Christmas Charming Totes

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!!!   I tried to get on and write a special Christmas Post but it has been all family, friends, and foods the last few days, and I wouldn't have it any other way ;)  We have just loved all of the laughter and happiness, and joy.   I got a very special Christmas present too!!!!!   So excited!!!!

So now today, that things are slowing down just a bit, I thought I would start to share some of this years Homemade Christmas gifts ;)   Remember when I made up all of those adorable Charming Totes last December . . . Well, I think Christmas totes are going to be a new favorite for quite a few years :)  I love, love, love making these toes and they are just so handy!!  Perfect ;)  And I love going through my stash to find the perfect bits of leftovers to become great linings and handles.    I have now made a full step by step tutorial on how to make these totes here, Just for your reference ;) 

So, for sweet nephew #1 who is just getting into little league, I used an  All Star Charm Pack by Zoe Pearn for Riley Blake Designs.   So cute!!!  I lined it with some extra backing I had from The Boat House line and the numbers are a perfect match ;)

And for sweet nephew #2 who loves all things sports especially baseball and football, I used a Charm Pack of  Varsity by Sweetwater for Moda.  I lined it with a great print from the Best Day Ever line by April Rosenthal that looks just like little baseballs and made the handles from Chic Neutrals line by Amy Ellis.   They all go so perfectly together.

And for my sweet niece  #1 who just loves a rainbow of colors, I choose a  Tula Pink's True Colors for Free Spirit Fabrics Charm Pack.  For the lining I used a great Rainbow print from Dear Stella that was the perfect compliment.   I just love all of those happy colors ;)

And finally, for my very special Sister-In-Law, who I am slowly sucking into the fabulous world of quilting, I decided on the ever so cute Charm Pack of Paper Bandana by Alexia Marcelle Abegg for Cotton + Steel Fabrics and then complimented it with the gorgeous Arrow Print also by Cotton + Steel.  I love how all of their prints coordinate ;)

And those were the 4 new Charming Totes from this Christmas ;)  I just love making these bags!!!   I did a take on a tutorial here where you can make the tote reversible, and here is the original tutorial I used from Crazy Mom Quilts ;)   I just do the corners of the bag differently, as shown in the first tutorial ;)

And then I had one last special little tote to whip up.  This one was a little more patchwork and I am so excited with how it turned out ;)   My sweet nephew just loves Minecraft so I made him a patchwork tote of what I now know is a creeper.  I loved playing with all of the different shades of green.

And on the reverse side is the Blue Sword.  There is just nothing quite as fun as simple patchwork.   So, so, so much fun!!!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and maybe can sneak in some Happy Quilting today ;)

More Charming Totes on the Way

First off, I have to say a huge Sorry.  I totally spaced picking the winner of the 100 Blocks Volume 12 magazine on Monday.   Thank you so much for your sweet comments on my Block and my Quilt!!!  You guys are the best ;)   So now, let's get that winner chosen.  The winner of is . . . . #44 . . . .Cecilia!!!   Congrats, I have emailed you ;)

And now, onto today's post ;)  This  weekend I spent a lot of time stitching and had oh so much fun!!!!  I just love this time of year, because it means Handmade Holiday Stitching!!!  You might recall these totes that I made last year, and these totes that I made for some early Christmas presents, well, you guessed it, there are more coming this year!!!!   These little totes are turning out to be quite the favorite gifts for nieces/nephews who use them for piano practice bags ;)  Yippee!!!

I just love getting to pick out a special charm pack for each person I have the tote in mind for.  It is always fun to fit someones personality to the fabric that will be just perfect for them!!!

So, for sweet nephew #1 it's All Star by Zoe Pearn for Riley Blake Designs

And for sweet nephew #2 who loves all things sports it's Varsity by Sweetwater for Moda.

And for sweet niece  #1 who just loves a rainbow of colors, the perfect fit was Tula Pink's True Colors for Free Spirit Fabrics.

And finally, for a very special Sister-In-Law, who I am trying to suck into this fabulous quilting world, a special Quilting Tote made with Paper Bandana by Alexia Marcelle Abegg for Cotton = Steel Fabrics

Time to start quilting these up ;)   If you have never tried a charming tote, I would totally recommend it!!!  They are so much fun and honestly, you won't be able to make just one!!!  I did a take on a tutorial here where you can make the tote reversible, and here is the original tutorial I used from Crazy Mom Quilts ;)   I just do the corners of the bag differently, as shown in the first tutorial ;)

Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

More Charming Totes

So remember when I made up all of those adorable Charming Totes last December . . . Well, I was at it again this weekend, only this time I got to sew with my Mom!!!! The family and I headed to Salt Lake this last weekend for a fun filled time.  While the boys did a big ole hike up Kings Peak the girls had some sewing fun :)  I don't get to sew with my Mom very often, so I just loved every minute of it!!!

