Back in August I stayed with my sister for a couple days. We went to Porstmouth, NH, for lunch and afterward walked around downtown, where I saw a fabric shop. I asked if I could pop in for five minutes. My sister, nieces and brother-in-law followed me in. The Portsmouth Fabric Company is an amazing place. I'd wished I'd asked for more than five minutes. One niece dragged me over to a store sample of an Amy Butler purse, then the other one wanted to show me a tote bag she'd like, but in purple. My sister found a quilt that would look great in her bedroom. Only my brother-in-law didn't ask for anything. I guess none of the purse patterns appealed to him.
On the way to the airport a couple days later, the oldest niece asked for a piece of paper. She made me this list:
I've been procrastinating on these non-quilt items, but the girls haven't forgotten. So over the holidays when I had time off and nothing special to do, I got the purse and tote done!
The pattern is Amy Butler's Frenchy bag. I think the main bag fabric is Anna Marie Horner. The pattern instructions were clear and easy to follow.
Here's the interior. If I make this bag again, I would stitch the pockets down the middle to the lining. Can't do that now, and I'm not crazy about how they gap open, but I don't think the recipient will mind. They're more like dividers than pockets. My first attempt at magnetic closures went well.
The tote has a zippered interior pocket (at the bottom of this photo) as well as an open pocket. Kind of hard to distinguish either pocket with all that purple.
Yesterday I was inspired to make a reversible drawstring bag with my leftover purple strips. I based the construction on Ayumi's tutorial that I've used before. Super easy, and I kept a few more scraps from going into my giant scrap bin.
I also made 11 tissue covers using Barb's tutorial. Also super easy. I'll put one in the tote and one in the purse to make up for the long wait.