the 20-minute tote

Yesterday morning I pulled out some awesome upholstery weight cotton I’d been hording for at least five years and made the 20-minute tote from The Purl Bee.

Do you see why I’ve been saving it? That fabric is fantastic. No idea where I got it or who designed it. I found several yards of red webbing scored at a church rummage sale hiding in my bin of assorted trim and it matched perfectly.

This tote truly does come together in 20 minutes.  It is unlined, which isn’t my favorite, but you finish the raw edges with a zigzag stitch, so that’s sorta like fake serging. I love The Purl Bee.

I’m going to use this tote to hold my supplies when I teach classes. Next week I’m meeting with the owner of SewEasy, a local sewing school for kids that just opened a second branch that is right down the street from me. They don’t offer classes for adults as of now, but I’m hoping to change that.  I’ve got some good class ideas brewing, and I know there are women in Wellesley and surrounding towns that have sewing machines they don’t really use who want to brush up on their skills and make something fun and pretty for themselves and their kids. I’m hoping to lure them in with some amazing fabrics and approachable projects. Teaching sewing classes was one of my goals for 2011. I knew I would love it and I totally do. Turns out I’ve missed being a teacher these past seven years.