The Painting Flowers Bag

So, I am hastily writing this post from a Boston Hotel Room!  A trip came up at quite short notice and I am here with my 'better' half for the 4th of July - amazing!  Anyway, no doubt more about that after the big day.   For now, I wanted to tell you about the 'Painting Flowers' bag.  From the moment I first saw a picture of this, it shot straight to the top of my 'to do' list!  

It says everything about the scandinavian summer that I must confess, I have been missing a little and it is wholly useful, beautiful and a dream to have on your shoulder on a summers day.    I have always said that the colours of Sweden made such a huge impression on me during the three years that we lived there - it is a unique look that captures all the elements of the natural landscape in a pretty and feminine way.   Tone Finnager, the creator of the Tilda range of fabrics and haberdashery is the ultimate in Scandinavian style and her fabrics are so lovely, you just want to surround yourself with them...well, that is if you are a fabric nut like myself, of course.  This summer she has brought out a wonderful fabric collection called 'Painting Flowers' and  to promote them, has some great ideas over on her blog including an absolutely lovely summer beach bag.  Follow this link to see it http://www.tildasworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Painting-Flowers-Bag.jpg    I was determined that I would make a bag exactly like the picture and was over the moon to find a great selection of Tilda fabrics  on a great UK website www.prettyfabricsandtrims.co.uk.   

Once they arrived, I swept everything off my cutting table and set to work.

The  pattern on the blog is free and easy to follow and it was quick to cut out and piece together.   On a simple straightforward pattern like this - chain piecing is the easiest way to work quickly.  Just keep feeding your blocks through the machine and snip them apart afterwards.

Press and press and press, all the way along the bag making process and I like to use spray starch too, to keep everything in order.   The first bag I made was exactly like in the pattern.  It is very large, and although it is the perfect size for a beach bag to load up with towels and picnics and seaside goodies, it is too big for everyday use about town.  I looked at the photograph that had inspired me in the first place and I had made it correctly, I guess that it is just that I am not very tall and of course Scandinavian women are...  SO, of course, I was so enamoured with the look of the bag, that I decided to make a smaller size one for everyday use.  I used all the scraps and left overs and joined random blocks together until it looked the sort of size I wanted.  I made the bag in exactly the same way otherwise and particularly liked the instructions for the straps in which you put strips of wadding to give them added strength and comfort on your shoulder.  My smaller bag is just lovely and already a daily staple and the larger bag compliments it for weekends away and summer days out.  I actually love this combination - all bases covered!!!!

Anyhow, hope you find time to have a go at this .... if that is ... you can stop reading the Tilda blog - it is just so lovely.....

Meanwhile, I am off to explore Boston, so check back soon to find out what I found.  Do you think there are any quilt shops around (LOL!)?  Chow.... Ruby x