The red tote saga

How is that some of the easiest things turn out to be the most frustrating?  I made a red tote bag for the annual Friends of the Library Annual Winter Banquet/Auction.  I usually pull a quilt out of my collection for the auction, but this year Nancy, a new member of the Friends, announced that she was going to make one.  Not wanting to step on her toes, I decided to make a tote bag instead. 

I had a lot of red fabric which I cut into 2.5" strips to piece together in a manner similar to a bag I made last year and several people admired.  I also had two 6" appliqued heart squares in my stash of "orphan" blocks for pockets.  There are two pockets inside, too.   And I had a pair of old blue jeans to make a sturdy bottom and handles.

You can't see either the bottom or the handles in this picture taken with my phone, but those handles were a real pain!  I was going to put a zipper into the top but ended up making it an open tote instead.   I took it apart a couple of times and spent entirely too much time with my seam ripper.   I did do some nice quilting on it and like the way it turned out over all.   Since it is rather plain on its own, I added a book, The Noel Diary by Richard Paul Evans (sappy but sweet), a ball of yarn, a nice bookmark, and some hot chocolate.  Going with a cozy theme!

Anyway, I'm glad that's over and I can get back to machine quilting the Storm at Sea quilt.  We are having lunch with two friends today and tomorrow hope to see The Post at the movies.  That was my home-town paper, and it sounds like a great film.