Giant Swimming Bag Update

My mom purchased a pattern and a stack of fat quarters on her last trip to The Hobby Horse, a quilting store in Georgetown, Ontario. The thing is, my mom doesn't sew. She bought the pattern for me to make her a new swimming bag, cheerfully telling me she could "wait until Christmas."

The pattern is not to my taste (give me an Amy Butler bag pattern any day), nor is it well written (typos, missed steps, unclear diagrams). Also, the fabric my mom picked isn't much to my taste either. This is when, as a quilter, you suck it up and make it anyway. Because you love the person who picked the fabric and pattern, and because you know he or she will love the finished product even if you don't. (Let's just hope she doesn't make a habit of this!) :)

Here is an update of the progress. I pieced the rows, being careful to ensure that the same fabrics won't touch each other when the bag is assembled (there is a vague reference to this in the pattern, but they don't explain how the folding is done or where the fabrics will touch, so who knows if I did it correctly. Even the woman at the store told me when she made it she accidentally had same fabrics touching. It does not bode well for a novice like me).

And here are the pictures to show you the bag in the early stages:

I stopped after this stage for a break to do something I will enjoy more. To be honest, once I assemble the rows together the next stage is fusible fleece which makes me a little nervous. This bag pattern involves two layers of fleece which makes it even worse!

Wish me luck!

Linking up with WIP Wednesdays over at Freshly Pieced!

Lynn (aka Buttons)