I have been saving this beautiful fabric for ‘something special’ for nearly a year now, stupid I know! I got a whole range of fabrics from the V&A quilting exhibition, produced by Liberty of London as limited edition prints. It was Lizzy’s birthday coming up and I wanted to make something for her rather than the baby as I know little Beatrix has been getting all sorts of prezzies.

My sister has a a bag like this for her knitting that my Grandmother made, I love how simple it is, perfect for keeping your latest knitting project with you when you’re on the go. I’m not sure why I didn’t deserve one, perhaps I’ll request one for my birthday. Anyhoo I used one of the Liberty fabrics and then two plainer complimentary fabrics from my stash. I didn’t want to have too many patterns as I wanted the Liberty one to stand out and to do justice to it’s beauty. I lined it with plain cream fabric as it makes it easier to find whatever you have knocking around in the bottom: stitch markers, stitch holders, embroidery scissors etc, without fumbling around in the dark.

I did the patchwork and the lining on my machine but I underestimated the amount of hand sewing needed for a project like this, mine isn’t as neat as I would like but it’s good discipline, imagine the people who hand-quilt massive pieces for double beds? Crazy!

I made this for my friend who punches me in the face (at Jitsu obviously – duh), she sneakily left it until the last minute to tell me it was her birthday this week leaving me little time for crafting. However, I like a deadline! So I have made her this lovely tote. Apologies for the poor photography (even poorer than usual!) I was in a rush to wrap him up and get him ready to go.

Now stop right there, I hear you say, this looks remarkably like another tote bag I’ve seen on this blog. Well you’d be right, and wrong. This bag is slightly bigger, I measured by eye rather than ‘suggested measurements’. It has shorter handles (mainly because I was running out of fabric) and I have added a handy little pocket to keep your oyster card and phone in, or anything else you find it difficult to put your hand on in a cavernous bag. Alternatively if using it to carry crafts it would serve equally well to house crochet hooks, scissors and the like.

I know I bemoaned the timescales given on the previous bag but this one was actually very speedy, I cut and ironed all the pieces one night after netball and then did all the sewing and was finished before Simon got home from work on the Friday – bosh! Thoroughly recommended for a last minute gift.