Autumn Tote, Finished!

After driving to Seattle....


...to help my son move (with his girlfriend's assistance).....


...and picking pears (the first of many bagfuls)....


...and helping Robert prepare the corn for freezing....


....and going into Portland last night to see Crowded House, those smashing gents from New Zealand....

Here they are playing my absolute favorite Crowded House song, "Pineapple Head". They also did "Distant Sun", "Weather With You", and of course, "Don't Dream it's Over"....I've had a thing for Neil Finn for years.....

Well after and amidst all these shenanigans.....I finally got to finish my tote!

My favorite part of this project was playing with all the crazy fibers that went on as the fringe. The weaver's scraps and thrums that I had to select from was a treasure trove of so many neat and strange yarns. Towards the end I felt compelled to dip into my silk ribbon and variegated chenille stashes as well...

A veritable rat's nest here. But as I added the fibers one by one I felt like I was working on a painting..that was a new experience for me...it just was so absorbing.

Fringy fun! Color, texture, and value were my usual playmates.

Fringy excess.....but not enough to cover the sequins, who after all started this whole thing.

The finishing of the tote was a hoot too. For the hardware I ended up canabalizing an old Gucci bag that a friend had handed down to me, which I had named "The Barn" . The leather was completely shot, so I didn't feel too badly about doing in The Barn.

It is kind of ugly, isn't it? From the '60's, I think.

Gucci hardware on my tote, how cool is that?

And here it is, finished.
I am the drabbest dresser I know, so it is hard to imagine my actually using this. But believe it or not, I had my upcoming trip to Houston in mind when creating this tote. I'll be attending Quilt Market at the end of October, under the auspices of CQMagOnline (as a credentialed member of the Press, no less), and I know I will need a large tote for samples, notes, even my laptop would fit in here...

So what's next?...going to do a quick tote for my son's girlfriend and then another quilt for the Quilts of Valor project. It is such a good cause, and even this crazy fringy quilter can do a sane cotton bed quilt once in awhile.
And as I work I'll be happily humming from "Pineapple Head"......

And if you choose
to take that path

I will play you like a shark
and I'll clutch at your heart
I'll come flying like a spark
to enflame you...