Journal Notes

Pilar Pobil was an incredible artist who passed away late 2024. She was 98. She loved rich colors and I am happy to own several of her paintings. I was given a textile of her art intended to be used as a decorator towel, I believe, but I decided to use it for a bag, especially since it was more like canvas than a flour sack. I quilted the fabric before I knew what pattern I would use. Although the Misty pattern calls for foam, I’m happy with how the pattern turned out using the quilted fabric. I did use foam for the sides and bottom. The dimensions of the textile were almost perfect for this pattern but I used Grunge for the side pieces and lining. Love how it turned out. I always figured I would make a tote. In September 2024 I had the pleasure of seeing part of Europe on a small tour. We were gifted small plastic totes and what a godsend it ended up being. Because I would be traipsing around the world again in 2025 I wanted something similar-sized but nicer than plastic. I found this pattern which is a tote with pizzazz! Perfect for my purposes - big enough for my clutch, a bottle of water, a few essentials nice to have just in case (hand sanitizer, pain reliever, tissues) and for anything small I might pick up along the way. This beauty has an external slip pocket (the bird) held closed by a strong magnet, two internal slip pockets, two internal zippered pockets and an external sleeve to slide over your luggage handle. The straps were designed to be over the shoulder or used as a backpack. I think this one will be a real winner for me!