Friday Finish - I ♥ boo...

 

Nope... it's not the Hallowe'en quilt that has tempted me over the years. It's more of an all-year-round (and much more practical!) finish.

Double Trouble and I make frequent visits to numerous branches of our local library. We've done puppet shows, sing-alongs, dance parties, youth orchestra performances... you name it! And of course, there are toys we don't have at home and a zillion new books to check out.

And those books needed a more presentable way to travel back and forth! When Jayne @ Twiggy & Opal posted her version of the paper pieced Tall Tales block by Kate Basti on Instagram, an idea was hatched! I started with a few books and the tote grew from there.

It was such fun going through the kid print scrap pack that I snagged at our recent guild yard sale. I can't even choose which book is my favourite (though the Anne of Green Gables one holds a special spot in my heart)!

 

Once I had those wee books sewn up and quilted, I needed a back (or a front... depending on how you look at it!) for the tote. Time for more paper piecing. Honestly. I think this is becoming an addiction.

Thank goodness for Google... it led me to this sweet little heart pattern. It's a free pattern from Piece by Number.

And for the letters, I decided this tote was the perfect excuse to buy a pattern I'd been coveting for a while - My First Alphabet by From Blank Pages. The letters are perfect. Crisp and distinct, without being clunky. And because they're sold as a digital pattern in PDF form, they can be printed at any size. I went for a 4½ inch high letter. And I dove into my low volume scrap bag to make them.

Necessity was the mother of invention for the Windham Literary Library Cards on the Loan on the top and bottom. I only had three FQs of Kona Charcoal and I was determined not to buy anything to make this tote! I was going to leave it alone, but quilting the edges of the cards makes them pop beautifully.

The lining got a little challenging. I don't like to wash quilted bags too often, so it needed to dark(ish), but not too dark owing to the Kona Charcoal on the outside. I managed to find a large cut of this print (London Fog) that I used for my Mom's yoga tote.

Typically, I underquilt things. I want them finished more than I want them fancy. But not this one... I went for it!

Instead of fighting with fabric for the straps, I dug around in my notions bin and found the same seatbelt webbing that I used for my Dad's yoga bag. This time, I didn't hide it under fabric! I need to re-stock!

Phew! That's a lot of yammering on for one little library tote. I loved the creative process of this one. Each stage just flowed into the next and I was able to find just the patterns I needed with a quick web search. It took me less than a week start to finish and that's saying something in this house.

I'm linking up today with one of my favs - TGIFF @ Kathy's Kwilts and More. Pop on over for some inspiration! Alas, Finish Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts is on a month long blog-break, so I'm trying out Sew Can She's Show Off Saturday and Scrap Happy Saturday @ So Scrappy as well. I hope I'll see you back in two weeks' time when I host TGIFF!

J