A simple bag, enlarged

Last week I made a tote bag from a pattern in Yoko Saito's book, and blogged about it , here

 I liked the shape of it, but wanted to make it larger, so I sized it up a bit,

 

 This shows both bags,

This  time I used an orphan quilt block appliqued on the front panel.  It is an antique block that I bought in a whole stack of blocks a couple of years ago.  

I like the bag, but I might make one even a bit larger.  This one used the full 42" width of the fabric for the black patterned piece in the picture above, so I guess I'll need to piece it for a bigger one. 

The handbag continues,

Over the weekend I got a lot of time to work on my handbag. Richard had left on Friday to go to a conference and doesn't get home until tonight so I've been on my own and doing whatever I feel like when I feel like. And what I felt like doing is making my handbag.

I decided to make this handbag from the Yoko Saito book called Strolling along paths of green.

I mentioned in my last post how I had appliquéd the front panel. Then I decided to keep to the pattern design and add the little leaves around the outer border, Even though the fabrics I was using are quite different than those pictured in the book.

I auditioned two different sizes and decided on the smaller size to fit well within the outer edge, because I wanted to be sure that I wouldn't lose the ends of them into the seam allowances.

There was no way I was going to hand appliqué such tiny pieces so I used fusible web to attach them.

I used machine blanket stitch to go around all the edges.

I did spend some time and embroidering the little stem and white berries.

I decided to do hand quilting all around the cat faces.

I wasn't sure what to quilt in the background, so I ended up just doing some almost vertical lines.

For the back panel I really liked the combination of the brown and white lattice fabric and the cat fabric so I just reversed the placement of the fabrics from that used on the front.  

Lots of echo quilting around the panel, and I used the lines on the brown fabric as a guide for the pumpkinseed design.

The interior lining is pretty bright fabric, this is a photo showing the gusset being attached.

It wasn't too hard to sew these pieces together. 

Then I went around each side panel and attached binding to cover the raw edges of the seams.

A couple of handles later and turned inside out, and voilà a new handbag.

You know how you always critique something after you're finished making it?

I am now resisting the urge to tell you the different things I would do next time, and will just enjoy having it finished.

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!