Make-A-List Monday - Chasing A Squirrel!

Hi, all!

Another week of sheltering in place has passed - what is it, five weeks now?  Seems like it's been forever.  And it's not horrible - there are much worse places to be - but it is very different, and it's hard to stay on track sometimes, isn't it?  So while trying to stay on track this week, I ended up chasing a squirrel!

As I was putting together a template for a puzzle-style t-shirt quilt, I decided to check out the BluPrint free classes, and was pleased to find a class by Christina Cameli available called The Scrappy Market Tote.  Christina had amazing suggestions for scrappy improv piecing, making it all look so easy!  PS Let me state for the record that happiness is turning your dumb tv into a smart tv thanks to a Fire Stick - now I can stream BluPrint and YouTube videos right there in my studio!  Happy Mother's Day to me!!

Anyway, back on the main point - I pulled these fabrics Sunday morning, all excited about playing with my scraps.  Took a break, enjoyed worship online, ate lunch, and went back up to the studio to play.  And couldn't make it work!  How frustrating!  I had a plan to finish a bag for this blogpost, and my scraps just weren't playing well with me.  But never fear - I had a Moda Scrap Bag with some interesting neutrals, and grabbing a strip of peach solid from my scrap pile, I pulled together a bunch of the neutral strips and started creating my own scrappy piece of fabric. And while I was quilting the piece, nearly ready to start making the tote bag, my browser cut out and I didn't get to see the instructions for the tote.

But I've made lots of totes, so I decided to take things into my own hands and create my own "design".  And here's what I made...

Here you can see the finished bag, along with the peach scrap and the Moda Scrap Bag.

I did some fancy quilting - well, not fancy, but full!  I did straight horizontal lines on the upper two-thirds of the bag, and a cross-hatch design for the bottom of the bag.

And because I was too lazy to look for another fabric to line it with, I decided to go with binding the seams.  I boxed the bottom corners and voila!  A market bag all ready to go!  I actually used it when I did the grocery shopping this morning, and it worked great!

So that is my squirrel for the week. Now I need to get busy and work on the t-shirt quilt.  That should keep me out of trouble!

What have you been working on?

Hugs!

Sarah