Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Totes -- one delicious, one dorky



This lovely little tote bag was a gift from Nancy and Gene, who are quilters and computer/embroidery people who faithfully arrange for the local sewing/quilting gals who meet each month.  I had admired this project during it creation and Nancy told me it was for her Mom.  Is that a lie?  8-))  Thank you so much, Nancy and Gene - I LOVE it.  

 I've wanted to make a few tote/utility recycled bags from the amazingly strong large pet foods bags we see.  They seem to be made of Tyvek or similar - hope I am using the right word.  If you haven't made one, you will re-learn the word "wrestle" as the stuff is strong.  You will need strong clips instead of pins.  I wanted the cat to show, not necessarily the "Kaboodle".  I stuffed a medium-sized quilt inside.  I wiped out the inside of the bag with a damp cloth and lined the bag - lining was not necessary but seemed like a good idea.   This can be used for my quilt basting supplies that currently hang in the garage.  How about a strong book bag?  Show and Tell? 

Here's the back.  I squared off the bottom so it could hold a lot of groceries.  Finished project is almost as large as a paper grocery bag.

I was given 7-8 more bags, with dogs, horses or cows on them.  My job would have been easier if I had used the free arm on my machine, instead of a flat surface.  Instructions and great photos were found at  blog.goodsmiths.com/.  What would you use it for?  Is it too dorky?

4 comments:

  1. Clever idea, but to be honest, I have way too many bags now, so tote patterns, no matter how clever, don't tempt me! The garage storage for your binding supplies sounds good.

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  2. So we've come full circle from cotton feedsacks for quilters to Tyvek feedsacks being sewn into quilt bags and totes. Good for you!

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  3. I repurpose trade show tote bags--the sturdy canvas or nylon ones--by covering the logo with a quilt block. You can see examples on my blog (search "all posts" labeled "tote bag").

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  4. I think its a fun idea. In fact, I had the same idea and have saved a couple bags to use but just haven't gotten around to it yet.

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