I made another Tourist Tote that will be used, I hope, as a rehearsal gig bag! I love how this one turned out, and I hope Mark will too. The tote bag he normally uses for mutes, towels, and other horn player trappings gave out recently. I know he would find something to replace it on his own, but I am somewhat charmed by the opportunity to surprise him with a fun handmade tote.
I used sturdy fabrics for the entire thing this time, plus interfacing. It's not that I don't think the quilting cotton worked out great on my first one, it's more that this is a really good use of some heavy duty canvas leftover from an upholstery project. It looks SO classy and masculine paired with that flannel plaid. The deer print is a cherished remnant from a quilt I made for my grandfather, and adds a bit of whimsy to the outside.
In order to get the deer oriented vertically I couldn't cut width of fabric strips for the straps. Because of that and because I eyeballed the length, these straps ended up being the "longer" I was wishing for on my own bag. I will have to measure and note how long these are for any future efforts. Also, to make the deer behave properly along the entire strap, I added a seam at the top of the straps so the orientation flipped there instead of being one long piece with deer upside down on half.
