Labor Day Weekend

I decided on Saturday to start working on the tote that stepdaughter requested.  That night I managed to the background squares and some of the applique' circles.  I found out quickly that cutting perfect circles is not easy, even if I traced the circles onto paper backed fusible.
The next step was to applique' the circles on....which is how I found out how bad my circle cutting skills are.

I took several quick videos, but not sure if they are going to work.

Once I had all the circles appliqued on, it was time to cut the 12 inch squares into quarters and sewing them together in a new arrangement.

I decided that on the sides, I'd use white fabric and stitched with blue threads every two inches to resemble a baseball uniform.  Then I appliqued her first initial and last name on one side and the name of her favorite Detroit Tiger on the other side panel.

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Today seemed to be a test of my patience  --  it was like everything that could go wrong - did. The lining fabrics were cut too small -- it was one thing after another.  Because of all the mess ups, it took me most of the day to do what should have only taken a couple, three hours--- and the lining is piece mealed.  

Then came the aggravation of putting the top trim and straps on.  You'd have thought they were contorsionists the way they kept turning and twisting.  Finally got every thing straightened out and sewn down.... just one or maybe two more rows of stitching to go on the trim and I can call it done & pack it away until it's Christmas.  I'll do them in the morning and take a pic once it's totally done.