These days I seem to only be able to get projects done when I have a hard deadline these days, which generally includes holidays and vacations. I will be sewing like mad in the lead up to Christmas, making gifts that I dreamed up at the last minute, while the rest of the year I’ll drag a single project out for months. This is one of those last-minute Christmas gifts. I made it for my mom, who is an amazing gardener and whose green thumb I don’t seem to have inherited. I used this free pattern by Robert Kaufman. It’s a garden tote with a sturdy lining and pockets for all of your tools and supplies, though I think it also would work nicely as a grocery or beach tote.

I used some canvas by Rifle Paper for Cotton and Steel for the main body and some solid cotton duck canvas for the accents (the pattern calls for quilting cotton for the outside but I wanted it to be extra-sturdy). The lining is a blue and white striped cotton fabric I had in my stash and I’m pretty sure was a thrift store find. It also has a duck canvas underlining for stability.

I think it makes a great gift and it came together pretty easily. The pattern is all pretty much rectangles so the only tricky thing for me was remembering which was what piece. Here’s mom holding it up:

Thanks for stopping by and happy sewing!