Posting about the oven mitts and the fabrics that I used reminded me of
the most fun thing I've ever made.
About 2 1/2 years ago I bought the pattern for the
Professional Tote, by Laura Martell of
The Creative Thimble. Having seen the
Dick & Jane fabric line by
Michael Miller Fabrics, I knew I HAD to make a teacher tote. In playing around with the fabrics, it evolved into a gift for my co-worker. I think I started in January and was planning on giving it to her for her birthday in May. That in itself was a joke...I seem to never get gifts done early. Shortly after I started making the Professional Tote, Joy's step-father passed away. I finished it up quickly and sat it on her desk the morning she was back to work after the funeral. When she saw it, from my adjoining classroom I heard, "OH MY GOD!"
In two of the following photos, I've blacked out the embroidery showing her last name.
She loves it. She carries to work every day. She shows it off to colleages at workshops/meetings. She became my customer. I purchased a one year
cottage license from Laura and made teacher Professional Totes for Joy's sons' teachers for end-of-the-year gifts. We joked that I was going to have to make my own end-of-the-year gift last year when I had one of her sons in my classroom.
No matter how hard I try lately, my thoughts keep coming back to my day job and all that needs to get done. Guess it's time to do some dreaded paperwork and gear up for the exhausing last week of school.
