Prepping for QuiltCon

 

QuiltCon is less than a month away! Five of us from my Magpie group are going and one even has a quilt in the show which is amazing!

 

For two of us, this will be our third QuiltCon. Since I'm all about tote bags these days, I wanted to design something fun to take along.

 

 At the first Con in Austin, we got the tote bags that were huge and long (but of course we needed one!). I looked mine over and decided to dissect it. I cut a big piece to use on the front. I ironed on some Wonder Under and adhered it like raw edge applique. Then it was cropped a bit as I measured it carefully and sewed it onto a fun green linen cotton blend which has great body.

I also embellished it with a vertical strip that mimics the Alison Glass fabric I wanted to use as the lining. Then I did some straight line quilting.

I cut another piece to use on the back. I was able to keep the finished edge at the top and made a great pocket. Next I went to my printer and copied my ticket stubs and ID from the first and second QuiltCon onto fabric so I could use them to embellish the bag.

 

I wasn't quite sure what to do about the handles...I have some awesome leather straps I got at Sew to Speak, but wasn't sure if I wanted to use them for this project. Then I saw a photo of a bag that used two different fabrics for the straps. I knew right then that was what I wanted to do. The tote's straps have the green linen on one side and the lining fabric on the other. 

 

Voila! I love it and I'm ready for QuiltCon!