great bag, love the block you used & the key ring is fab touch :)
Karen x

Nicky said... 24

I am just waiting for it to arrive! Haha Well it would be perfect if it did! Love it so much Sarah!

Leanne said... 25

Beautiful work, I just love this bag and the little fob is so cute.

www.randomthoughtsdoordi.com said... 26

Wow, I love this and your work is perfection. Lucky partner!

Unknown said... 27

Lucky lucky partner you have - gorgeous, all of it :)

quilary said... 28

I really, really, really love this!

Nat at Made in Home said... 29

whoah so pretty!

heart of charnwood said... 30

Beautiful bag, love the drunkards path- i have the sizzix die cutter for it, and i just need to find a project for it, this looks great- you've inspired me! Ange : )

Galina Hristova said... 31

Hi Sarah!You're just amazing!I admire your work!I wish you success!Hugs!

Eunique said... 32

Hi, Sarah.

Just wanted to tell you I was so impressed with that zipper, i immediately ordered the Bag Bible. Thanks for the hint.

Eunique said... 33
This comment has been removed by the author.
Martha said... 34

Oh so pretty! I just found your lovely blog and your creations are amazing.
I'm a happy follower.

Schulz Family said... 35

Am now your newest follower. Why have I not found you before?

Pam @Threading My Way said... 36

Beautiful bag!!! Love the back especially.

joycita said... 37

I was searching for tote ideas when I ran across this one. Love it! I love circles and bright colors. This tote has inspired me!