Yoko Saito

Anybody who is ever seen a Yoko Saito quilt or handbag has never forgotten it. This Japanese quilter has produced an extraordinary number of breathtaking projects.  She has also been prolific in writing books and teaching workshops around the world. She is one of the main quilters working in neutral color ways.

I have a few of her books and they are just so relaxing to look through because of the beauty of her work.

One thing about Japanese quilters is that they love to make handbags.

The book on the left has 10p handbag patterns in it as well as the 78 pieced blocks.

These ones are near the top of my wish list to make,

And from the other book, which has patterns for 19 handbags!!  I hope to someday make this one, 

And this one..

But today, I am embarking on this one...

Isn't it a great shape?

However, I have been dying to use this Catnap fabric from Andover,

I've discovered that it goes really well with some of the Mirabelle fabrics from Fig Tree fabrics,

The pattern is pretty straightforward, and so I begin....

Some pretty simple appliqué of the front panel

I like to use the short little pins.

I noticed that the brown fabric shadowed through the lighter cat fabric, so I trimmed it away after I had finished the sewing,

I will continue my big quilt, but it's fun to have a smaller project on the go too.  

Plus, it is really fun to make handbags!