French Market Tote Bags

Last week I pulled out one of my many tote bags to use on an errand.  I had grabbed one of the larger bags, and my youngest (who is 8) stopped and exclaimed "I LOVE that bag!"  His enthusiasm was a little startling - especially for something as mundane as a tote bag.  But then he began to tell me about the memories he had from when he was little, of the two of us going to the library and using that bag to carry our books home.  How sweet is that?  I had no idea.  A tote bag is just a tote bag.  But maybe it's not. 

I do love to make tote bags.  I just think they're fun to make.  They are a pretty quick project, and sure are handy to have around!  I use mine for all sorts of things - from carrying hand stitching projects, to sneaking treats into a movie theater.  

I also love to give tote bags as a gift.  In fact, these bags in the photos are headed to my Francophile MIL who recently traveled to Paris with her husband to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.  I'm hoping that these will remind them of their anniversary trip, but I'm absolutely positive that they'll also be used to sneak extra treats into the movie theater.  

When I make tote bags, I really love when the lining fabric is just as pretty as the outer bag fabric.  So I designed this tote bag so that the liner fabric peeks out along the top edge of the bag, and matches with the handles.  It's not as tricky as it may look -- I'll be sharing my tutorial for these bags in a few days.    

All of the prints I used for the bags are from a line called Colette, designed by Brenda Walton for Blend Fabrics.

It has these two prints that are full of charming drawings and phrases in French-- 

And there's also this print with adorable hand drawn scenes of Paris.  I'll be using these in a fussy-cut project for sure!

There are also a couple of sweet macaroon prints to round out the line:

But these two prints are my favorite!  And see that little girl on the bicycle with the balloons - down in the bottom right corner of the bag?  She's adorable.  And she's the one that gave me the idea to make these bags!  

See more of the Colette prints here.  They'll be arriving in stores later this month  -  you can purchase them here from Hawthorne Threads.

And now to announce the giveaway winner from last week's blog post.  Congrats to comment #25:  OhioLori!  Your copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks vol 14 will soon be on it's way to you.