Front Zipper Pocket Tote

Recently when I needed one more handmade gift, I went with the Front Zipper Pocket Tote in Sotak Handmade's book, That Handmade Touch. The recipient loves and uses all the little handmade items I've made her over the years, so it's kind of hard to remember what I've made - or not. Figuring a tote is always handy, I went rummaging through my stash to see what I had to work with.

For the main exterior, I had plenty of the suggested Essex linen in black, which in my humble opinion, goes with just about anything. For the exterior pockets, I had just enough Triangles in Red from Kobayashi. It's a Linen Cotton Canvas, a little heavier than suggested but worked perfectly. What you can't see is a gold zipper under the top flap in the photo above. In the photo below of the tote back, you can see there's a bound slip pocket. And just for the record, after I took these photos, I thought to press the side and bottom corners, which made the bag a lot less slouchy-looking.

The lining was also canvas, though unfortunately unidentified. It's cheery though, and gave the bag some nice structure. The leather handles - a feature that I knew the recipient would love - I actually had on hand from Anna/noodlehead's shop. When I purchased the strap for the recent Hillside Tote, I bought a spare. How serendipitous was that? And the final details - a magnetic snap and some rivets - finished the bag off nicely. It measured 12" wide x 14" tall x 4" deep, which is a really useful medium size. And happily, my friend loved the tote, just as I'd hoped. And with that, I THINK I'm caught up on sharing the small makes of the last few weeks. AND I started a new quilt this week!!