Alaskan purse

Last summer I took a cruise to Alaska with niece Tammy, and of course happened to visit a couple of quilt shops.  I picked up fabric, as well as patches at various tourist sites, with the vague intention of some kind of quilt commemorating the trip.

Almost a year later, and the fabric was still tucked away neatly in the bag along with the patches.  Truthfully, I just don't need any more quilts and my heart wasn't tuned in to the idea.  Then the other night a little light bulb came on in my head and the idea of a purse or tote bag showed up.  Yesterday I dug through the prints, and most of them are fat quarters (I know I'm repeating myself here, but fq's are 18" x 22" cuts), with a couple of one-yard pieces.  I went through the patterns I had for totes, and none of them really "hit" me.  Then I saw the Gracie pattern, and I thought that just might work.  Having made it before, I know it's not complicated, and it would lend itself to some piecing to come up with what I'd want.

So, here we have it.  One side has a print of the trees (remember Alaska is the second largest rain forest in the world), and the other side has a river rippling over the rocks.  (My creative writing teacher would be proud of the alliteration.)   There are also some whales on a little batik print.  The patches worked in nicely, and the handles pieced together to coordinate.  

Wah-lah, another project done!