project tote bag

the creative juices have been flowing! i have all sorts of ideas for tote bags i would like to create. purchased some inexpensive fabric from ikea on saturday and created a little tote in a couple of hours on sunday. played around with adding a button but did not turn out as expected. . . boo-hoo! oh well what can i expect for my first project.

tuesday i returned to ikea and purchased 8 yards of assorted fabric. they have some amazing patterns on cotton - very modern and simple in attractive colors. many of the fabrics complement one another so choosing was not simple.

using the new material from yesterday's trip to ikea, i tackled another tote idea that had been floating around in my head today. mind you i have not yet invested in patterns or tracing paper just roughly forming, measuring, and cutting - and only using black thread. keeping it simple. so in a couple of hours i created another tote this time complete with an inside pocket! wish i had used interfacing for the strap - would have given it more structure. also need to sew on some velcro to keep it together. . . i guess those are the little things i will continue to learn as i go along.

here are some photos: (the red hippo with striped lining was my 1st project)