With what will you fill your bag?

“If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”

"Poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue; 

it is hard for an empty bag to stand upright"

 Benjamin Franklin quotes

The follow Christmas totes were gifts to the women in my family. The pattern is one of many available from Stephanie Prescott at A Quilter's Dream. It is called the "Half Moon Bay" bag.

The first tote featured below uses fabric my sister brought back from a trip to Africa. I modified the pattern slightly to make each side unique and to practice my free-motion quilting skills in the small blocks.

These are the inside pockets. Again a great space for more free-motion practice.

My mother-in-law, also a quilter, received this batik beauty. In this case I followed the pattern exactly. It is a wonderful and easy pattern utilizing 6 fat-quarters and fusible fleece as foundation. That's it!

For my mother- this lovely floral blue and yellow bag. Many ideas for my free motion quilting practice were collected from Leah Day's blog The Free Motion Quilting Project. Her ideas and online tutorials have opened up a new world of  "creativity without fear" to me.

 The other side is where I practiced some more free-motion quilting.

So, in 2013 with what will you fill your bag? New patterns, fabric, classes, skills? 

I'm still deciding, but will let you know as the year plays out. 

Happy New Year and Happy Quilting!