Tote bags

Sometimes it feels good to work on something and actually finish it on the day you started.  Sunday I made a tote bag and, while I didn't finish it that day, I did finish it yesterday.  And it's very handy for holding my current knitting project, the burgundy/red Melt the ICE hat.

I really like the fabric I used on the outside - a big retro print - and the sweet pink gingham on the inside.  Both are polyester, and the big print is so old that the width was smaller than today's quilt fabric is.  I enjoyed making it, and I have a lot of both fabrics left.  

Today I cut out another tote bag out of the same big print but using a pattern from a new book, Make 100 Bags.  I hope to work on it today and tomorrow if I get a chance.   I am about halfway through knitting my hat, too.  Someone in my yoga class asked me to knit her one, but I declined because I'm really a slow knitter.  I referred her to Etsy where there are a lot for sale at a surprisingly large range of prices from $7.50 to $50.  I bought a skein of acrylic yarn at Walmart for $4.99 and can.probably make two hats out of it.

I knit a little in between working on organizing the archives of the state quilt guild yesterday.   The guild was founded in 1979 so there are a lot of papers to work my way through.  I'm hoping to turn it all over to the state historical society for safekeeping.  When I volunteered there, I helped organize a number of statewide organizations' archives, so I know that notebooks are too bulky for them and sheet protectors are a no-no.  They stick to the papers and remove the ink.  There's a lot of trash generated by this project, but it's a nice project to work on when it's cold and snowy.