Third Time's the Charm

Kinda like the Three Bears

The Music City Modern Quilters do a Secret Santa swap each year.  My designated recipient said "surprise me"!  The only hints she gave were that she likes batiks and colors.  Rather than do another mini-quilt I decided to attempt a quilty non-quilt project.  I chose the Travel Iron Tote pattern by Sisters' Common Thread.

The pattern was a lot easier than it looks, but it still took quite a bit of concentration at first.  However, it was a bit small for the iron I had purchased to go in it.

First Tote -- Too Small

So I enlarged the pattern by 3/4" in every direction.  You guessed it; the second attempt was too big.

Second Tote -- Too Big

It wasn't too big to be unusable; it just didn't make a nice tight package around the iron.  And my small travel machine wasn't able to handle some of the heavy stitching, but it was good enough to put in the Smores' Dirty Santa swap.

Still needing a Secret Santa gift for the modern guild party, I attempted a third tote once I got home from the retreat where I could use my heavy-duty machine.  Tote #3 was JUST RIGHT!

Tote 3 -- Just Right!

On this one I enlarged the pattern just 1/2" in all dimensions and that turned out to be a perfect fit for the iron I had purchased to go in it.

Tote 3 exterior

Tote 3 interior

My swap partner was thrilled with it and I suspect that everyone else might have been a bit jealous, based on all the questions I got about the pattern.

The pattern got easier with each one I made.  I'll keep the small one for myself and just let the cord hang out.