I’m so excited to be part of the Warp & Weft Sewing Society’s first ever blog hop this week! We were all given a 6 fat quarter bundle of Lotta Jansdotter’s new (gorgeous!) collections Mormor and Sylvia. The challenge was to make something that celebrates Spring. You can get your hands on some of this amazing fabric by entering the giveaway at the end of this post – 12 Fat Quarters of Lotta Jansdotter goodness! **Update: The giveaway is now closed.

I had so many ideas for this challenge, most involving quilts – but, since many of the other Sewing Society members are talented quilters I supposed I should choose something else! In the end I decided a new spring tote bag was the way to go – because you can never have too many bags! The bright, springy bundle Esmari expertly mixed for me is so light and happy, that I decided to share and make 3 totes. A Mommy and Daughters trio! (This post was getting a bit long, so the Spring Market Tote tutorial is coming up tomorrow! *Update: The Spring Market Tote & Mini Tote Tutorial is here.)

I wanted to make something striped that could feature each of the prints in my fat quarter bundle and was inspired by the beachy rope handled totes I was seeing online. It was great when the prints came together into a tote that is a bit more formal – perfect for shopping! The large size makes a very roomy bag, and I tried to duplicate that by making the girls’ mini totes oversized as well. They were able to fit all of their (self chosen) shopping necessities with them. It was fun to see them excited to feel “all grown up” with their own matching totes!

I had fun trying to find rope that I liked in an appropriate thickness for the totes. With my pre-made options exhausted, I bought some braided cotton at the hardware store and made my own rope! A 4-strand round braid is actually very simple to make and I’m really happy with how it looks. The grommets are fun even though it was momentarily terrifying to cut holes for them in my perfect “finished” bag!  They turned out so well I think I’ll have to do it again!

The tote is made with a quilt-as-you-go technique so the outer comes together really quickly.  Inspired by my Noodlehead Cargo Duffle I layered quilting cotton, low loft batting and canvas. It holds it’s shape really well, and the interfaced reinforcement strip at the top of the bag folds over to easily install the lining. There is a small pleat on the ends of each oval base, making it simple to fit the outer perfectly to the circumference of the base. And I love how it gives the Spring Market Tote a little more shape.

I would like to thank Esmari especially for choosing the perfect bundle for me! The Slate Blomster is my favorite print in the Mormor collection, my oldest loves pink, and my youngest’s favorite colour is green – so the emerald was perfect for her. Win-win all around. I split up the girls’ totes to accent their favorite colours, while mine includes all of them together – lucky me!

**Update: The Giveaway is now closed. ** You can win 12 Fat Quarters from Lotta Jansdotter’s latest collections, Mormor and Sylvia! In order to enter this Giveaway please follow the Rafflecopter instructions in the widget below and leave a comment on this post. You can obtain 7 entries in total by leaving a comment on each participating blogger’s Lotta Jansdotter Challenge post.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’m second on the blog hop this week – be sure to check out the kick-off post! The quilt Esmari posted yesterday on the Warp & Weft blog is gorgeous. The fabrics look amazing on a white background with the coloured thread she chose. Carla is coming up tomorrow and her work is impeccable, I’m so excited to see what she’s going to post!

Esmari – Warp & Weft:  April 21 ** blog kick-off yesterday!
Sherri – Thread Riding Hood:  April 22
Carla – My ½ Dozen Daily:  April 23 ** tomorrow’s post!
Shannon  – The Finished Garment:  April 24
Cathy – Blueberry Patch:  April 25
Cynthia – cynthiaf:  April 26
Lysa – Lysa Flower:  April 27

Winner to be announced here on the Rafflecopter widget:  April 28th 

I hope you like the totes and come back to check out the tutorial! It’s really simple in its construction – and if you want to get some Lotta to make your own you can find it at the Warp & Weft shop – I know you need a new Spring Tote! Be sure to get all of your entries in by following the blog hop around, I’ll see you at Carla’s tomorrow!

** Please note: This is a sponsored post and the fabric was provided to me at no cost by Warp & Weft. However, as always, all opinions are my own and I will never promote something to you that I do not love myself. **