My mom loved the bags I made for my nieces last December, and wanted to make 2 for some of my other nieces.   So this first one is my sweet niece Audrey who is 8 and is made with a Life In the Jungle by Doohikey Designs Charm Pack from Riley Blake Designs and lined with Happy Flappers by Kelly Panacci from Riley Blake Designs.

And then for sweet little Emma, we used Vintage Market by Tasha Noel for Riley Blake Designs and it is lined it with the awesome navy stripe from the same line.

And since we were making these assembly line fashion, I decided it was high time I made my boys their own Piano Tote Bags, as their sister got hers last December.   And you just can't go wrong with Zen Chic for boys!!!  I love her awesome lines.   The first bag is for Spencer, 12, and he choose Figures and it is lined with a print from Sphere, all by Zen Chic.

And for Kristian, my fisty 8 year old, he absolutely loved Comma by Zen Chic.  And I lined this one with a print from my stash that I can't remember who did it and the selvage was gone.  So sorry about that.

And then another niece, who is 8, and was staying at my mom's while her dad hiked and her mom worked, saw us working on these totes and requested one of her own.  And of course, I just had some extra charm packs that I brought along ;)   So, we whipped up this one using Spot On by Studio for Robert Kaufman Fabrics and lined it with some Simply Colorful by Vanessa Christensen for Moda :)

And those are the bags we made.   I had so much fun sewing these up with my mom!!!!  The basic tutorial I used is here and I just changed a few of the steps that are reflected in my Reversiable Bag tutorial here.   (I just used regular batting though, these aren't reversible. )    And yes, my two youngest daughters have already requested theirs and are picking out charm packs.  Looks like I will be making more totes this Christmas as well ;)   I think I need to buy some more Charm Packs ;)

It was so much fun to get to sew with my Mom!!!  I will share more of what we worked on soon ;)

Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Linking up to Quilt Story ;)

Charming Handbags!!

So remember when I posted on Monday that I was going to start a new little holiday project . . . Well, they are finished!!! (and I still have 20 days until Christmas :)   5 Charming Handbags made using this wonderful tutorial from Amanda Jean at the Moda Bake Shop ;)  I am not much of a bag maker, so I was a bit nervous about putting these together.  But the tutorial was great and easy to follow so they went together super easy and I am so excited with the results ;)  I mean, who doesn't love square patchwork and getting to play with Charm Packs!!  I have since made a Charming Tote Tutorial here , with Amanda's permission, to show how I made my totes with a few alterations from this mentioned tutorial.    How about some individual shots ;)

Starting with the oldest, for my niece Ka who is 11, a Charming Handbag made with Cotton + Steel basics :)

And lined with this super fun print from Kate Spain's Daydream line for Moda :)

For my niece Ki who is 9, a Charming Handbag made with Social Club by Eric and Julie Comstock for Moda :)

And lined with this classic print from Fig Tree Co.'s Mirabelle line for Moda :)

For my daughter, Jessi who is 9, a Charming Handbag made with Sew Stitchy by Aneela Hoey for Moda :)

And lined with her favorite color from In House Staffs Essentials line for P&B Textiles :)

For my niece El who is 6, a Charming Handbag made with Spot On by Studio for Robert Kaufman Fabrics :)

And lined with of course Basic Dots from Riley Blake Designs :)

For my niece Ra who is 4, a Charming Handbag made with Butterfly Dance by Cinderberry Stitches for Riley Blake Designs :)

And lined with of these adorable mushrooms from Aneela Hoey's Walk In The Woods Line for Moda :)

And here they are all in a line!!!  I am so excited for them to open them Christmas morning ;)  And I have to admit, not so nervous about making a basic bag anymore.  5 is really good practice :)

So what about you??  Do you like making bags??  If you want to and are a bit nervous, I would recommend this tutorial, it is super easy for beginning bag makers ;)  And they are great because you just need a charm pack and 2/3 yardage for the lining and handles.   And we all know we have a stack of charms lying around (Please say that isn't just me :)    Just a note if you do **Be sure and clip the corners of the lining like you did the bag, it doesn't say this step and I sort of missed it and figured it out later when it was a bit harder to "fix" it ;)

And that is all for today :)

I hope you have a very Happy Quilting Weekend!!!

Linking these finished bags to Amanda's (love this gal!!!!) and Sarah's :)