raindrops tote

My sweet friend Amy's zakka creations are too charming to describe in words. I have no doubt, they must be eating a dollop of sunshine for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and eagerly sip on a special kind of rainbow drink. I adore the way Amy makes her handmade objects come alive with deepest yellows, bright blues and sparkly pinks with a touch of gingham for homeliness.

Amy wrote a beautiful book called Zakka Handmades  that came out last year. There are 24 projects each with a purpose and a place in our home and heart, including a set of projects for crochet lovers and play things for babies. I wanted to give these precious projects all my attention, so even if it was hard, I waited until I crossed off some of the other things that were pending.

When I came to know we both share a fondness for rainy days, puffy clouds and pretty umbrellas, I decided 'Rain drops'  tote has to be the first project to make. I thought of this delicate lady in a frilly floral dress under fringed umbrella, hiding somewhere in my stash. It was a lonely vintage block I came across in an antique market. This block is couple of inches bigger than the measurement for the bag in the pattern, I kept it as it is, so the bag came out slightly bigger than the pattern suggested.

For the other side of the bag, I cut out a big cloud bursting with rain drops from a vintage scrap and appliquéd it with button hole stitch to match with the vintage block.. falling rain drops and waving blades of grass, fill rest of the picture.

The sides are my favorite part, they provide a good excuse to cut into fun fabrics and change the look of the bag however we want. I had a serious crush on this Heather Ross print since it came out, even the selvage is too sweet to ignore, so I used it for the handles.

 Lining is a blue fabric that looks like darkening sky on a rainy day and an adorable umbrella print for the inside pocket. It is an older collection called 'Aunt grace through the year ' by Judy Rothermel. 

This is also my first time installing metal snaps with the help of SnapSetter. I get nervous trying out new gadgets, there is a good video tutorial on Youtube and a step by step tutorial on Oliver + S here which really helped me get over my fear. If you find snaps intimidating like me, you should try this tool for its easy procedure. I got mine from Amazon but now I discovered that Oliver + S website also sells it along with right size snaps.

'Zakka Handmades' on my book shelf is going to be well loved and worn out for all the great ideas it gives for personal use and for gifts. Thank you, Amy!! I am so happy that Amy is also getting more involved into inventing new Zakka patterns and making them available separately in her Etsy shop. She shares her sewing adventures on Chick chick sewing blog ( ' v ' )

Thank you for stopping by! Happy Sunday!!