Monday, February 2, 2015

Takeoff Tote #2, modified

'Bout time I get back on the blog, huh? Goodness, only one post last week. Anybody notice? ;) Hey, I've been busy!! And I finally get to show you some of what's kept me that way. 

This is what I made for Courtney for her 8th birthday, which was yesterday (but the party was on Saturday). It's another Takeoff Tote, from the pattern by Erin Erickson.


Since Courtney got another American Girl doll for Christmas, I made this for her to tote both of her dolls around in... like when she comes to Grandma's house. I made some modifications on it to better accommodate the dolls. I omitted the top zipper and added a flap instead, so they could stick out the top. I left out the inside pocket so the dolls wouldn't get their legs caught when they jumped into it. I also made the straps a little shorter so the bag wouldn't drag on the ground when Courtney carries it. Here's the other side of the tote, and it's holding my little model, Kit:


I only had a half yard of that main fabric, so I had to improvise a little there. I made the bottom out of the same fabric as the straps and lining. I also made both outside pockets out of contrasting solid colors, and each pocket has a zipper, just for fun.

I installed my first-ever hidden magnetic snap closure. I thought Courtney might think it was kinda cool, plus I thought it'd be better than velcro in that it wouldn't catch any of the dolls' long hair. See, you can hardly tell it's there, right?


A closer look shows a bit of stitching, but that's all:


Here's a quick shot of Courtney with Marie Grace and Cecile posing in the bag. They had their lovely long "Frozen" gown costumes on, or they might've been able to stand up a little better. :)


I hope they'll enjoy their rides in the new bag!

I have my next project in the works... needs to be finished by Wednesday, but I don't think I can show you until at least the 15th, as it's another pattern test. And then I have another birthday gift to make..... so blog posting may still have to suffer a bit. Besides, there's not much to take photos of to show you lately, anyway. But I could easily get used to this less frequent posting, I'm afraid.......

7 comments:

Anna B said...

You are such a good Grandma! Courtney must love it.

I also wanted to thank you for sharing with us generally. I am a northern Wisconsinite transplanted to the South, and your blog takes me home every time and makes me so happy.

annie dee said...

So that's what all the zipper choices were for! Delightful. I'm actually glad you ran out of the main fabric and chose to add the others. It looks fantastic! Great job, as always. Love that mag snap too. Just looking for them myself but I need it to be outside not hidden.

Grandma G said...

Thank you, ladies!

Anna B - glad to have you here, and that my blog does something to brighten your life.

Annie Dee - I'm glad, too, as I really like the combo I FINALLY ended up with. But you should have been in my head and seen all the possibilities I came up with! (That'd be a blog post in itself!) But I kept narrowing things down, and this worked. :)

Grandma G said...

P.S. Annie Dee... I meant to mention that Being Bags on Etsy is a good place to get the magnetic snaps. Great prices, fast and free shipping!

annie dee said...

Thanks for the mag snap reference. I'll look them up!

Live a Colorful Life said...

I love the idea of a hidden magnetic snap. Not that I have ever installed a non-hidden version. :)

Grandma G said...

You oughta give 'em a try, Cindy... they're very easy! :)