Tote Bag with matching Crochet Clutch.

I made this set for Rob's mom for Christmas.  She loves to crochet, and I thought a tote would be nice for her to carry her work.  She has some problems with her neck and shoulder, so it had to be lightweight and easy to work with.

The chevron piece across the front are pockets.  The middle pocket is large enough for the clutch to slide right in.  Or she can just toss it in the inside if she prefers.

The inside of the bag has plenty of room, but I made an extra pocket for holding patterns or anything else she might like.

The middle pocket on the inside has a small Velcro closure to keep it from flopping open.  Speaking of floppy, that inside pocket was way too floppy when I first stitched it in.  I decided to make 3 pockets instead, and that with the Velcro solved that problem nicely.

The tote pattern came from the book Home Stuff by Linda Lum DeBono in The Modern Crafter series. I've made a couple of things in that book. Very easy directions and simple projects. It is supposed to be quilted, which I've done before.  However, I wanted lightweight so fewer materials.  I decided to use a mid weight interfacing on the lining in lieu of batting and an extra piece of fabric for the backing.

Despite my pocket problem, it was quite easy to put together. I've made this one before just as the instructions were written, so I'll definitely make this again.

And this is the matching crochet clutch.

 I found the pattern for this little clutch on Moda.

And the inside.

The top of the inside is felt to hold needles and pins. The middle section holds crochet hooks. There is enough room for 16 I believe. I hope she doesn't have more than that!! And the bottom is the zippered compartment to hold smaller items. I don't know how I managed to get that bottom part crooked. I didn't notice until I already had the binding in place. I wasn't taking it apart. I pray she doesn't notice. I used a walking foot on this project to keep all the layers from shifting. It didn't help with that bottom piece though.

The instructions on this one weren't as clear and the supplies list isn't at the beginning. You have to read through to find out what you need. There were also no instructions on how wide to make the pockets for the hooks, so luckily I had some to measure. I made my pockets 1/2" each. She also didn't tell us when to make those pockets, so I waited until last. Once I understood what I was doing, it went together quite well.

I was quite happy with the end result despite the zippered part being off. I'll know next time.

The fabric is from Riley Blake.

So one more Christmas gift finished.  Now I can start on a necktie quilt I'm making for a friend whose father passed away earlier this year.  I'm excited and nervous about that project.

Happy Monday!!
Angela