Field Guide Tote Bag

Delighting in time spent out of doors, observing the nuances of nature from the magnificent to the subtle, is not my only passion.  I am a quilter, an overal general crafts person, and I am often in the flurries of a sewing frenzy! If I'm not out of doors immersed in nature, and I am not quilting, I am making beautiful greeting cards from the photographs my sister and I have taken.

On a recent trip to Massachusetts, I purchased a pattern for a small tote bag that was fun and interesting to make, and just a cute as can be. 

Here's one version, made from my scrap box, as a birthday gift for an 8 year old neighbor friend.

So when I showed The Ranger my first finished bag, he said it would fit a guide book perfectly.  Well, this man's a genius!  The idea rolled around in my subconscious for a couple of days, and one morning I woke bright and early and got to work.

(click pictures to enlargen)

 

I upcycled an old but hardly worn corduroy shirt for this project,

incorporated the breast pockets into it, one on the front,
one on the back (they have velcro closures). 
I constructed the strap to detach from one side, sewed a

measuring tape down the center, and voila!
It is intended to hang diagonally across the torso
and rest at the hip.

I sent it to Little Sister (the "Holly"

of KaHolly, to use as she ventures
out this spring in search of those ephemeral
blooms and masses of frog eggs,
to "test out in the field" for me! 
You can see where guide books
usually end up!  Actually, it's quick
and easy to tuck them like that!

I can't wait until she receives it and gives me some feedback.  Now to make one for myself.