This next tote was an entirely different project....fast, functional, and geared to lots of everyday wear and tear. It is for my son's girlfriend to use when she goes grocery shopping, so it had to be sturdy and not have a bunch of loose embellishments or beads that could pull off.
I bought a heavy-duty, ready-made denim tote at my local Craft Warehouse; nice and cheap. Because Esther likes Oriental design, I decided to use some of my authentic Japanese indigo fabric to go with the denim.
All I did was sew strips of these fabrics together to make a band, which I machine appliqued to the tote front. I sewed in the ditch afterwards for added stability.Then I added just a hint of embroidery, plus 14 beads total, and voila:
Nothing flashy but kinda pretty...I think these would make wonderful last minute-style gifts. Of course, that band could be of crazy quilting and that would be great.
Here's a detail of my minimal embellishment. The thread was a lovely surprise in the mail from Susan...it is Sassa Lynn fine perle, and even in denim it was nice stitching....So I will send this north to Esther and hope she fills it many, many times with good healthy food.
Speaking of which, here is what is waiting for my attention....
These are the Comice variety...ultra, ultra sweet. This picture shows about a half of our crop this year. And that's not counting the Boscs! Or the Asian pears....which are bearing heavily for the first time this year.Anybody have any ideas for storing/preserving Asian pears?
She's going to love that tote! Can't help you with the Asian pears though-it's a fruit completely outside my experience! Hope you find something yummy.
ReplyDeleteOh very cute Allie, love it and how quick it is, great job.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother used to make "sweet pickled peaches" - might work fine with Asian pears. I seem to remember cloves - not sure what else. I will ask my mother. Are you going to fill that bag with your corn crop?? and a few good recipes for her??? and don't forget the carrots!!
ReplyDeleteNice bag! I like the strips around the top.
ReplyDeleteHave you got my pear salad recipie? Unfortunately it's only one pear for 4 servings, but it's yummy!
ReplyDeleteThe tote is beautiful. I'm glad you enjoyed stitching with the threads. I certainly love them. You could just can the pears in a very light syrup, or even just water. Have you tried pear pie? =) Use an apple pie recipe and substitute pears. Pear jam is yummy, too. I don't even like pears and I like pear jam.
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