Finished Tote Bag With My First Punchneedle Project

Wow! It feels so good to actually finish a project. I love to start projects. I love to learn new techniques and will take an interesting class whenever I am able to. But most of the time I start a project or finish a class it usually gets so far then ends up unfinished because I find a new project or new technique I just have to try. Of course, I have finished many projects over the years but compared to all the projects I have started the list is quite short. Lately I have been trying to start items that can be easily finished and this tote bag is one example.

I did go on a special shopping trip to find coodinating fabrics. I decided to try a new quilt shop, Quilters Destination, in Arlington Heights, IL. I found fabrics by Kathy Brown of The Teacher's Pet in the From "A" to "Z" collection. I don't think I could have done much better since I really wanted to try to have something bright and springlike.

The punchneedle emboidery piece was squared to the best of my ability. I added a couple of borders to complete a quilt block I wanted to use for a pocket on a tote. I used Heavyweight InnerFuse by Dritz to fuse together the block with a piece of muslin. The block was then trimmed again. I used a satin stitch across the top edge of the block. Then I centered and pinned the block to a ready-made denim tote and stitched it to the tote with the same satin stitch as the top.