Four totes in 2 days!

I was sorting through a pile of cross stitch projects that I never got framed or used for anything. Most of them date from 1997 or 98. I came across this one with a lady knitting on it and thought it would be nice to make a tote bag for my Tante Janny from Holland, who was visiting my parents.

Then I came across another one I thought my friend Christine would like and her birthday was coming up, too! Perfect! Another one done! I thought the butterfly would get lost in the busy-ness of the fabric so I framed it in black, which echoes the pattern of the fabric anyway. I also put a fabric behind the stitching so it wouldn't get torn away on the inside of the tote.


And then there is this Debbie Mumm sunflower garden angel, the kit came with the red birdhouse fabric. The cross stitch piece is actually sewn onto the red fabric. The yellow fabric is from a set of drapes I bought from Ikea that I didn't really like when I got it home. It is quite sturdy, so it's great for a tote bag.

Last but not least, is one made from a Godzilla t-shirt my hubby had. I was going to use it for his t-shirt quilt, but I had 7 t-shirts and it is easier to make a quilt out of 6 squares, so that one got rejected. I had it all cut out and ready to go, too. Eventually, I had bought this black denim, always intending to make a tote out of it, but me and the washing machine had a fight over this denim. I was so ticked off how ragged it was when it came out of the wash, that I just folded it and put it away. But I was in the tote making mood this weekend, and I got a brilliant idea of putting in the red trim around it. I think it looks fabulous!

Quilt 'til You Wilt

Our guild had our annual Quilt 'til You Wilt at the Stoneridge Inn; great time as usual! I didn't know what to bring with me. I brought my entire stash, minus Christmas fabrics; it fits into one laundry basket!

I ended up spending most of my day making this tote bag out of an old Kabuki (by David Mack) t-shirt I found. This shirt was from the baggy t-shirt days, not the clingy babydolls of today, so I hardly ever wear it anymore. The art was a little long, so I cut off the word Kabuki. David likes to use triangles in his sketches, so I thought I would fuse some random triangles on it to jazz it up. Luckily I had some great purple batik to use.




Then I cut the word Kabuki into individual letters and then fused them onto the batik, I then fused that onto the tote bag. I machine stitched the applique all into place and completed the bag.



When we finish a project, we have to show it off to everyone, and there is a lot oohing and aahing, and photo taking. The ladies are asking me who Kabuki is and I am nonchalantly telling them 'Oh, she's a Japanese government assassin" And then they all break out in laughter! These women think I am crazy!

Anyway, a great use of an old t-shirt, I think. You can see other projects I've made out of t-shirts here, a quilt here, and a postcard here.

Oh my gosh! Have I ever been busy!

First I am taking Lazy Gal's on-line course! And I am having a ball! There are about 20 ladies from about 6 countries and all have such varied and wonderful backgrounds!

Second I've decided to paint the store! egads! What an undertaking! When we first moved into this location, we couldn't decide on the colour for the walls so we just left the primer on the walls! Isn't that terrible?! 6 years later and finally I am tired of the white walls! It was hard to decide on a colour because their is so much colour in the product and the product is very busy looking. Well, I've really gone and done it! Red is my choice! Not a subtle red...Disney paint...Mickey's Pants...is what it's called. I used this colour on my A-board sign for the sidewalk. I told the paint dealer "I call this Superman's cape!"


I've made another tote bag; this one's for a friend using her t-shirt:


While I was at the cottage, I did finally finish the binding and quilting on my 2 Suske quilts:


My camera does not like orange :( I've tried brightening it up using Picasa, but still it is not the true colours. It really does look better in real life:


I've finished piecing my Amy Butler piece; the blocks are about 8 inches each and it is 7blocks x 8blocks. I didn't have any place to hang it, so I laid it on top of my bed, so there is another quilt underneath.