A Tinker Tote

Sometime last week, I caught a glimpse of Red Pepper Quilts' Tinker Tote, and I was in awe! I loved the pattern and of course, Rita's technique, so when I heard she made it through a Craftsy class, I went to check it out.

After over a week away from the studio, it was invigorating starting on a brand new project. The class is officially called Tinker Tote: Quilt-As-You-Go Patchwork Bags and is taught by Tara Rebman, who is an excellent teacher! I was so impressed with not only how I was led step by step through the making of the bag, but also given tips and techniques that I didn't need this time but will certainly use at a later date.

One of the major techniques was quilt-as-you-go, which I had done before on my Weekender, but Tara shared tips that really helped the process go smoother this time around.
There were two pocket options, and I decided to do both, since it had been quite a while since I'd done either technique, the simple divided pocket, and the zippered pocket. I will feel much more comfortable next time I want to put a pocket in a bag!

The fabrics I used were mostly a gift from my mom for my birthday - Alison Glass' "Lucky Penny" focus fabric + a lovely stack of yellow and cerise fat-quarters. I added a few gray bits from my stash along with a single lime print, just for accents. The lining is "Metro Rings" in gray, one of my very favorite fabrics and one of the few I had enough of in my stash. I actually really like how it coordinates yet contracts with the patchwork.

But the Lucky Penny print really was the inspiration for the bag, and I fussy cut it to center the motifs on the bag bottom and flap (which has a metal snap, don't you know).

Can you see that there is some fmq opposite the handles on the bag? Tara encouraged us to do that, so I tried a different design in each fabric in that area, though the majority of the bag is straight-line quilted, which gives it great texture. This is a big bag - about 20" wide and 18" tall including the handles. And it is sturdy - mine being a little less slouchy than intended, as I mistakenly used Pellon Peltex for the bottom instead of the intended Decor-Bond. In the finished bag, it's no problem, though it did made boxing the corners a bit of a chore. For piecing and quilting both, I used Aurifil 50wt Medium Gray #2605, which was dark enough to provide the contrast I wanted everywhere I stitched. 

In the end, I used some fabric I'd been saving for something special, took a class that I thoroughly enjoyed, have a few new techniques in my sewing toolkit, and feel back in the groove in the studio. It's all good.

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday.