Happy Mama’s Day to all the Mama’s of all stripes out there.

As you all know, I’ve got an especially fantastic Mama and I like to spoil her as much as I am able on this day. That of course, means making something even though she can make everything I can make (and can usually make it better).

Late last year, I sourced some very special fabric with the intent to make her a tote bag.

Mom’s Ravatar on Ravelry has been a Red Panda since Ravelry began. She has a whole folder a cute little Red Panda pictures and she changes them out every so often. Finding Red Panda fabric though… now that was a challenge. I ended up finding it (and several other Red Panda prints) on Spoonflower. It was not cheap though – even with the coupon I had. It’s a site I’ll buy from only for very special projects, like this one. And aren’t they just freakin’ adorable?

This is a very similar tote to the Little Mr. Tote I winged a couple months back. I just refined the size a bit. And instead of using plain quilt batting, I invested in a little Soft and Stable. It’s definitely different to work with (not hard, just different), but it helps the bag hold its shape MUCH better. The Little Mr. Tote is very floppy.

It also shows the quilting much better. But PLEASE, don’t look at it too closely.  I have a little presser foot that is supposed to help you keep your lines straight, and a consistent distance, but the metal guide kept moving on me. Eventually I just gave up and eyeballed it. And let’s just say… I’m pretty sure my eyeballs are drunk. But it doesn’t affect the use of the tote, and I’m anything but a perfectionist.

I only had enough of the Red Panda fabric for the  front and back, so for the sides, I subbed in this neat fancy bird print in similar colours. I had a yard of it, and it was part of a mystery box of Free Spirit fabrics mom and I split on last year.

I can’t believe how well the colours matched.

I also used it for the handles, fussy cutting it to create this neat design.

And imagine my amazement when I went looking for a lining fabric in the stash and had this fantastic green print from the same fabric line.

What are the chances. It wasn’t part of that mystery box – I got it in the remnant bin at Lens. I love it when projects come together like this.

As you can see, I used the striped fabric to add a nice wide, divided pocket on the inside. I’m not sure how Mom will decide to use the tote, but the pocket gives it a little more versatility.

I also tucked a pair of socks in the bag, but I’ll detail them in their own post tomorrow.