New for the New Year

Something I've never tried is repurposing an old piece of clothing into something useful, so I decided that I would find a way to do that this year.

I have had this old "teacher" jumper for years.  I got rid of lots of old work clothes after I retired, but for some reason I kept this one.  However, having not worn it once in the 2 1/2 years since I retired, it was time to do something about it!

I decided to try making a tote bag out of it, since that is something I use a lot!  The first step was to cut a large rectangle out of the front of the jumper and quilt it to a piece of batting.  I was able to get a 17 x 28 piece out of it, including the original pocket.

The straps (handles) came out of the back, and I used a piece of fabric leftover from my Stars on Autumn Lane project for the lining.

I added some interior pockets like I always do for my phone, keys, and miscellaneous little stuff.  And a magnetic snap closure, too!  

The lining fabric worked for the inside of the straps as well.

And here it is!

Joining in with Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!

And also with Kate at Life in Pieces for her 15 Minute Challenge link up, because I did sew every day this week, except one (when we were out of the house all day until late).  I sew at least 15 - 20 minutes every day as often as possible, and started that while I was still teaching to help keep myself sane!  Now that I'm retired, it's definitely different, but still needed!

I love this quote that I just found:

"The only place where housework comes before needlework is in the dictionary." ~Mary Kurtz