Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Takeoff Tote

Ahh... I get to show you the results of some of my sewing busy-ness! Would you believe it's from another Erin Erickson pattern? Only this one isn't even out yet. I got to test it for her! Yay! It's called the "Takeoff Tote", and it will be released very soon! I got the pattern last Saturday morning, set aside everything else, and actually made the tote in only 3 days!

I've had a couple yards of Jessica Jones's Outside Oslo Wildflower print here for a long time, and I just never knew what to make out of it. Well, this tote seemed to be the perfect thing. Here it is:


It's a good-sized bag - 16" wide x 5½" deep x 13" tall, so it will hold a lot of 'stuff'. It has a zippered pocket on the front...


... and a slip pocket on the back. The slip pocket is actually meant to be left open at the bottom so if you're traveling, it can fit over the handle on your rolling carry-on luggage (thus the name "Takeoff Tote") and ride there, so you don't even have to carry it. I chose to sew mine shut, because I don't have any plans for going on an airplane anytime soon (ever?), and one can never have too many pockets, right?

It's nice and wide at the bottom,


opens wide at the top so it's easy to get at your stuff, and has a couple of slip pockets inside.


I'm very happy with this bag! The pattern was easy to follow, as are all of Erin's patterns. She just has a knack for explaining the how-to's and taking excellent photos that demonstrate them, with meticulous attention to every detail. She works hard to make sure every pattern is 'just right'!


Now I need to fill it up and go somewhere again, since it wasn't ready in time for our Thanksgiving trip to Cincinnati. Maybe somewhere south and warm, since our temp is supposed to get near zero tonight! So much for our lovely "spring" weather.

On a side note, I had no fabrics in my stash that matched the colors in that print, so I ordered some, hoping the colors would go together well. I ordered both the red and wine canvases from Fabric.com. I really hit the jackpot when I ordered the red! Have you ever gotten one of these?


It meant an extra foot of fabric for me - hurray!

Update: The pattern has now been released! You can find it in Erin's pattern shop here for a discounted price until 12/25/14. Still enough time to make one for a Christmas gift! ;)

13 comments:

Jessica Jones said...

Ha, funny sticker! Nice. Looks like a great bag, and I'm glad to see that Wildflower get some more mileage!

annie dee said...

Oh my lordy, G'ma G! That's a beauty! Of course I love the fabric (it's orange) and the bag is terrific. The color combination is great you. You done very very good!! No coal for you.

Grandma G said...

Well, thanks, Annie Dee!! I'm still not gifting it to you, though. ;) It's not even for Jess! It's MINE! :)

Michelle said...

what a fabulous Tote Grandma G! I saw it over at Brag Bag linky party. Seems like a terrific pattern, I look forward to checking it out when it becomes available. How lucky are you to get the end of the bolt, what a nice surprise. :o)

Grandma G said...

Thanks, Michelle! Yeah, that "jackpot" made my day! :)

LiEr said...

I'm alive! I'm still on the planet! I just got hijacked by Christmas/advent (not aliens). I love the bag. And the fabric. It's a very nice classic pattern. And we are back to shroud weather again, after one token day of sunshine. Really, this winter is wearing me down.

Grandma G said...

Thanks, LiEr! And glad you're still alive. I totally hear ya on the "shroud weather". It really un-energizes me, which doesn't help a bit for getting Christmassy things done. *sigh*

Live a Colorful Life said...

I got the email that the pattern was available, and when I read the blog post saying she had testers I just KNEW you would be one of them. Your version turned out beautifully. I never get tired of seeing Outside Oslo. I'm printing out the pattern right now, so once I see the fabric requirements, I'll see if I can use my Outside Oslo because I have four half-yard cuts in the blue/grey/yellow colorway that I have been saving for the perfect project. And I can sew with that while I (im)patiently wait for the bark cloth...

Grandma G said...

Thanks, Cindy! Good luck with yours! I'm sure you'll love it!

Marilyn said...

Congrats on being featured on the Sew Can She Blog. That's quite an honor. The bag is beautiful. Don't you just love it when the fabric you have been saving for something special works out perfectly?

Grandma G said...

Thanks, Marilyn! Yeah... I knew the big print needed to be made into something big, but I just never knew what... till Erin came up with that pattern! :)

annie dee said...

This beautiful bag is on the Friday spotlight page of sewcanshe.com !! And I think it's great you are keeping this for a yourself!

Grandma G said...

:-)