The White Tote

For very action there is an equal and opposite reaction....and after that Burner Bag, I needed to work with lace and softness in the worst way.
Plus, I wanted another go at making a tote with a lightly simplified block lay-out and also a smaller size.

So here is my design...

The numbers are the piecing order.

I had to ramp up the color of my stenciled flower once I ironed it. The oil pastels just kind of faded after being heat set. Also, my email friend Anna VanDemark wrote to me with a link about the drawbacks of using oil pastels on fabric. Mostly the issues are archival. You can read it here. And do check out Anna's website!

Anyway, I used Dye-Na-Flo thickened with clear aloe gel to paint more color onto my stenciled image, and then quilted the heck out of it before piecing it into my tote.

I can stand quilting in small doses! I loved using that Wonderfil thread I got in Houston last year. Great, great stuff.

Finished, this should be around 15" tall by 17" wide. I am truly enjoying working with these gentle supplies after my brief foray into the urban jungle!

The Burner Bag

From the Graffiti Glossary:

BURNER

Originally a well-done wildstyle window-down whole car, a burner is a very good piece. Obviously, the reference to a window-down car is not applicable for pieces that are not on trains. A burner is any piece that has good bright colors, good style (often in wildstyle) and seems to "burn" off of the wall.

Well, my brother Ben collects "Burner" imagery, and I've always thought it was so darn cool. And isn't any imagery fair game for a crazy quilt?

I love flowers, and I will be going back to the flowers. But for a change of pace I thought I would try something different....

I love the colors in these, not to mention the sheer brilliance of the artistry. I thought they would make a unique focus for a totebag. I mean, why not?

So I decided on a basic shape....

And started constructing my tote front. I combined both piecing and applique, using a machine zig zag with a clear thread, as above. This is some kind of manic jester with the spray can, isn't he?

The suggestion of a fan shape here is my wave to my great grandmother's generation of crazy quilters. They would think I am totally nuts. Maybe you do, too!

I love having the option of being able to piece or applique, depending on what situation I find myself in. If I had drawn out a pattern before hand, it wouldn't be nearly as exciting...

Really, the sewing was a piece of cake.

This will be such fun to embellish, juxtaposing this wacko imagery with the stitching parameters we all know and love. I just thought CQ could use a little urban aesthetic...

Crazy Pieced Floral Totebag

A couple of rainy days, the family all away for the week-end...what better time than this to make a little project? I have made a gazillion totebags over the years so this was pretty much a no brainer in terms of construction...instead, what was of interest to me was how to integrate the floral fabrics that I created on the computer.
This came out looking a little differently than I had envisioned, for a few reasons. I used a very large scale print, for one, which made this pretty old-fashioned looking, not at all contemporary. Also, because the focal print is on cotton, it is not as vibrant as I had thought it would be.
See what you think...

Here is my pile of fabrics, waiting for their auditions.

Here is the tote pieced, before being trimmed, the handles put on, sewn to the lining and turned right side out, and quilted. I am skipping those photos as this isn't a tutorial...

I made this little beaded covered button for it last night while I watched Girl TV (which happens when my guys are away.) Robin Atkins taught me these in a workshop a few years ago..they are fun to do.

The finished tote. I am tempted to try another one....my vision was more flashy than this...At first I wasn't real pleased with it, but it is growing on me....

I am ready for it to stop raining now, anyway!