Happy 2018

The years seem to coming and going much faster than they used to.  Happy New Year to all of you!

I took a bit of a break from quilting over the holidays.  I decided it was time to make myself a new bag instead.

This is my Hariet Expandable Tote from Swoon Sewing patterns.  Katja had just ordered in the pattern and it had to come home with me.

The fabric on the outside is a Linen and the expandable part is cotton, both from Cotton + Steel.  The cork is from mm cork in Trail and the hardware is of course from Emmaline.

The only thing I might do next time, is make the straps a little longer.  And yes, buy a little more ready made strapping as it wasn't that easy to make more when I realized I didn't quite have enough.  While glueing the strapping in place with Beacon Fabric-Tac, I managed to get a little extra on the bag fabric.  I dug out the nail polish remover and tested it on a scrap, and then used it to remove the excess glue.  It worked well for me, but always try it on a test piece of fabric first.

Now this is a real blast from the past.  I appliquéd the blocks many years ago.  I found a piece of year 2000 fabric in the pieced parts, so I know I pieced it together around then.  A friend saw it in my unfinished basket earlier in the year and said how much she liked it.  Well, I finished it up and gave it to her over Christmas as a hostess gift.  It isn't some of my finest work, but it is cute.

Linking up with Finish it up Friday.