Take a Stand, large size

My goal this month, with Elm Street Quilt's One Monthly Goal, was to take the two pieces of needle turn applique work that I did as part of the QuiltCon class Everyday Applique with Sarah Fielke, and turn them into a large size Take a Stand tote.  Take a Stand is By Annie pattern that includes two sizes.  I made the smaller size during my winter break and I use it as my every-day purse.  I frequently take hand-sewing projects in the car and on trips.  The bag I've been using is falling apart and I thought the large size would make a nice replacement.  And I love using a hand-stitched project as the feature for my bag to carry hand stitching projects!

I mentioned in my goal-setting post that my husband was very concerned about the lack of eye on the bird.  I added a lovely little bead for the eye--no way was I going to applique a tiny eye! All the fabrics are Island Batik.  The main fabric/applique background is a basic called Mystic, the accent elements like the strap and bindings are Peacock, another basic, and the lining fabric is from the Glacier View collection last year. The fabrics in the applique designs are essentially scraps and many, though not all, of them are from Floralicious, also from last year.  

You may notice the floral trim on the heart side.  While I think it works as a design element, it's really an Oooops camouflage!  When cutting the quilted fabric, I didn't center it properly and cut off too much on one side.  I had enough extra that I could have left it off-center, but I knew that would bother me.  So I zig-zag stitched it back together and wanted to hide the stitches.  I found some fun trim in my trim bin and added it on the sides. To make it look a little more coordinated, I added trim around largest of the hearts.

I am super-duper in love with this bag!  I took it on our annual family trip to a cabin in the mountains and it was PERFECT!  When I'm not driving, I like to sew binding in the car.  In addition to my supplies, I was easily able to fit the quilt I was binding -- Harvest Vines!  I couldn't have fit a bed-size quilt in there, but most lap or child size quilts will fit easily.  Then once I got to the cabin and Harvest Vines was finished, I switched to more needle-turn applique and added my lap-app to the bag.  That kept everything together and it was easy to move to the wonderful big porch during the day and in to the couch inside when it was too dark (or too buggy!) to stay outside.

The mesh pockets inside are great for lots of supplies.  I had two small pouches (the lovely gray & colorful one was made by the beautiful and generous Preeti and held my threads), two different types of glue sticks, pin cushion, headlamp, small ruler, needle book, scissors, safety pins, and everything I thought there was any chance I would need.  I put my pattern booklet and blocks I was working on in the outside zippered pocket on the outside--the one with the heart, because I am working on Boho Heart 💗

 

I cannot stress enough how much By Annie's bag patterns have been a game-changer for me.  I had a miserable time with bags in the past and almost never finished bags I started because I would get frustrated and/or ruin my supplies.  Annie's patterns are so detailed and through, and many have video extras that walk through the hardest parts.  I'm completely obsessed and now I want to Sew All the Bags! I know I'll use this large Take a Stand for years!