Magikquilterdesigns

My latest tote which was inspired by the wonderful work of Marilyn Robertson, see below.

It was interesting sewing as when I was almost finished the four blocks the light fixture fell out of the ceiling, missing me luckily but there was not enough light to finish that night and I only had three quarters of the front done when the light fell. It was a tad frustrating!

The next day I sewed madly in the daytime and after taking out that insipid pink in that above block I finished the four blocks and sewed them together. The next stage was to square them up or in my case rectangularize them and make the back so that I could sandwich the pieces together so that I could quilt them in the lounge room where the light was okay. I quilted in a swirling circular motion on the front and whirly random dervishes on the back.

I needed to have enough quilting so that the wadding does not separate through wear. One way to avoid this I have found is to use polar fleece instead of wadding. One does not have to worry about not quilting closely enough and it helps give the bag a better shape as well while still being lightweight. The next stage was to make the straps which I made using scraps from the rest of the QAYG blocks and to quilt them…that took longer than the back or front then all that was left to was to add the lining and attach the straps.

After hand sewing the facing inside the bag I proudly displayed it in the lounge room for all to see. well husband and son anyway! Although I did use it today and yesterday and it was very comfortable and if I do say so myself the most original shopping bag in town!

I am planning to make it in batiks and hand painted fabrics as well as upholstery fabrics in lush chenilles and tapestries for winter…that would look really great as a cushion too. Oh the glamour, just so many ideas!