New Tote Bag

I have been keeping warm and staying in at home, sewing. The smaller roads are icy and the temperature went down to -13c overnight!! Coldest it's been for ages. We've had several more snowstorms today coming off the North Sea, but they were interspersed with blue skies and bright sunshine.

Back of tote bag.

Front of Tote bag

Today I completed my tote bag.It is stitch and flip patchwork over wadding on a cotton duck base. Close stitching to quilt it makes it stand up nicely.

I've added a zip pocket, patch pocket for my phone, and a magnetic fastener.

Inside showing the two pockets and fastener.

As I couldn't go out to quilt group at Winterton, on the coast, I spent a while working out how to use the Marti Michell templates to cut some more quilt blocks.

Here is a Shooting Star block for Michelle which I pieced over papers yesterday,

I made Big Dipper for me too as I found a bag with quarter-squares already to go that were the correct size!

Swapped Farmer's Wife Blocks

I met up with Ruth and Michelle today and collected some lovely blocks that Ruth has made for me. The Grape Basket bottom left I made the rest are Ruth's, from top left Old Windmill, Maple Leaf, Autumn Tints, Hovering Birds and Basket.Really nice aren't they!
Now I have to make some for Michelle...

 Ruth wants hers in 30s fabrics, and we were discussing the need for contrast. Here is my Bright Baskets Quilt made in mostly 30's reproduction fabrics, the Plains, some of them Oakshott shott cottons do help to give contrast but, although it is lovely in the flesh so to speak, it tends to look spotty in a photograph.









I have foundation pieced Shooting star which came out very well once I had taken the paper off and pressed it,