Tote-ally Classy!

As you probably know, I taught the picnic quilt and tote class on Saturday and I think we all had a great time! I don't know why I come home from teaching so tired when I have just as much fun as the students, but I do. Crazy, huh?! By the way, Gran has also written about the class from her perspective, and she has some awesome photos of the tote she made. Want to see what "the kids" did?

I didn't get a photo of Dona's tote because she had to leave a bit early. She made hers using the new Hunky Dory line--there's a great border stripe that was just perfect for the tote and quilt border. I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished project.

Then there's Sandy's tote--she didn't get hers finished, but you can see her tote is going to look great! Class was supposed to end at 5:30 but we were having so much fun, we decided to stay and finish--or nearly finish--our totes. Sandy, though, got a call from her significant other about dinner plans and had to leave before the rest of us, so she didn't get quite as far. The green, white, pinks, and pinkish-reds she's using look wonderfully fresh. She had these in her stash--she'd originally purchased them for another project and never made it.

Next up is Julie-Julia's tote. (There's a story about her name, but I'll have to tell it another time.) Julie-Julia wanted only to make the tote and not the "matching" quilt, so she helped Sandy make a couple of quilt blocks. Once we got to the tote-making, she left Sandy to her own devices and turned out a really lovely tote--she had it completely finished before we left.

Wilma used the same Lecien border stripe I used for my quilt and tote, but she used some different fabrics in the body. It may not look like it here, but she was nearly done making her tote. She had made her handles, and all she still needed to do was to sew the inside and outside together, turn the tote right side out, and top stitch along the top. Really cute!

Both Julie-Julia and Wilma are planning to make more totes soon. (I also pointed out to the class that the picnic quilt, made smaller with fewer blocks, would make a great baby quilt, and the tote would make an excellent diaper bag.)

Here's Gran's tote. She found these crisp-looking blue and brown fabrics in the sale/clearance section of the shop some months ago and snapped them up. I know they're going to look great in the matching picnic quilt too! On her blog, she has photos of the inside of the tote as well.

And my tote. (Or totes.)

Before class, I pre-made sections to use to demonstrate various steps of construction, so it didn't take me very long to further demonstrate the final steps and get this one finished. (To the right of the class tote, you can see my purse "tote" which I made awhile back, and then just barely in the shot is the original picnic tote I made as a shop sample for the class.)

I told the students they would get their totes done by the end of class, and I wasn't too far off. Most of us did finish or came awfully close. By 7:30, we were getting our things cleaned up and packed and loaded into our cars. Besides making the totes, early in the class we worked for a little bit on the quilts--just long enough so that everyone understood how the disappearing 9-patch blocks are constructed and made at least one to take home to use as a sample. So, all in all, the class went well, we had a good time, and everyone was fairly productive--what more could I ask for?! I'll get the patterns uploaded on Etsy in the next day or two in case anyone's interested in purchasing one as well as the patterns and kits from the last class--the "Baa Baa Black Sheep" wool class--I'll let you know when they're posted.

As always, thanks for stopping by to visit!