In a few weeks, I’ll be teaching a class at the Whistle Stop Quilt shop.  The owner is interested in having someone teach some classes on how to make bags, so I went in and talked with her.  While I was there, she showed me this cute new pattern by Anything But Boring called “The Traveler’s Tote.”  We both agreed this would make an excellent class for me to teach :).

A sample was needed to promote the class, so yesterday and today was spent making it.  This tote is very sturdy because fusible fleece is used on the exterior and Decor Bond is used on the lining.  The large flap is a great way to show off a favorite piece of fabric or focus fabric.  It has tons of pockets (you can never have enough) – two on the outside and pockets all the way around the inside.

I was only one seam away from being finished,when I realized the lining pockets were wrong.  Instead of the pockets opening at the top, they opened to the bottom – not very useful at all!  I had to rip out the sides and bottom of the lining in order to get to the mistake and fix it.  When I realized the mistake, I gasped and said “Oh no!”.  My five year old said, “What’s wrong Mommy?  Did you sew your thumb?”.  He was glad to see I was okay!  That detour took about an hour, but I was really happy with the end result.

Be careful when you sew.  Keep it thimble!

On Saturday, I taught a fun group of ladies how to make the Professional Tote (pattern by Creative Thimble).  This is a great bag for travel – tons of pockets and lots of room to carry all kinds of things.  The designer even included a zippered front pocket that is perfectly sized for a passport!

Molly signed up for the class first and then convinced her friends Kim and Arlene to join her.  The class was scheduled from 10 am – 6pm so they knew they had a marathon session of sewing ahead of them.  It took awhile for everyone to get settled in (we finished Step 1, part B at 11:30am!), but everyone was having a great time chatting and learning something new.  Arlene was kind enough to bring lunch for everyone, and Kim went to Bojangle’s and brought back some delicious sweet tea for us!  We sewed until 7:30pm as we were bound and determined to make sure everyone completed their bag.  Although it was late, and we were pretty fried at the end, everyone had a great time and went home with a beautiful bag.

Molly selected a lovely burgundy duck cloth with a striped accent fabric.  She said the stripes reminded her of Joseph’s coat of many colors.

Kim’s bag was beautiful brown accented with lively polka dots.  The lining was made of large floral print on a brown background.

Arlene’s bag was a bold print that feature apples, grapes, and berries.  Lots of great colors and a deep purple print for the contrast and lining fabric.  She purposely picked something that she wouldn’t normally pick, and was very pleased with the results.

I had a lot of fun in the class and look forward to another class with them in the future!