Santa Fe Bags

A couple months ago a friend had some fabric donations to share with me. I wrote about them here. There were a lot of fun pieces, but the one I was most excited about was a santa fe panel in two different color schemes.

I quickly cut out the panels and then laid them out to see if there was a quilt setting that might work.

The problem? I prefer the ones with pinks and purples, but the majority of them had browns. I do like teal, but the different panels had different teals so I couldn't use those to tie them together. So... what to do, what to do...

I started thinking about ways I could make them useful. My Mom suggested I consider making them bags. Interesting thought, and I had a wonderful border fabric that I wanted to incorporate. I figured that would be perfect for the inside with some corresponding fabrics.

I was ready to get to work. Here's what I've come up with.

This one is made of the pinks and purples. I decided to match a solid navy for borders and bought strap ribbon rather than making straps. This is perfect for carrying 12 inch blocks and some sewing tools back and forth from various quilting bees.

Each side has a different panel, but in the same colors.

For the inside, I used the border fabric and the navy and sewed it in a way that allows it to be reversible. I actually think I prefer the inside better than the outside.

For the other fabric, I changed up my sewing technique a bit. Rather than sashing down the sides, I used the boxed corner technique making it useful for carrying groceries, school supplies, or pjs for an overnighter.

The inside is also reversible. I dropped the border fabric down a little bit so that it wasn't right on the straps. I really like the look.

Each bag has two different panels, one on each side. So far I've completed 3 of the 5 bags. I still have fabric for 2 more. I haven't decided whether I should try a different technique with the last 2 or stick to what I've already done.

At any rate, it was fun and now I have some bags. I might share them with the kiddos teachers for Christmas, but we'll see. I haven't gotten that far yet.